The Education and Community Leadership Program is committed to developing leaders that understand the process and conditions necessary for building and nurturing strong and healthy organizations including schools, families, and communities. Commitment to this philosophy is demonstrated with a broad-based rigorous curriculum, a strong-relevant instruction, and the monitoring of students at various points in the program including the ongoing use of the fitness form. This process is student-centered and set up for their success.

As a practice the program faculty strongly recommend a six hour course load for students who have full-time employment. The faculty believes that a course load beyond the six hour recommendation will compromise the quality of work, quality of life, and quality of the learning experience. Students who wish to apply for an exception to this practice should contact the administrative assistant, Ms Dona Lookabaugh at dona@txstate.edu

Texas State’s Master’s Degree plus Principal Certification program is a 39 semester hours, including a two-semester, field-based practicum. Students may begin the program in the Summer I and the Fall semesters on the Texas State campus and at the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC). The course sequence is as follows:

Level I:
  • EDA 5339 Understanding Self: Developing a Personal Vision for Leadership*
  • EDA 5340 Understanding Organizations & Using Inquiry
  • EDA 5345 Understanding People: Professional Development
  • EDA 5347 Understanding Environments: Social, Political, Economic, Legal, & Technical
  • EDA 5348 Supervision of Instruction

    Level II:
  • EDA 6342 Curriculum Design
  • EDA 6344 Campus Leadership
  • EDA 6348 School Law
  • EDA 6352 School as Center of Inquiry (Prerequisite to EDA 6358)

    Level III:
  • EDA 6343 Continuous School Improvement OR
  • EDA 6351 Models of Instruction
  • EDA 6358 Integrative Seminar (Prerequisite to EDA 6388)

    Level IV:
  • EDA 6387 Field Based Practicum (Fall Semester only)

    Certification Hours:
  • EDA 6388 Field Based Practicum (Spring Semester only)

    *Must be taken the first semester of course work.

    Masters of Education Degree = 36 hours
    Masters + Certification = 39 hours


    The normal graduate course load is two courses (6 hours) each semester. The first two courses taken in the program are EDA 5339 and one other Level I course (5340, 5345, 5347 or 5348). Students may combine the last Level I course with a course from Level II or Level III. Courses are offered on the Texas State campus as well as at a north Austin site, the RRHEC.