Educational Leadership, M.Ed. or Ed.S.

The Residency Pathway is for those candidates who have been offered employment at least half-time as a public school administrator in Tennessee (typically an Assistant Principal) utilizing the Aspiring Instructional Leader License (ILL-A).  This pathway requires considerable coordination and partnership among the candidate, Belmont University, and the school, district, or Charter Management Organization (CMO) in order to secure the aspiring license for the candidate.  

Candidates can begin the Residency Pathway at the outset of the program, or at the beginning of their second academic year in the program (depending on when they are offered a school-based administrative position). Through this carefully crafted immersive clinical internship, students will gain valuable and practical experience in the work of school leadership in an intensive but highly scaffolded environment.  Candidates will serve in their school administrative role under the mentorship of a thoughtfully selected and highly effective educational leader. Candidates will be given progressive responsibility and dedicated time for the mentor to explicitly share their thinking regarding specific leadership decisions. Over the one or two academic years, the candidate will log at least 240 and as many as 1,200 hours of clinical experience in a school setting, providing an excellent complement to their conceptual and theoretical education in leadership, and a powerful opportunity for an iterative learning experience. 

Through the Standard-based Reflective Leadership Practice seminar, candidates will document and process their clinical experiences as they relate and align to the various leadership standards, including the Tennessee Instructional Leadership Standards (TILS), Tennessee Literacy Standards, and the Professional Standards for Educational Leadership (PSEL). Candidates in the Residency Pathway will be eligible to apply for and instructional leader (school principal) license in the state of Tennessee upon successful completion of all requirements of the program, including demonstrating mastery through the School Leadership Licensure Assessment (SLLA).  

Candidates who are not currently in a public school administrative position will be enrolled in the Clinical Practice Pathway. This pathway will give educators opportunities to gain valuable knowledge and skill through sustained clinical practice, while continuing in their current role.  

Candidates in the Clinical Practice Pathway will be expected to work with their school administration and Belmont University to identify and craft opportunities to engage and practice the knowledge, skills and competencies associated with leadership standards. Through the Standard-based Reflective Leadership Practice seminar, candidates will document and process at least eighty (80) hours of clinical experiences as they relate and align to each of the four (4) Tennessee Instructional Leadership Standards (TILS), the ten (10) Professional Standards for Educational Leadership (PSEL), and the ten (10) Tennessee Literacy Standards for Instructional Leader Preparation.  

Each candidate will undertake and document practical administrative experiences related to these various standards according to the following table: 

 These clinical practice hours may be completed during the school year or in an appropriate instructional setting during a summer program. Candidates in the Clinical Practice Pathway who complete their clinical experiences in an eligible school will be able to apply for an instructional leader (school principal) license in the state of Tennessee upon successful completion of all requirements of the program, including demonstrating mastery through the School Leadership Licensure Assessment (SLLA).  

Curriculum

The Educational Leadership program gives aspiring school administrators and other educational leaders the knowledge, skills, and capabilities they need to lead educational organizations constructively. This program is organized to accommodate working professionals. Classes are taught in evenings (synchronous) and are online with one required one-day, on-campus session. Students should expect a one-day intensive session each term (summer, fall and spring) in person on the Belmont campus in Nashville.

M.Ed. Total:  31 credit hours

M.Ed. Course Catalog

Ed.S. Total: 35 credit hours

Ed.S. Course Catalog

Courses you'll take for both an M.Ed. and an Ed.S.

