Educational Leadership Degrees in Arkansas

Arkansas State University

College of Education and Behavioral Science

Arkansas State University chooses to honor its past 100 years of existence by looking toward the future and providing education designed to create leaders both in professional settings and within the community. The College of Education and Behavioral Science houses several departments devoted to the teaching arts, educational leadership, psychology and sports sciences. Among these departments, the relatively new Center for Excellence in Education houses the educational leadership doctoral program detailed below, while the School of Teacher Education and Leadership provides a variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees for aspiring teachers and education leaders.

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

The doctoral degree in educational leadership is the highest professional degree offered within the field of education and is designed for students who aspire to administrative positions at the elementary, secondary, and collegiate levels. The program follows a prescribed curriculum of required and elective courses, a series of comprehensive examinations, and a major research project that results in presenting and defending a doctoral dissertation. It is based on a cohort model, in which all doctoral students within the program take the same courses together, providing a support network for all involved and leading to higher overall graduation rates from the program. The curriculum includes courses in subjects such as educational leadership practices, curriculum and instruction, educational policy and the law, qualitative research and evaluation, and organizational development in education. Students will acquire a minimum of 54 credit hours when striving for this degree, including credits for courses in research and dissertation.

Contact 
Arkansas State University
Center for Excellence in Education
PO Box 1270
State University, AR 72467
870-972-3943
Website

Arkansas Tech University

Graduate College, Center for Leadership & Learning

Arkansas Tech University is one of the fastest growing universities in the state, with a campus small enough for individualized attention but large enough for world-class education. The Center for Leadership & Learning is a department within the university’s Graduate School, offering graduate degrees exclusively geared toward readying students for licensing as principals and assistant principals. It offers four related degrees geared toward different facets of education leadership, three master’s degrees and one specialist degree. As at Arkansas State University, here too are students admitted to these graduate programs in cohorts, groups of students that take all of their courses together throughout the program.

Master of Education in Educational Leadership

Students seeking admission to this degree program must have a minimum of two years of teaching experience and approval by the Program Director, in addition to meeting the other requirements for admission into the Graduate College. The Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership requires a minimum of 34 semester hours at the 6000 level of courses and a portfolio of the student’s best work completed throughout the course of study. This portfolio demonstrates competency in the six standards for licensure in the state of Arkansas, those being educational leadership, school management, school climate, community relations, curriculum management, and data collection and analysis. Students must also apply for candidacy within the program upon completion of the initial twelve semester hours of study and file an application for graduation either online or through the Registrar’s office within the same time frame.

Contact 
Arkansas Tech University
Center for Leadership & Learning
227 State Road 333 South
Russellville, AR 72802
479-498-6022
cll@atu.edu
Website

Henderson State University

The Teachers College

Henderson State University is Arkansas’ public liberal arts university, offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees to a diverse student body from across the United States and from 21 countries. The Teachers College offers several degree programs, both undergraduate and graduate, in subjects such as teaching and administration, but also in counseling, athletics, and dietetics, preparing students for various types of careers in the field of education. Throughout each of the programs, knowledge and skills for the 21st century are emphasized, intended to prepare graduates to become valuable citizens in a highly technological and diverse world.

Master of Science in Education, Educational Leadership

The Educational Leadership path of the Master of Science in Education program prepares students to be building leaders and curriculum administrators at all levels of primary and secondary school. Emphasis is on empowering educators to work more effectively and collaboratively with diverse populations and on improving skills in impacting student achievement and quality of life for students through educational pathways. Attainment of this degree requires completion of at least 30 credit hours, including courses that correspond to the required internships in elementary and secondary school grade levels. In addition, students are required to complete an Action Research Project on Impacting Student Achievement in which students will identify a student achievement need, plan and enact an intervention, and measure the results of this intervention on student achievement. Results are to be presented after completion of the internship requirements. Research will be ongoing throughout the program of study.

Contact 
Henderson State University
The Teachers College
1100 Henderson Street
HSU Box 7820
Arkadelphia, AR 71999
870-230-5367
harrisj@hsu.edu
Website

University of Arkansas

College of Education and Health Professions

Recently joining the top two percent of research universities within the United States, the University of Arkansas has been around for more than 150 years. It houses ten colleges that collectively offer more than 210 academic programs. The College of Education and Health Professions offers coursework in the areas of both education and health with programs as diverse as teaching, nursing, and human resource development. It is the second largest college at the University of Arkansas and serves more than 4,500 students. It bills itself as offering coursework in the “helping” professions, whether that includes help through education or help achieving and maintaining better health.

Master of Education in Educational Leadership

The educational leadership Master of Education degree is designed primarily to prepare students for licensure as leaders and administrators of elementary and secondary schools. It requires completion of a minimum of 33 graduate semester-hour credits. The credits are composed of 24 credits in core courses on subjects such as ethical leadership, school organization and administration, and school law. The remaining nine credits are taken in foundational courses which cover psychology or psychological foundations of teaching and learning, research methods, and society’s influence and historical involvement in education. In addition to the coursework, students must show satisfactory performance on a written comprehensive examination or a portfolio presentation, maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or above, and receive no grade lower than a “C” on any graduate level work. Upon completion of this degree program, students will be candidates for licensure in the various aspects of educational leadership.

Contact 
College of Education and Health Professions
University of Arkansas
Room 324 Graduate Education Building
Fayetteville, AR 72701 479-575-3208
Website

University of Central Arkansas

College of Education

The University of Central Arkansas is a public university with a history of excellence in its diverse degree programs and involvement with local, national and global communities. The College of Education encompasses departments that cover teacher preparation, early childhood and special education preparation, and educational leadership. It provides both undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as a transition to teaching program that prepares professionals in various fields to transition into teaching jobs. This college also houses several outreach and professional development programs geared toward improving teaching and leadership performance in the community and raising student achievement and success rates.

Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Leadership

The PhD in Leadership degree program at the University of Central Arkansas is a broader program than the others in that it seeks to prepare scholar leaders to act and research for the common good. In achieving this, it is an interdisciplinary program, pulling students and faculty together from a variety of academic backgrounds to prepare students to not only lead in an educational setting but also in a community capacity. The degree program involves 60 credit hours of study, broken down into leadership core courses, research core courses, cognate courses that can come from fields such as education, government, and nonprofit and provide deeper understanding and material for the dissertation, and the dissertation itself. Upon completion of this degree program, students will be prepared for licensure as school administrators and leaders, but also as leaders within other community, nonprofit, and government organizations that may affect education and decisions about education.

Contact 
University of Central Arkansas
PhD in Leadership Studies
201 Donaghey Avenue
Mashburn 235
Conway, AR 72034
501-852-0912
rmcclellan@uca.edu
Website

Whichever program you choose to follow on your path to educational leadership, becoming an administrator and leader within the educational system is a worthy calling and can result in a very rewarding career beyond that of classroom teacher. If you find yourself wanting to be a part of educational reform, educational leadership is the path to follow.