Education - Teacher as Leader, M.A.

Steve Crites, Ph.D. & Sara Runge, Ph.D., Interim Department Co-Chairs

Steve Crites, Ph.D., Graduate Program Director

Purpose

The Teacher as Leader Program is designed to foster an educational culture in which instruction and learning are informed by research and continuous data collection and analysis, while embracing the NKU themes of diversity, technology, and civic engagement.

The program requires 30 credit hours of graduate-level coursework earned beyond the bachelor’s degree and initial teacher certification. Kentucky Teacher Standards are met through an action research project and other program experiences.

Contact Information

Teacher Education Graduate Office - MEP 263C

gradedu@nku.edu or 859-572-1567

Admission Requirements and Process

All admission requirements should be submitted to the Office of Graduate Education in the Lucas Administrative Center, AC 302, before the application deadline (available on the Office of Graduate Education web page). Applicants whose admission requirements are not complete by the application deadline will be considered for admission if space is available.

To be eligible for admission applicants must submit:

1. Official Transcripts: Submit official transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate coursework. One transcript must show conferral of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. Students who have attended NKU are not required to submit official transcripts for NKU coursework.
2. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores: Submit official scores for the Graduate Record Examination (general test) taken within the past five years. The GRE requirement is waived for applicants who have an undergraduate grade point of 3.0 or higher, and for applicants who have already earned a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution.
3. Statement of Professional Goals (SPG): Submit a typewritten Statement of Professional Goals, approximately 300-400 words in length. The SPG should state the applicant’s reasons for pursing the Master of Arts in Education: Teacher as Leader degree and the concentration and/or endorsement desired. The SPG should also state the applicant’s goals for professional growth and explain specifically how the chosen degree program/endorsement area will make it possible for the applicant to achieve these goals and improve his/her knowledge and skills as a teacher. The SPG will be evaluated for completeness, quality of written expression, and clarity of professional goals.
4. Letters of Recommendation: Submit three (3) recommendation forms with attached letters of recommendation. Applicants should seek recommendations from colleagues familiar with the applicant’s qualifications for graduate study (e.g., former professor, current principal, supervisor). Letters of recommendation may be directly typed into the form or attached. Attached letters of recommendation must be written on official letterhead and have the signature of the individual providing the recommendation. Within the letter, those providing recommendations should explain their professional role, their relationship to the applicant, and their assessment of the applicant’s qualifications for graduate study. Recommendation letters submitted without the recommendation form will not be accepted. Recommendation forms are available on the Office of Graduate Education website.
5. Teaching Certificate: Submit a copy of current teaching certificate or out-of-state equivalent. New teachers in Kentucky may submit a Kentucky Statement of Eligibility.
6. Teacher as Leader Admission Agreement: Print, sign, and submit the Teacher as Leader Admission Agreement to the Office of Graduate Education. The agreement form is available at http://inside.nku.edu/graduate/admission-process.html.  

International students or students whose native language is not English should contact the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to inquire about policies regarding official transcript evaluations and English proficiency. Transcript evaluations and/or TOEFL scores may be required for admission to the Teacher as Leader program. ISSS may be reached by telephone at 859-572-6517 or by email at isss@nku.edu.

Preference will be given to applicants with an undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 or higher, and GRE scores of 139 or higher in Quantitative Reasoning, 150 or higher in Verbal Reasoning, and 3.5 or higher in Analytical Writing. Applicants who meet two or more of these requirements will be considered, but may be required to take additional coursework.

Applicants who took the GRE exam before August 1, 2011 which had a score scale ranging from 200-800 will be accepted in the program based on GRE scores of the same percentile rank according to the concordance table published by Educational Testing Service.

Application Review and Deadlines

Only complete application files will be reviewed. Admission will be offered to the number of applicants sufficient to meet enrollment limits. Applicants whose application files are not complete before the priority deadline may only be considered for admission if enrollment limits have not yet been met. The following is the graduate application review schedule:

Complete application files received by the priority deadline of:	will be reviewed in the month of:	for admission in term (or later):	Decision letter will be emailed on or near:
July 1	July	Fall	July 15
November 1	November	Spring	November 15
April 1	April	Summer	April 15

Admission decisions are not made based on single admission criteria (e.g., GRE scores, GPA, SPG, etc.). Applicant’s files are evaluated holistically when estimating an applicant’s readiness for graduate study; therefore, submitting the required admissions documents or attaining the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to the program.

♦ Indicates prerequisite.