• BSA 6830 Data and Decision Making
  This course teaches students how to work with different types of data and utilize analytical tools to solve problems. Students will identify data requirements, utilize statistical techniques to evaluate data quality and completeness, prepare data for analysis, and transform data into useful information.
• EDL 6005 Introduction to Educational Leadership
  Leadership theory will be examined from both a general and education-specific perspective. Effective practices and essential responsibilities of school and district leaders will be explored, and research demonstrating the impact and import of successful, culturally responsive instructional and organizational leadership in the context of student learning and achievement will be studied.
• EDL 6015, 6080, 6170, 6180 Leading with Purpose I-IV
  In a four-course sequence on Leading with Purpose, aspiring leaders will be exposed to the Compass in Leadership Framework, and focus on themes of the candidate’s Leadership Center, Leadership Edge, Leadership Story, and Leadership Purpose.
• EDL 6025 Educational Governance, Policy, Advocacy & Excellence
  Structures of educational governance and policymaking will be examined in considerable depth, including the statutory and regulatory environment for PreK-12 education in Tennessee and the United States. School, district, and state accountability mechanisms will be explored, and effective strategies for adopting and achieving rigorous academic standards will be studied.
• EDL 6100 Equity and Social Justice
  The course defines the concepts and principles of culture, diversity, equity and social justice and their impact on public and private educational institutions. The focus is on current controversies and activity but includes the beginnings of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the desegregation of the nation’s public schools. There is a focus on the responsibility of leaders to create a culture that supports, builds, and champions equity and social justice in the institutions they lead.
• EDL 6140 Change Leadership, Organizational Culture & Human Flourishing
  Organizational excellence will be examined from the perspective of the individual educator, staff member, leader, and student. Inspiration, motivation, incentive structures, developmental evaluation, and continuous improvement will be explored. The nature and dynamics of change will be studied, and strategies for aligning human flourishing with organizational success will be investigated.
• EDL 6150, 6155 Standards-Based Reflective Leadership Practice I-II
  Students will process and reflect on how their clinical experience relates to and aligns with various leadership and educational standards, including the Tennessee Instructional Leadership Standards (TILS), the Professional Standards for Educational Leadership (PSEL), and the Tennessee Literacy Standards for Instructional Leaders. Students will document how their school-based experiences relate specifically to each standard.
• EDL 6210 Financial Planning and Management in Education Organizations
  Educational Finance provides an overview and historical perspective of school finance in America. In addition to policy, legal and political issues at the state and federal levels of government, district budgeting and financial practices are studied. Current issues of funding and costs of public and higher education are considered as well as the challenges of financing and funding of philanthropic and non-profit organizations.
• EDU 5431 Instructional Design & Pedagogy
  This course provides an introduction to adult learning theory, educational theory, methods, and strategies for instruction in classroom, clinical, simulation, and online learning.
• ETP 6510 The Entrepreneurial Mindset
  This course aims to encourage students to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset by developing the discovery, thinking, reasoning and implementation skills necessary to create and develop prosperous ideas in highly uncertain environments. Its conceptualization extends beyond the narrow view of starting a new business, focusing instead on a method that could be employed to start new initiatives, profit or nonprofit, inside a family business, small business, social enterprise, or large corporation and involve systematic efforts to mitigate uncertainty and to manage risk.

Additional Course for the Ed.S. program

• EDL 6995, 6998 Capstone Education Leadership Project I-II (Ed.S. Only)
  These courses encompass the culminating experience for the Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree in Educational Leadership. While enrolled in these courses, students will complete a substantial research-based special project in the area of educational leadership under the supervision of a faculty member.

Belmont Teacher Education candidates have many opportunities to practice their advocacy, leadership and teaching skills through participation in Belmont’s service-learning and volunteer opportunities as well as education department-specific opportunities.

Candidates should explore coaching, teaching and tutoring opportunities, as well as create their own opportunities as they engage in service in their new home community of Nashville.

Our community partners include area charter, independent and public schools, as well as nonprofit and for-profit community agencies serving Nashville’s families. Belmont University requires all students to be engaged in community and service-learning opportunities but it is not uncommon for teacher education candidates to go beyond the required hours and in a number of opportunities take leadership roles.

Below are some of the opportunities in which our candidates engage:

Belmont’s Service-Learning and Volunteer Opportunities
Through Get Connected, Belmont’s online volunteer service directory, our candidates can connect with more than 70 area organizations where they can connect and serve. Our teacher candidates take seriously the opportunity to serve the greater Nashville community and volunteer in programs such as English Language Tutors with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, athletic coaches with area middle schools, tutoring programs with the YMCA, Martha O’Bryan Center and area faith-based programs.

Best Buddies©
BESTBUDDIES® builds one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), through school and community friendship programs that provide socialization opportunities to help erase the invisible line that often separates students or adults with and without IDD. Best Buddies at Belmont is an active student organization where Belmont students and community members with IDD become friends and hang out together with a focus on reducing barriers and building inclusive communities focused on strengths and relationships.

