Education Leadership students work together.

K-12 Principalship

The Educational Specialist Degree (EdS) in Education Leadership: K-12 Principal and licensure as a K-12 Principal are designed for individuals who wish to achieve proficiency beyond the Master's degree in leadership roles such as:

• elementary or secondary principals
• curriculum director
• technical college director or vice president/president


This program is also for individuals who wish to pursue a degree higher than the Master's degree for greater competency in non-licensure roles such as:

• department chair
• curriculum committee chair
• lead teacher
• special project leader
• administrative assistant
• positions related to policy studies and research in public agencies


The Specialist Degree also satisfies the endorsement requirements for K-12 Principal licensure in Minnesota. Wisconsin accepts the WSU endorsement; Iowa requires that the candidate receive a Minnesota K-12 Principal license. The Minnesota K-12 Principal license is accepted, for at least a provisional principal’s license, in many states. For the Specialist Degree you must have completed a minimum of 30 credits beyond the Master’s Degree. This must include:

• 15-24 credits of Education Leadership Core Courses (or their equivalent done at the Master’s level), and
• 6 credits related to research; and
• 9 credits specific to the K-12 Principalship


Licensure as a K-12 Principal requires that you have completed three years as a teacher in the area in which you were certified.  Social workers, school counselors and school psychologists who do not have the three years of classroom experience are required to complete 1050 hours in student teaching/internship before being licensed as a K-12 Principal. For licensure only (not the EdS) as a K-12 Principal, requires:

• 21-24 credits of Core Courses (or their equivalent done at the Master’s level), and
• 9 credits specific to the K-12 Principalship


The 6 credits related to research are:

• EL 789 Writing Seminar: Specialist Degree Field Study
• EL 799 Specialist Degree Thesis/Field Study


The 9 credits specific to the K-12 Principalship are:

• EL 627 School Business Management (3 cr)
• EL 761 and EL 762 K-12 Principal Internship I and II - must be taken for a total of 320 internship hours (6cr)


Up to 10 graduate credits (beyond the MS degree) may be transferred into a WSU degree. Any graduate coursework taken in Education Leadership may be used to waive required coursework. Extended experience in a specific area of leadership may be considered when completing a program of study. See your program advisor for details.

A detailed description of the courses and additional information can be found in the course catalog.