Department of Educational Leadership
and Cultural Foundations
Application Criteria & Procedures
The School of Education's formal admission requirements for masters, specialist, and doctoral studies specify the following:
- a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better during the last half of the bachelor's degree, or a GPA of 3.5 during the master's degree;
- For the Ed.S. and Ed.D. programs, a master's degree from an accredited institution; and
- an acceptable score on the GRE or MAT exams.
However, admissions decisions are based on an applicant's full set of application materials. All evidence about a prospective student, including work experience, recommendations and letters of reference, the individual's personal statement, and especially evidence that the individual will be capable of completing a dissertation, will be used in making admissions decisions. If an applicant's GRE scores are low, the applicant may be granted provisional admission, with a stipulation that they will be granted full admission upon successfully completing 12 semester hours of coursework in the program. Please note that in this department we take very seriously the selection process of applicants. A rigorous review process occurs by faculty committees and the department as a whole.
Application materials programs can be downloaded from: http://www.uncg.edu/grs. It is possible to complete the application form online, but hard copies of supporting materials will still need to be submitted.
Please click here if you need to request information from the Graduate School.
Applicants should submit the following items in order to complete their application (these should be sent to the Graduate School):
- Completed application form and application fee;
- Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate coursework. For MSA applicants: two copies of official transcripts from all prior universities attended;
- Three letters of recommendation that speak to your leadership and/or academic qualifications. For MSA students, we suggest that one should come from a principal with whom you have worked in the last 3 years;
- A resume or curriculum vitae;
- An official copy of your GRE or MAT scores (Graduate Record Examination; visit www.ets.org for more information);
- For MSA applicants: Evidence of 3 years of licensed teaching or elibility for teaching licensure if not currently licensed;
- A personal statement, addressing at least one of the following:
For Ed. S. & Ed.D. in Educational Leadership applicants (3-5 pages in length):
- Ed.S. / Ed.D. Prompts (approved 10-21-06)
- The personal statement is a key component of the application packet. It is your primary opportunity to help us understand your beliefs, values, and commitments--that is, who you are as person and an educator.
- Please respond to one of the prompts below. Your response should be 3 – 5
pages in length.
- What about schools or society angers you? How might your graduate studies help you improve this situation?
- How should education contribute to democratic values, attitudes and behavior? How can educational leaders contribute to that process?
- What does it mean to have a culture of social justice? How can/should schools bring this about?
- Page 1: Briefly detail your professional goals.
- Pages 2-4 : Respond to 2 of the 3 prompts listed here:
- The most critical issue in education is ...
- The leadership of a school makes all the difference because ...
- North Carolina schools could improve by ...
- Note: Please title each topic in your paper.
For Ph.D. in Curriculum & Teaching (Cultural Studies) applicants:- Describe why this program is of interest to you
- Describe the professional and personal concerns, commitments, and interests that make you wish to pursue this Ph.D. program.
Due to fairly complex reasons North Carolina administrative licensure reasons, the ELC Department recommends that applicants for the Ed.D. program apply to both the Ed.S. and Ed.D. programs. The Ed.S. program is essentially a subset of the Ed.D. program, and obtaining the Ed.S. degree and North Carolina administrative licensure (AP/AS) can lead to salary increases for some administrative professionals in North Carolina. To apply for dual admission to the Ed.S. and Ed.D. programs, complete a single application, applying for admission to both programs at the same time (and paying a single application fee). (Persons using the online application should select the program code for the Ed.D. program but should specify in their personal statement that they are applying for both the Ed.S. and Ed.D. programs.) If you are admitted to both programs, you will be maintained in the UNCG system as an Ed.S. student until you have nearly completed the requirements for the degree and apply for graduation from that program. At that time, you will be moved into the Ed.D. program, pending written approval from the Department based on evidence of strong progress in your course work. (The Department also reserves the right to recommend initial admission to the Ed.S. program only, with the provision that students may be moved into the Ed.D. program if they show appropriate progress in their course work.)
The Department makes MSA admissions decisions in October and March of each year. Applications for the Spring semester must be completely submitted by October 1st. Applications for the Fall semester must be completely submitted by March 1st. For further information you may visit the website on http://www.uncg.edu/elc/msa.html
The Department makes Ed.S. and Ed.D. admissions decisions in October and February of each year. Completed applications (with all supporting materials, including GRE or MAT scores) must be received by the Graduate School by September 1 and January 1, respectively, to be considered. Ph.D. decisions are made in February/March, with application materials due by December 1.
Please note that although the Graduate School may indicate that your application has been sent to the department for review, this may not actually be the case. We will not review your application packet until ALL of your application materials have been received. The Graduate School forwards your application packet to the Student Advisory and Recruitment Center (SARC; Brenda Jones bhjones2@uncg.edu) and SARC houses it until all materials have been received, at which time it forwards it to the department.
Through the UNCG "VISIONS" program, students can take several courses before formal admission into a degree program. However, the number of courses taken prior to admission that may be counted toward the Ed.D. degree is two courses (6 semester hours).
Information about VISIONS enrollment is available at: http://www.uncg.edu/grs/visions/