Homework Hotline
Homework Hotline is the largest provider of tutoring in Tennessee, the only service available by phone, and the only program that provides tutoring in six languages. Belmont University candidates serve as a volunteer satellite of Homework Hotline, housed on the Belmont campus. In this way, Belmont University students practice teaching techniques while providing one-on-one tutoring to at-risk children.

Kappa Delta Pi National Education Society
Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), International Honor Society in Education, fosters excellence in education and promotes fellowship among those dedicated to teaching. Belmont’s Nu Phi Chapter is additionally, concerned with assisting the community and has been involved with food drives, raising funds for local literacy programs, as well as helping with Homework Hotline.

Student Teacher Education Association
Through its affiliation with the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) and the National Education Association (NEA), our student program leads tomorrow's teachers to a bright professional future. STEA exists to help our members move smoothly from students on campus to beginning teachers. This is achieved through a variety of avenues including organization meetings with speakers who highlight opportunities at Belmont and beyond to broaden understanding of what it means to be an educator, discussion of issues and trends in education, conference attendance for members to network and develop professionally and a focus on service to communities and families.

STEA is proud to work with Belmont University for Annual Family Literacy Day each spring by forming a reading circle where we read aloud books around a theme with children from the community. We also collect canned goods for local food banks as well as school supplies for teachers and children in Nashville Public Schools. Each spring we also host a campus-wide Valentine’s Day card-making event for the children and families of the Ronald McDonald House and residents of local nursing homes.

Belmont University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. Questions about the accreditation of Belmont University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website.

Belmont’s Teacher Education Program is approved by the Tennessee Department of Education and accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) legacy site visit of 2021.

Click here for full accreditation, licensure and annual reporting information

Application Deadlines

Priority Deadline: June 15

Final Deadline: August 1

*Please note: 2+ years of demonstrated effective teaching experience is required for this degree.*

Admissions Checklist

• • Application Form: Apply Online from the BU4U application portal.
    • Application Fee: A $50 non-refundable application fee is required.
    • Baccalaureate Degree or higher required from a regionally accredited institution. Please note that we only accept up to 6 applicable credit hours of graduate work.
    • Official Transcripts: Request official transcripts from previous colleges. You may request official hard copies to be mailed, or they may be sent using a secure third-party electronic service, if your institution participates (i.e. parchment, student clearing house, etc.). Please allow 4-6 weeks for all official transcripts to be received and processed. Official copies should be mailed to: Belmont University, Office of Admissions, 1900 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37212. Electronic copies should be sent to belmontadmissions@belmont.edu.
    • GPA: 2.75 GPA or Adjusted GPA of 3.0
    • Teaching Experience: 2+ years of demonstrated effective teaching experience is required for this degree.  You will be required to submit a copy of your teaching license in the application.
    • Essay of Purpose: Submit a one-page essay describing why you are interested in this degree program and Belmont University. Please also address your personal and professional career goals.
    • Recommendations: Contact two individuals for professional recommendations. These are completed after the application fee has been submitted and are listed under the Supplemental Items section. Recommendations are done entirely through the BU4U portal through email.
    • Resume: A professional resume is required and is uploaded through your BU4U portal as a supplemental item.
    • Successful Criminal Background Check
    • Interview: You may be contacted for an interview with a faculty member from the College of Education.

International Students: 

Application Status

Applicants are admitted on a rolling admissions pattern and will be notified of the admissions committee's decision shortly after the admissions requirements are completed. To check on the status of your application, check your BU4U account.

• Tuition Information: Determine the total cost per semester on our Graduate Tuition & Aid website. 
• After being offered admission to Belmont, you may secure your enrollment with a nonrefundable enrollment deposit of $150. This deposit will be applied to first-semester charges.

Application Status

Applicants are admitted on a rolling admissions pattern and will be notified of the admissions committee's decision shortly after the admissions requirements are completed. To check on the status of your application, check your BU4U portal.

Tuition & Financial Aid Information

You can determine the cost per semester for courses in the Master of Arts in Teaching program by visiting the Graduate Tuition & Aid website.

