Western Kentucky University

Instructional Leadership, School Principal, MAE

The Master of Arts in Education, Instructional Leadership, School Principal program requires 30 hours of coursework and leads to eligibility for initial principal certification (Level I, KP1).

Principal Certification, Option 6 (Alternate Route)
Kentucky Senate Bill #77 made it possible for higher education institutions with approved school administration certification programs to provide alternate route to certification programs upon application and approval by the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB). Western Kentucky University (WKU) has an EPSB approved Alternate Route to Principal Certification program, with eligibility and application procedures as follows:

Under the provisions of Senate Bill #77 and state regulations, Western Kentucky University established procedures for the alternate route program as follows:

Candidates must first apply to the WKU Graduate School for admission to the university -  https://www.wku.edu/graduate/

Following university admission, candidates should contact the Department of Educational Administration, Leadership, and Research for program-specific admissions guidelines and application by calling 270-745-2942.

After program admission the candidate will work with an advisor to submit a program of study to the Office of Professional Educators Services for approval.

A letter is then issued by WKU stating that the student is currently enrolled in the principal program; at this time the candidate may be offered a principal or assistant principal position by a district and is then eligible to participate in the Option 6 alternative route program.

 If the candidate is offered the position, the district superintendent must provide verification of employment to WKU and the candidate.

The Office of Professional Educator Services will sign and verify the enrollment of the candidate in the Alternate Route to Principal Certification program. The completed application will be uploaded to EPSB and the student will be notified when it has been processed and their certificate is ready to download/print.  

The student must request that an electronic transcript be sent directly to EPSB.  The transcript request can be completed through TOPNET.  All transcript request questions need to be directed to the Registrar's Office.