In South Carolina, there are several schools where applicants seeking an accredited educational leadership degree discover opportunities that meet a plethora of student needs. Whether attending online or brick-and-mortar classes, students in South Carolina looking to upgrade their educational leadership credentials can find the necessary degrees in both public and private universities. Educational leadership is an essential element of the nation’s educational development systems. Without the guidance offered by effective leadership, the education system would become a non-directional entity with no purpose other than existence. Communities and schools alike need the guidance of professionals in educational leadership positions to function in the future that beckons those with new ideas. Educational leadership programs provide the tools administrators and supervisors need to ensure that those new ideas bear fruit.
Anderson University
Online and Continuous Education
While Anderson University is a Christian based school, that does not mean that it is hesitant to take up the advances offered through online education. All graduate classes at Anderson University are presented online. As such, the University has concentrated on developing an online presence that is imaginative, collaborative, and provocative. The school only admits students with a firm faith background and hires instructors with the same outlook on life. Through an excellent online program, students gain an education that is fulfilling as well as informative. The online school is noted as one of the top schools in the south by US News and World Report.
Master of Education-Administration and Supervision
As with all graduate courses at Anderson University, the Master of Education of Educational-Administration and Supervision is an online course with a punch. The minimum expectations from this course are to pass the PRAXIS II exam that is required for all supervisors and principals in elementary and secondary schools in South Carolina. Many former students who have moved into leadership positions at various levels of education, return to mentor, or share what they have learned with new students. The program has the full accreditation of education organizations and is considered one of the finer courses about educational leadership in the south. Taking this course exposes the student to several fundamental educational themes including Vision and goals, the art of teaching, the substance of learning, management of operational systems, school and community collaboration, the ethics of teaching, and an all-around observation of the practices that ground the educational system. The school accents all these themes through the lens of diversity.
Accreditations
- National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- South Carolina State Department of Education
Contact
Anderson University
316 Boulevard
Anderson, SC 29621
(864) 231-5510
(800) 542-3594
https://online.andersonuniversity.edu/graduate/master-of-education-administration-and-supervision
Charleston Southern University
The Graduate School
The Graduate School at Charleston Southern University started offering Master’s and Doctorate degrees to aspiring students since the inception of the school in 1964. One of the primary tenets of the University is an abiding faith in the Christian ethical structure. Every class in every area of study includes an approach to the subjects through the eyes of the Christian faith. The Graduate School offers its courses in three ways: face-to-face classes, online classes, and a hybrid of both methods. The Graduate School utilizes experienced professionals as faculty in fields such as Business, Health Care, Education, Criminal Justice, and Science.
Doctor of Education in Leadership
The Doctor of Education in Leadership degree offered by The Graduate School at Charleston Southern University is one of the few accredited educational leadership degree programs in South Carolina that is provided through two separate channels or methods of instruction. Students can elect to take the full 60 credit-hour programs on campus or take a hybrid approach that combines face-to-face instruction with online classes thrown in. The classes are limited to a ratio of 14 students to one instructor encouraging a family type of engagement with the subject of leadership. The program reaches into every community in South Carolina to enhance leadership abilities for those who guide public and private organizations, school districts, federal and state government agencies, police departments, and so much more. The Graduate School at Charleston Southern University is recognized throughout the state as a fundamental ingredient to the ethical and conscientious approach to changing social needs that are continually developing in any democracy.
Accreditations
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Contact
Charleston Southern University
9200 University Boulevard
Charleston, SC 29406
Phone: (843) 863-7050
https://www.charlestonsouthern.edu/graduate-school/
Clemson University
College of Education
The College of Education at Clemson University offers accredited programs in South Carolina for those seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees in fields essential to the maintenance and improvement of the state’s educational system. The graduate programs target those who are already working as instructors or administrators in the elementary to secondary schools throughout the state. The school uses a faculty of experienced professionals to present and discuss emerging concepts of how to deal with the tricky balance between the education system and the community. Graduates with Master or Doctoral degrees are encouraged to work in disadvantaged segments of the state’s social structure to help repair develop crumbling social foundations to encourage development through education.
PhD Educational Leadership
The PhD in Educational Leadership offered through the College of Education at Clemson University prepares students to embrace and conquer the full expanse of leadership issues in the educational system. During the program, students are exposed to intense concentrations on subjects from ethical conduct to leadership techniques. The program consists of two paths—a concentration on P-12 leadership and a concentration on higher education leadership. The student chooses their path early and enters the courses with the clear knowledge that their path will land them in an administrative position that relates directly to the surrounding community and the public beyond. The program includes 58 graduate-level credit-hours beyond the required Master’s degree already accomplished. Eighteen of those credit hours are devoted to the development of a publishable dissertation that incorporates all aspects of the 40 credit hours of in-class study that includes ethics, problem-solving, organizational structure, leadership techniques, and current developing problems for the education system.
MEd Administration and Supervision
The Master of Education in Administration and Supervision degree at the College of Education in Clemson University is a 36 graduate-level credit-hour program designed for those who are already teaching or working as administrators in the educational system of South Carolina. The accreditation and reputation of the program are high enough that many states outside South Carolina accept the degree as a pertinent credential when pursuing higher administrative positions. The program is offered online so that those who are working can continue to work and apply the theories they learn in class to the practical environment in which they work. The program features an intentionally accumulative approach to leadership in education and the public arena through a concentration of the effects of the rural environment, urban crowding, poverty, and racial tensions. Successful graduates find themselves eligible for leadership positions in elementary and secondary education such as principal, assistant principal, head of departments, athletic directors, and curriculum directors.
