Educational Leadership K-12 - Ph.D. at Kent State University

• Master's degree from an accredited college or university for unconditional admission
• Minimum 3.500 GPA on a 4.000 point scale for unconditional admission
• Official transcript(s) from each college or university in which 8 semester or 12 quarter credit hours were earned
• Detailed résumé or curriculum vitae
• Goal statement
• Two letters of recommendation (minimum one academic reference is preferred)
• Interview
• English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning one of the following:
  • Minimum 550 TOEFL PBT score (paper-based version)
  • Minimum 79 TOEFL IBT score (Internet-based version)
  • Minimum 77 MELAB score
  • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
  • Minimum 58 PTE score
  • Minimum 110 Duolingo English Test score

Program faculty attempt a holistic evaluation of applicants for the Ph.D.degree.

In addition to the criteria above, admission is based on work experience, prior leadership, professionalism and ethics, interpersonal skills and performance during the interview.Students may submit materials they feel will more accurately reflect their potential to succeed within the program (e.g., master's thesis, publications).

For more information about graduate admissions, please visit the Graduate Studies admission website .For more information on international admission, visit the Office of Global Education's admission website.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the program will be able to:

1. Facilitate collaboratively the development, articulation, implementation and stewardship of a shared school vision of learning through the collection and use of data to identify school goals.
2. Sustain a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning through collaboration, trust and a personalized learning environment with high expectations for students.
3. Create and evaluate a comprehensive, rigorous and coherent curricular and instructional school program.
4. Act in an ethical manner with integrity and fairness to ensure a school system of accountability for every student's academic and social success by modeling school principles of self-awareness, reflective practice, transparency and ethical behavior as related to their roles within the school.
5. Safeguard the values of democracy, equity and diversity within the school.
6. Evaluate the potential moral and legal consequences of decision-making in the school.
7. Promote social justice within the school to ensure that individual student needs inform all aspects of schooling.

Submitting your English test score

When applying as an undergraduate or graduate student to Kent State, there are a variety of ways to submit your score depending on which type of test you took.

• Students should request that ETS send official TOEFL scores directly to Kent (institution code: 1367).
• An IELTS or PTE report needs to be uploaded as a scanned PDF into our online application system..

All English scores will be verified for authenticity. Students with fraudulent documents will result in denial of admission or immediate dismissal.

Proficiency Waivers

Depending on your educational background, you may be eligible for an English language proficiency waiver, meaning you do not need to take a language exam. See our country list and related requirements.