It’s been said that there are no good schools without good principals.
That’s because principals set the tone for a building’s learning and professional environment. Do teachers feel empowered and appreciated? Are policies consistent and fair? Is there a sense of community among staff, students, teachers and families? Are students thriving?
If you are ready for school building leadership and passionate about fostering a healthy school environment, you can prepare to become that kind of principal through UW’s experiential school principal certificate program.
Offered online, UW’s school principal graduate certificate program allows you to acquire the knowledge and experience necessary to earn a Wyoming’s Professional Teaching Standards Board endorsement as a K-12 principal while maintaining your current teaching position.
About the School Principal Program
UW’s 24-credit hour, online school principal certificate program is designed for licensed teachers who hold a master’s degree in education or related area from an accredited college or university. Utilize your coursework towards further degrees in educational leadership.
Emphasizing the study of educational leadership and an in-depth principal internship, the program qualifies you for a Wyoming state K-12 principal endorsement, while also equipping you with skills you can use to drive positive change at the building level.
School Principal Certificate Program Admission
Application Deadlines
February 1 - If applying for following fall, or spring semester.
September 1 - If applying for following spring, or fall semester.
Admission Requirements
Domestic Students
GPA: 3.0
in Master’s
GRE: no requirement
International Students
TOEFL: 550 minimum written or 80 minimum online, OR IELTS: 6.5 minimum overall score
GRE: 900/291 minimum
Additional Requirements
Must have a minimum of 3 years teaching experience
How to Apply
Step 1: Apply to UW and the School of Counseling, Leadership, Advocacy and Design through the online applicant portal.
- Access the UW graduate applicant portal. Make sure to use the corresponding application admittance semester indicated above.
- After completing the initial information page, you will receive an email from the system including a link and your temporary username and password.
- Please complete the contact, academic, residency information, etc.
- Submit the application fee
- Submit ALL required documents to the online document portal (see below for details)
- Agree to admissions terms and submit your application
Step 2: Submit official copies of transcripts and test scores to UW Admissions.
Required Documents
Please include ALL documents listed below in order for your application to be considered.
- A letter of intent describing why you want to be an educational leader
- A current resume
- Copy of current teaching certificate
- Unofficial copies of transcripts (official copies should be sent to UW Admissions)
- A completed principal program application
- A superintendent approval form signed by the superintendent of the district where you plan to perform your internship (scan and upload)
- Current recommendation letters addressing leadership skills from three different referees (the portal will send a request to each of them after you enter their email addresses):
- two from referees who are familiar with your leadership skills
- current principal
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Required Courses (24 credit hours)
- EDAD 5010 Leadership for Curriculum Development (3 credit hours)
- EDAD 5020 Leadership for School Organization (3 credit hours)
- EDAD 5030 Leadership for School and Community Relations (3 credit hours)
- EDAD 5040 Leadership for Instruction (3 credit hours)
- EDAD 5580 Supervised Internship(6 credit hours)
- EDRE 5530 Introduction to Research (3 credit hours)
- EDAD 5080 Introduction to School Law (3 credit hours) Please note: this course is NOT required for students who were admitted spring 2016 or earlier.