Accreditations
- The Council of Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
- Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
- South Carolina State Department of Education
Contact
Clemson University
College of Education
102 Tillman Hall
Clemson, SC 29634-0702
(864) 656-7656
https://www.clemson.edu/education/
Coastal Carolina University
Spadoni College of Education
In 1993 Coastal Carolina University became a separate entity divesting itself from the confines of the South Carolina University system. The immediate result was the accreditation of a graduate level program in the Spadoni College of Education with 14 graduate-level students taking courses on campus. Since then, the graduate level programs have increased to 43 different programs with 21 of those within the Spadoni College of Education. In 1998 the College of Education began offering graduate level classes online to reach out to students across the nation, providing a vibrant and growing online presence that is designed to improve with each semester.
Master of Education in Educational Leadership
The Master of Education in Educational Leadership offered at the Spadoni College of Education in Coastal Carolina University is a 36 credit-hour graduate-level program designed for working teachers and administrators who are seeking advancement in their field. Of the 36 credit-hour minimum 27 credit hours are required courses leaving nine credit-hours of electives selected from the graduate level educational program list offered by the Spadoni College of Education. State laws require that graduates of this program also pass the PRAXIS II exam before attaining eligibility to higher level administrative jobs in the South Carolina education system. The courses come in a hybrid form with some requiring attendance in face-to-face classrooms, and others offered online. The program is designed to take two years of continuous education from start to finish to get the degree. The average class size is 14 students who work in a cohort atmosphere to explore new territory instructed by professionals with current experience in the educational leadership field.
PhD in Educational Leadership
The PhD in Educational Leadership offered at the Spadoni College of Education by Coastal Carolina University is a tough program to enter. The admission requirements are difficult to meet, which means the students entering the program are at the top of their game. Once a student enters the program, the program gets tougher. The graduate of this program will have completed 63 graduate credit-hours of study with 21 of those graduate credit-hours within the leadership specialization. Asides from the individual courses that are taught by highly motivated instructors, the student must pass an intense comprehensive examination that covers every aspect of the program and produces a publishable dissertation that deals with new or continuing issues that concern educational leadership in South Carolina. The program is hybrid in design with some courses in a physical classroom and others available online. A graduate with this degree in hand has a leg up when applying for District Superintendent positions in the public-school sector and elsewhere.
Accreditations
- South Carolina State Department of Education
- National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
Contact
Coastal Carolina University
P.O. Box 261954
Conway, SC 29528-6054
(843) 349-2394
https://www.coastal.edu/education/graduateprograms/mededleadership/
Columbia College
Education Department
Since the founding of Columbia College in 1859, the school has centered on the production of effective and dynamic teachers that have influenced children across the nation. Founded as a school for women, the Education Department began accepting male students into evening classes as well as its new graduate-level programs in the 1980s. U.S. News and World report ranks Columbia College as one of the top regional liberal arts schools. In 2011 the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Support and Advancement of Education selected Columbia College professor Dr. John Zibizarreta as “U.S. Professor of the Year.”
Master of Education in Higher Education Administration
The structure of classes for students applying for a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration degree at Columbia College is, in a word, unique. The courses are intense with 30 graduate level credit-hours of study taken over a one-year time frame. To take the course, the student must be available to take weekend courses on campus. These courses last for two days, four times per semester. During the in-class periods, instructors currently working in the educational leadership field provide the guidance needed to keep students on the degree trail. During the rest of the terms, students work independently or in cohorts to digest the material provided and work out the theories which they are free to apply in their classrooms. Students are not limited to a physical presence; they can work together and communicate online, though the school does not provide any classes online for this degree.
Accreditations
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
Contact
Columbia College
1301 Columbia College Dr.
Columbia, SC 29203
(800) 277-1301
https://www.columbiasc.edu/academics/graduate-program
Converse College
Education
Converse College was founded in 1889 as a women’s college. Today, the undergraduate school of education is still limited to women, but the graduate level courses are co-ed with both men and women competing for the few student positions available in each Master’s level program. The classes are limited to 13 students per instructor. Those lucky enough to gain entrance into the college are part of a school that is rated in the top five percent nationally for master’s programs in research, service and social mobility by Washington Monthly, top 10% of colleges in the nation by the National Survey for Student Engagement, and in the Top Ten Best Value list by U.S. News and World Report.
Master of Education in Administration and Supervision
The Master of Education in Administration and Supervision degree offered by the Education Department at Converse College is a 36 graduate level credit-hour program that is only available on the Converse College campus during evening classes. The program is designed for existing teachers who are busy in the classroom during the day and are dedicated enough to spend their evening hours working on their continuing education for an intense two-year period. The classes include studies in organizational behavior, politics and education, benefits and challenges of diversity, education and the law, administrative techniques, and how to identify and develop leadership qualities in students, teachers and fellow administrators. Graduates from this program at Converse College enjoy the reputation and commitment of graduates who have excelled in various leadership positions within the education community and the general populace as well. Students who attain the degree are immediately eligible for principal and supervision jobs throughout the South Carolina education system.
Accreditations
- South Carolina State Education Department
Contact
Office of Graduate Admission
Converse College
580 East Main Street
Spartanburg, SC 29302-1931
(864) 596-9000
https://www.converse.edu/academics/graduate/
Related Resource: Top 20 Best Master’s in Educational Leadership Online
South Carolina began as a forward-thinking colony of the British Empire. She grew to become an essential part of an emerging nation; a nation that brought forth new concepts in governance and education. The leadership of the educational systems in South Carolina will always be at the forefront of the battle against ignorance. The colleges and universities in South Carolina that offer accredited educational leadership degrees provide more than just a degree; they offer a consistent vision that unites the effort to enhance the lives of every student the education system touches.