After being offered admission to Belmont, you may secure your enrollment with a nonrefundable enrollment deposit of $150. This deposit will be applied to first semester charges.

Questions?

Contact Hallie Caddy if you have questions or need assistance.

International Students

This program does not meet Visa requirements for International students.

Due to visa requirements, at this time international students can only be considered for admission in the following College of Education graduate programs:

• Master of Arts in Teaching, Internship (ONLY Summer start)
• Master of Arts in Teaching, Student Teaching

Non US citizen applicants must satisfy one of the English language proficiency requirements (i.e. TOEFL, Duolingo, etc.) before an admissions decision can be made. The list of acceptable options may be found HERE. International applicants with college level course work from foreign institutions must have transcripts evaluated by a NACE accredited evaluation service, such as World Education Services or Joseph Silny & Associates. Visit the International Student admissions website for more information. 

Application Deadlines (all materials and application must be submitted):

• Summer Start – February 1st
• Fall Start – April 1st
• Spring Start – October 1st

International Admissions Requirements:

• Official Evaluation for your transcript:
  • Cannot be sent by you, must come directly to Belmont from the evaluation company.
  • University-level Credits Completed Outside of the U.S. - All applicants are required to submit transcript evaluations for all college/university coursework completed outside the US. Evaluations must be course-by-course, contain a GPA (grade point average), and be from an NACES accredited evaluation company.
• For more information, a list of suggested companies, and instructions, please click here to access our transcript evaluation guide.
• An undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75 is required for admission into the Master of Arts in Teaching program.
• Proof of English Proficiency
  • Non US Citizen applicants must satisfy one of these English language proficiency requirements before an admissions decision can be made:
    • Minimum TOEFL iBT, including the Home Edition and Paper Edition, score of 80 (Equivalent TOEFL myBest scores are accepted) (Belmont’s TOEFL code is 1058); or
    • Minimum IELTS academic score of 6.5 (including the IELTS Indicator); or
    • Minimum SAT Reading Score of 29 or Writing and Language score of 550 (Belmont’s SAT code is 1058); or
    • Minimum ACT English or Reading sub score of 23 (Belmont’s ACT code is 3946); or
    • Minimum Duolingo English Test score of 115; or
    • Minimum Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English score of C1 Advanced (180 overall); or
    • Minimum Cambridge Certificate of English Proficiency score of C2 (180 overall) ; or
    • Minimum English3 (E3) Proficiency Test score of 68; or
    • Minimum Pearson (PTE) Academic Plus score of 58; or
    • Minimum General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) score of C or 4 and above on the English language exam; or
    • Minimum International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) score of 5 or higher on English A Language and Literature (SL/HL) or English Language B (SL/HL) (English ab initio is not accepted); or
    • Minimum iTEP Academic score of 3.9; or
    • 3 years of US high school without ESL coursework; or
    • 6 hours of English Composition coursework with a grade of 'C' or higher at a US college/university; or
    • Have received a degree in the US (bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD); or
    • Citizenship with one of the following countries:
      • Antigua
      • Australia
      • Bahamas
      • Barbuda
      • Barbados
      • Belize
      • British Virgin Islands
      • Canada (except Quebec)
      • Dominica
      • Grenada
      • Guyana
      • Ireland
      • Jamaica
      • Malta
      • New Zealand
      • St Kitts and Nevi
      • St Lucia
      • St Vincent and the Grenadines
      • Trinidad and Tobago
      • Turks and Caicos Islands
      • United Kingdom – Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales
• Resume
• 2 recommendations
• Essay/State of Purpose
• Clean Background Check – this will be done once you arrive in the US.
•  After acceptance, you will be required to provide the following:
  • Deposit: 
    • After being offered admission to Belmont, you may secure your enrollment with a nonrefundable enrollment deposit of $150. This deposit will be applied to first semester charges.  
  • Evidence of Financial Ability:
    • Students must pay the entire tuition amount at the beginning of the semester. See our Cost Estimator.
    • This program is 35 credit hours so it is $50,750 for tuition; with a 30% discount (-$15,225) it is $35,050 for the tuition alone. This does not include fees (about $475 per semester), meal plan, or housing. 
• International students are also responsible for purchasing health insurance. The cost of a basic plan is approximately $1,416 per year ($118 per month)
• Visa:
  • In order to create an I-20, Shauna Walsh will collect your financial documents, passport, and personal information.
  • After receipt of the I-20, you must complete the visa process before arriving in the US. Please note that if you cannot arrive in time for the start of class, you will need to defer to another semester.
  •  https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/students/financial-ability
  • If you will need an F-1 student visa, please contact Shauna Walsh (shauna.walsh@belmont.edu), Assistant Director of International Student and Scholars Services at Belmont. Once you have been admitted and paid the deposit, you can start the process with Shauna Walsh to obtain your immigration document.

