Bridgewater State University’s long history of close collaboration with regional school systems and its tradition of leadership in areas such as special education, literacy education, teacher mentoring and professional development contribute to the depth and strength of its educational leadership programs.
Educational Leadership (Non-Licensure), MEd
- Diverse faculty with extensive teaching and administrative experience, as well as ongoing participation in educational research, scholarly publication and professional organizations
- Accommodating schedules, including Friday evening and Saturday courses during the academic year, and four-week intensive courses during the summer
- Prepractica and practica opportunities, enabling close collaboration with students from other programs within the College of Education and Allied Studies
- Small classes facilitating a more personalized learning experience
- Benefits of a state institution that has been training teachers for more than 175 years
- Affordable tuition, whether you live in state or out of state
Graduate Program Coordinator: Dr. Carol Young
Program email: eduleadership@bridgew.edu
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Admissions Requirements
- Online application - A completed and $50 application fee
- Resume - A resumé which demonstrates the applicant’s potential for leadership and academic achievement as evidenced by activities during his or her professional career or undergraduate studies
- Transcripts - Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work
- Letters of Recommendation - Three letters of recommendation (one from a supervisor)
- GPA - A minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75 based upon four years of coursework or 3.0 based upon work completed during the junior and senior years
- MTEL or GRE - Passing score on the Communication and Literacy Skills portion of the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
- Personal Statement - Prepare a brief, but careful statement on the candidate's philosophy of educational leadership
Application Deadlines
Rolling admission for Fall, Spring and Summer enrollment.
Applications that are not completed prior to the start of the semester will need to be moved to the next applicable semester.
Curriculum
Core Courses
EDLE 501 - Intro to Ed Leadership and School Reform
EDLE 511 - Educational Leadership and Managerial Effectiveness
EDLE 530 - Research Applications
EDLE 541 - Managing Human & Financial Resources
EDLE 547 - Designing the School/District Professional Learning Community
EDLE 566 - School Plant Planning and Administration
or
EDLE 579- Education of Diverse Population – Sheltered English Immersion (SEI)**
EDLE 569 - Legal Aspects of School Administration
EDLE 578 - Curriculum Improvement
**EDLE 566 is required for all licensure candidates who have SEI endorsement upon admission.
Additional Courses
Two courses (six credits) in electives from any of the 500-level graduate course offered in the College of Education and Health Sciences, as approved by program advisor
Total Minimum Credits: 30
*Please see the Graduate Academic Policies section of the Graduate Academic Catalog for additional information regarding comprehensive examinations.
***For the most up-to-date information regarding course descriptions, please visit our University Catalog.
Ian Barkon is a music educator with a passion not just for music but for teaching and learning. Prior to starting the Educational Leadership program, he looked at several programs, and Bridgewater had the courses hew was looking for.

Phyllis Gimbel joined the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership as an educational leader herself. A former teacher and principal, she respects the future academic leaders she trains just as she once did her students in French and Spanish: “I learn as much from my graduate students as I have learned anywhere else.”

Funding Opportunities
The College of Graduate Studies provides various opportunities for graduate students to receive funding while working towards their degrees. Appointments are competitive and are determined by undergraduate and/or graduate grade point averages, pertinent experience, educational preparation and interviews. For information on assistantships, fellowships and conference funding awards, please visit our Graduate Funding Opportunities page.
Program Learning Outcomes for Educational Leadership Program (2021)
In alignment with the mission of the BSU, licensure standards of DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) and accreditation of NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education), the Educational Leadership program objectives articulate student learning outcomes for all licensure and non-licensure candidates.
Completers of the program will:
- Develop, articulate, and implement a shared vision of leadership that serves and unites all students in the school community through effective teaching in a learning environment that serves common purposes while demonstrating an understanding of cultural, linguistic, ethnic, diversity, and its relationship to leadership practice.
- Be grounded in principles of rigorous scholarship and exemplary practice that prepares for the growth of students and the success of outstanding leaders in K-12 and non-k-12 organizations/institutions and provides the appropriate resources to keep the learning environment safe yet effective and efficient.
- Demonstrate a solid knowledge base, sophisticated reasoning skills, and effective partnerships with stakeholders that support the mission of the school and district to navigate clear directions and to make informed choices and decisions that lead to increased learning, the growth of students, and the success of all staff.
- Make nurturing and sustaining contributions to the cultures of schools and communities informed by recognition of continuous learning for staff, of environment of increased expectations for students and staff, and of the demands of local, state and federal agencies for increased levels of performance in all areas to promote success for all students.
- Establishes operational systems, procedures and routines that ensures a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment using sound fiscal planning to implement appropriate curriculum, staffing and scheduling.
- Further the knowledge of leadership and related educational disciplines by engaging, producing, and communicating research in order to gain the scholarly, academic, and leadership foundation necessary to teach and lead at all levels of education.
Program Learning Outcomes for Higher Education Administration (2021)
In alignment with the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), the Higher Education Administration concentration in the Educational Leadership program objectives articulate student learning outcomes for all higher education administration candidates.
Completers of the program will:
- Use multiple sources of information and their synthesis to solve problems and demonstrates high knowledge of how to access diverse sources of verifiable information. Detail personalized learning applicable to new problem-solving approaches based on new insights and recognizes one’s own capacity to create new understandings from learning activities and dialogue with others.
- Identify important problems, questions, and issues based on a thorough analysis of data. Present, interpret and make judgments of the relevance and quality of information from verifiable sources and uses assumptions to present alternative perspectives and solutions.
- Demonstrate healthy, mutually beneficial relationships others through high level of respect and manages interpersonal conflicts effectively. High level of collaboration evident in team projects and discussions. Demonstrate effective leadership in guiding and assisting a group, organization or community in meeting its goals. Communicate a vision, mission, or purpose that encourages commitment and action in others. Promote social justice principles and diversity appreciation.
- Convey meaning in a wide variety of ways that others can understand through the written work, oral presentation and reflection. Effectively articulate abstract ideas, using appropriate written skills to present experiences applicable to the work experiences of others in higher education. Demonstrate comprehensive technological literacy and skills to effectively communicate problem solving protocol in a higher education administration.
- Develop, articulate, and implement a shared vision of leadership that serves and unites all students in higher education through effective teaching in a learning environment that serves common purposes while demonstrating an understanding of cultural, linguistic, ethnic, diversity, and its relationship to leadership practice.
- Establish operational systems, procedures and routines that ensures a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment using sound fiscal planning to implement appropriate curriculum, staffing and scheduling.