Educational Leadership Degrees


Educational Leadership degrees prepare you to work in leadership positions in various educational organizations. Many top-notch universities in the US such as Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, University of California-Berkeley, Columbia University, and so on offer degrees in Educational Leadership. Most of these universities offer master and doctoral degrees in this subject.

What Is Educational Leadership?

Educational Leadership is the study of educational management and leadership. This degree prepares students to become better leaders in educational organizations. With an in-depth knowledge in this field, you can form better educational policies, coordinate with administrative staff, and make well-informed decisions.

What Can You Do with an Educational Leadership Degree?

A degree in Educational Leadership can prepare you for any of the following jobs in an educational setting. Here are the salary details of some careers in Educational Leadership. The salary data of these careers was reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2019.

Postsecondary Education Administrators

With a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and field experience of up to 5 years, you will be eligible to work in this position. Postsecondary Education Administrators perform activities related to research, teaching, student administration services, and other educational activities at postsecondary institutions.

Annual Median Salary, 2019 $95,410
Job Outlook, 2018-2028 7%
Annual Mean Salary, 2019 $112,400
State with the Highest Employment Level, 2019 California 11,670
State with the Highest Salary, 2019 New Jersey $154,430

Instructional Coordinators

After completing a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and gaining more than 5 years of field experience, you can work as an Instructional Coordinator. The job of an instructional coordinator is to develop instructional material, incorporate the latest technology in pedagogy that helps educators in developing curricula and conducting courses.

Annual Median Salary, 2019 $66,290
Job Outlook, 2018-2028 6%
Annual Mean Salary, 2019 $69,180
State with the Highest Employment Level, 2019 California 20,910
State with the Highest Salary, 2019 District of Columbia $96,640

Postsecondary Teachers-Postsecondary Education Teachers

After graduating with a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, you can get employed as a postsecondary education teacher. People in this field typically teach courses related to their area of expertise. Moreover, they carry out research and supervise research students as well.

Annual Median Salary, 2019 $65,510
Job Outlook, 2018-2028 11%
Annual Mean Salary, 2019 $74,560
State with the Highest Employment Level, 2019 New York 6,210
State with the Highest Salary, 2019 Alaska $106,280

What to Expect from an Educational Leadership Degree?

The degree you chose to complete must prepare you well for a job in the real world. The question is, how to find out if the degree is relevant to your future career. The answer lies in the curriculum. Therefore, you must check out the curriculum of the desired degree to see if it fits your future goals. For example, the curriculum of M.A./Ph.D. in Policy, Politics, and Leadership offered by the University of California Berkeley has courses like,

  • Leadership in Educational Organizations
  • Policy Analysis and Program Implementation
  • Politics of Education Advocacy
  • School Improvement, etc.

For details on the curriculum of a degree, please visit the official website of the desired university.

How to Choose an Educational Leadership Degree?

Several important features such as accreditation of degree program, the ranking of the institution, courses in the curriculum, requirements of admission and graduation, mode of delivery, etc. must be considered while applying for any degree.

The graduation requirements differ for each degree and institute. For example, Doctor in Education Leadership offered by the Teachers College at Columbia University requires its students to complete 90 credit hours to graduate. On the other hand, the Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis offered by the University of Wisconsin-Maddison requires its students to complete 30 credit hours to graduate.

Educational Leadership Degree Admission Requirements

The requirements of admission typically vary from one-degree type and institution to another. For example, if you want to apply for the Master in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS) offered at Harvard University, you will need to submit an online application with;

  • Online application
  • Application fee
  • College/University transcripts
  • 3 letters of recommendation
  • Statement of Purpose
  • CV/Resume
  • TOEFL scores (for international applicants)
  • GRE scores

For specific details on a degree, please see the official website of the selected university.