Admission to the Performance-Based Specialist Degree Program
(30 hours)

To be considered for admission to the specialist degree program, the applicant must hold a master’s degree from an accredited or PSC approved college or university and be certified in educational leadership (L5 or NL5). NL certification can be obtained by posting a passing score on the GACE Leadership exam. Applicant must be employed in a leadership role as defined by the local system (see below). Applicants must have a cumulative graduate grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale calculated on all work attempted. Verification in the form of official transcripts is required. All specialist degree programs require an acceptable Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller’s Analogy Test (MAT) score. Acceptable scores for admission are:

            GRE 850 (At least 400 verbal score and either quantitative or analytical portion)

            MAT 390

Applicants must also submit a Superintendent’s Assurance Form verifying the required leadership role. Examples include, but are not limited to; team leader, grade chair, department chair, SACS team chair, academic coach, school improvement team leader, athletic director, assistant principal,  principal, curriculum coordinator, or special education director.