Educational Specialist Degree and Principal Licensure

• Applicants may apply for admission to specialist degree programs at any time during the year.
• A master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, for which applicant maintained at least a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, is required for admission.
• Applicants must demonstrate the language proficiency necessary for successful graduate coursework.
• Applicants may complete an interview with the program administrator as part of the admission process.

Applicants must possess a master’s degree, including at least 21 credits from among any of the following: teaching techniques, curriculum design, communication skills, education research/assessment, education leadership or administration. If additional credits are required to meet the entrance requirement, those credits must be earned before starting Ed.S. program coursework

According to the Board of School Administrators for the State of Minnesota, an applicant for licensure as a superintendent, principal, or special education director shall have three years of successful classroom teaching experience while holding a classroom teaching license valid for the position (or positions) in which the experience was gained.

GMAT and GRE scores are not required.

Students may transfer a maximum of six semester credits earned before admittance upon recommendation of the program director and with approval of the dean.

All transfer credits are also subject to both graduate school and programmatic criteria.

Students with transcripts from universities located outside of the United States, unless from a waiver country listed here, are required to take and pass English Proficiency testing.

Saint Mary’s accepts:

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 4 (formerly 72)
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum score of 6.0
Duolingo with a minimum score of 105
International Test of English Proficiency (ITEP) with a minimum score of 4.0
Pearson Test of English with a score of 51
EIKEN with a minimum of Pre-1
Manchester Exam with a minimum score of 360

Applicants must submit the following:
Completed application form.

An official transcript(s) issued to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota from the institution posting the applicant’s completed master’s degree and other relevant transcripts documenting program prerequisites and potential transfer credits. (An official transcript is one that is sent to the university by the credit-granting institution.)

Saint Mary’s can order and cover the cost of transcripts from institutions that allow third-party requests for eligible degree-seeking applicants. Contact your enrollment counselor for more information.

Transcripts from countries other than the U.S. must be evaluated on a course by course basis by a university accepted evaluation service, such as World Education Services, Educational Credential Evaluators, Educational Perspectives, One Earth International Credential Evaluators or any approved member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES.org) and be deemed equivalent to accredited U.S. university standards.

Application Materials should be directed to the Office of Admission
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
2500 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Or electronically: tcadmission@smumn.edu

Fall semester – August 1
Spring semester – December 1
Summer semester – April 1

The priority application deadlines are listed but these are general as not all of our programs have a start every semester

You can expect to be notified about your acceptance approximately two weeks following your application completion date.