Graduate Education Degree Program

It’s not too late to become an educator, even if your bachelor’s degree isn’t in education. Our Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) degree prepares you for the K-6 classroom. Regardless of your undergraduate major, you can earn your M.A.T. degree in a little over two years by taking two evening classes per week each semester. 

What Is Required?

The degree requires 36-39 hours of coursework that prepares you to be licensed in the state of North Carolina as a 21st century educator.  You combine what you learn in the classroom with practical experience throughout the program. Visits to accredited public schools during your first three semesters enable you to put theory into practice.  You can apply for initial certification (“A”) in North Carolina after you successfully complete the first three semesters of classes, successfully student teach, and pass North Carolina licensure tests.  

Once you have successfully completed all requirements for the initial license, you may continue to work toward the next level of mastery. To do this, you must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 for your first four semesters of work. Upon completion of the second part of the program, successful candidates are eligible to sit for advanced licensure (“M”) in North Carolina.

If you want more information about the M.A.T., email Melinda McCabe at m.mccabe@wingate.edu.

The Master of Arts in Education in Elementary Education (M.A.Ed.) is designed for students who hold a current teaching license or who have completed an Education program and are eligible for initial licensure. Program graduates are eligible for advanced licensure (“M”) in Elementary Education K-6.

What Is Required?
If you want to advance your career, you can earn a master’s degree by taking 30 hours of coursework to expand your knowledge of the following:

• Content and Curriculum 
• Curriculum Decision-Making
• Respectful Educational Environments
• Student Learning
• Teaching Problem Solving and Quantitative Reasoning
   

If you want more information about the M.A.Ed., email Dr. Rebekah Kelleher at rkellehe@wingate.edu.

Our Master of Arts in Education in Educational Leadership degree prepares you to be more than a principal.  It prepares you to be a leader, master teacher, and researcher. 

What Is Required?
Classes for the education leadership degree are held in the evenings.  To earn the degree, you’ll take 37 semester hours of coursework that focus on topics that matter most to principals, including:

• Finance
• Leadership
• Technology

After finishing 8 of the 10 courses, you spend a total of 475 hours completing field experiences and internships to apply your classroom learning to actual school settings as you take the final two courses. The leadership portfolio you submit with your internships ties your research, coursework and field experiences together. 

If you want more information about the M.A.Ed. in Educational Leadership, email Karen Morgal at k.morgal@wingate.edu

What is Required for Admissions to the Program for an Educational Specialist degree?
Applicants must submit:

• Wingate University School of Graduate Education online application
• Two copies of official transcripts from each institution attended (after high school)
• Brief vitae (not to exceed two pages)
• One page letter of intent stating professional goals
• Three letters of professional recommendation describing the applicant’s leadership skills

Letters must come from supervisory or administrative personnel who have had direct
experience with the applicant or from the faculty member of a master’s degree program.

• TOEFL for International students whose first language is not English

Interview:

• On-campus interviews with a faculty committee for those taking the program in the on campus format. Skype interviews with a faculty committee for those taking the program in an online format. At the time of the interview, applicants must complete and submit a writing sample.

What Is Required to Complete the Program? 

Students can earn an Ed.S. in Higher Education Executive Leadership by successfully completing 42 hours of courses in the following areas:

• Leadership and organizational development
• Effective programs and services of a community college
• Traits of a highly successful community college
• The program provides both the theoretical and practical applications needed for leaders in the 21st century.  The program uses a cohort model to encourage students to develop a strong network of support and professional relationships.

For more information about the Ed.S. in Higher Education Executive Leadership, contact Dr.
John McKay, Assistant Coordinator, j.mckay@wingate.edu. 

Program overview:

This online program prepares individuals to become leaders of 21^st century institutions of higher education. This includes the positions of department head or director, dean, vice president or president. The curriculum, rich in theory and application, focuses on leadership, organizational development, the change process, and programs and services of highly effective institutions. During the first two years, each course requires a 6- to 8-hour practicum.

Faculty, full-time and adjunct, are current or retired higher education administrators. These include three presidents and three vice-presidential level positions plus highly qualified faculty in statistics and data analysis. Our professors are dedicated to helping students succeed. And succeed, they have: 62% of graduates have gotten new positions after completing the program. These include three presidencies, two executive vice presidencies, and numerous vice president, dean and department head positions.

The 2019 cohort was the ninth cohort admitted. All students in the first six have completed all courses; 76% have received the Doctorate of Education degree; 80% have completed year two of the program to earn their Educational Specialist degree. 

What is Required for Admission to the Higher Education Executive Leadership
Doctoral program?

In addition to a completed application, you'll need to submit a one-page letter of intent detailing why you wish to attend this program, two copies of your official transcripts from any college or university attended. If you are an international student and English is not your first language, you'll also need to compete the TOEFL.

How is the Program Structured?

Designed to be completed in three years and to suit the schedules of busy professionals, the program is delivered synchronously via Zoom on Saturdays. The program is 63 semester hours with 21 hours delivered each year. All courses are required to be taken in the semester offered. Two courses, each consisting of five class sessions, are taken each semester. In each semester there are five open Saturdays. The schedule is shared several months in advance so you can plan your weekends. There are no on-campus requirements. A new cohort is admitted each fall semester at which time each student is assigned a faculty advisor.

Students complete 42 hours of courses in the following areas:

• Leadership and organizational development
• Effective programs and services of a community college
• Traits of a highly successful community college

After passing the Comprehensive Exam, you will begin work on your Capstone Project, a problem-centered, action research project on a topic of interest to you and your institution. Your degree is complete when you finish 9 additional credit hours in developing the Capstone Project, 12 credit hours in research for the Capstone Project, and successfully complete and defend the project.

For more information about the Ed.S. in Higher Education Executive Leadership, contact Dr.
John McKay, Assistant Coordinator, j.mckay@wingate.edu.