It’s also possible to pursue a future as a head principal by taking this educational track. This is a role that oversees the direction of an entire school and takes responsibility for the educational experience delivered to students. The daily tasks managed by a head principal include overseeing the staff, setting and monitoring academic goals, managing budgets and ensuring compliance. For an individual passionate about education and truly wanting to make a difference, few titles will be as impactful as head principal.

As an assistant principal, you can expect to play a key role in the administrative and leadership functions of a school. You’ll work closely with the head principal to manage daily operations at the school, solve problems, implement new educational programs and develop a positive culture for learning. You’ll be well positioned to seek these positions with your M.Ed. or Ed.S. in Educational Leadership from Belmont.

Another exciting role that may be available after completing an Educational Leadership program is curriculum coordinator. This position is just as it sounds: the focus is on crafting the educational content that will be delivered within a school or district. The curriculum will need to meet the relevant standards for the institution while also offering opportunities for students to engage with new and interesting materials. The skills and knowledge needed to successfully fill this role will be developed as you work through the Educational Leadership program here at Belmont.

A quality education demands not only a great curriculum but excellent instruction. For that, an instructional coordinator can work together with teachers to develop and implement innovative strategies. Student performance data can be used to identify areas for improvement. Thanks to the focus on educational theory and practical leadership in this program, you’ll be prepared to take on these challenges and improve the overall quality of instruction that is received by students.

Working as a director of student services is an exciting opportunity to create a school experience that is fulfilling for all students from start to finish. These jobs tend to focus mostly outside of the standard classroom, working to optimize things like counseling services, extracurricular activities and special education programs. Once you complete the Belmont University Educational Leadership program, you will be highly qualified to take on all of these challenges and more.

Looking for a career with maximum flexibility while still making a difference in education? Working as an educational consultant is another appealing path that could be available with the knowledge and experience you gain in educational leadership programs. Educational consulting work will have you help schools, districts and other organizations deliver the best possible education to their students. This can be achieved through new curriculum development, school administration improvements and more.

A great candidate for our master’s in educational leadership program will have experience in teaching and aim to achieve a higher-ranking position in education. This program is often used by those who wish to become head or assistant principals, but many other career paths are possible. Admission to the program has several key requirements:

1. An undergraduate degree
2. A valid teaching license
3. A minimum of two years of teaching experience, as mandated by state regulations

It is necessary to have an undergraduate degree along with a teaching license to be admitted to the program.

A wide range of concepts will be addressed as you pursue your educational leadership degree. Those include foundational education leadership courses, business and entrepreneurship courses, reflective practice seminars, a clinical practice internship and more.

Yes, there are a number of requirements that must be met for admission into this program. An undergraduate degree, a minimum GPA of 2.75, a valid teaching license and a two-year minimum teaching experience are some of the requirements that need to be met for consideration. This experience is crucial, as it ensures candidates have substantial practical knowledge of classroom dynamics, curriculum implementation and school operations. Candidates must also undergo an interview process.

If you wish to meet the priority application deadline for this program, please submit all required materials by June 15. The final application deadline is Aug. 1. A decision on acceptance will be provided shortly after all requirements have been completed, and admissions take place on a rolling basis.

Absolutely. This is not just an online educational leadership degree but a hybrid program that offers instruction both in-person at Belmont University and online. This format allows busy professionals to structure their schedules in a way that allows them to keep up with both work and school demands throughout the duration of the program.