Admission Instructions

Please note that there are 2 parts to the application process; both parts must be completed in order to be admitted into the program:
1) SJSU GAPE (University Application)
2) Educational Leadership (Department Application)

Part 1: SJSU Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations (GAPE) Requirements

1) Admission to SJSU GAPE: You are required to complete an on-line application at: www.csumentor.edu
(Paper applications will not be processed. A non-refundable, $55.00 fee is charged.)

2) You are also required to submit official transcripts for the last 60 units of your BA/BS and/or MA degrees and credentials. Each applicant should request and obtain his or her transcript(s), THEN mail the sealed official transcript(s) directly to:

Graduate Admissions & Program Evaluations
Attn: Ed Leadership Evaluator
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0017

*No Professional Development Transcripts will be accepted.* (Transcripts must also include narrative if work was completed at a non-graded institution.)

Part 2: Educational Leadership Department Application Process

1) All applicants must complete the Ed Leadership Application [pdf].

2) Each applicant must submit one original, signed letter of recommendation from his or her school principal. The letter should address the applicant's potential for success as an educational leader and as a graduate student.

3)  Each application must include a 3-page admission essay. Please see below for essay prompt:

In the study of education, people often make critical decisions and assertions about issues in schools without asking difficult questions such as: What are the principles that inform my views on educational opportunity as they relate to race, ethnicity, class, gender, citizenship status, language, or sexual orientation? What in my own history helped me arrive at these principles? Choose one current event or ongoing discussion in education (e.g. Grading Teachers: Value-Added Analysis, Common Core, the charter school movement, etc.) and explain how your principles inform your views in light of assertions made about the current structure of schools in the United States generally and California specifically. As you write to this prompt, please consider sharing your perspectives of leadership, compliance, maintaining the status quo, API, AYP, and other challenges facing educators.

4) Finally, each applicant needs to submit a copy of his or her California Professional Clear Credential. Please note – All prospective students must have at least 3 years of teaching experience with a California Credential before starting the program. Additionally, the CBEST must be passed prior to applying for the Tier 1 credential.

The above 4 items complete the required components of the department application packet. So, your department application must contain the following 4 items:

1) Ed Leadership Application
2) Letter of Recommendation from School Principal
3) 3-Page Admission Essay
4)  Copy of your California Professional Clear Credential

Applications that do not contain all 4 components listed above will not be processed until all missing documents are received by the Department of Educational Leadership office. When your department application is complete, please mail your application packet to:

Department of Educational Leadership
San José State University
One Washington Square, SH 219
San José, CA 95192-0072                                                        
 

Admission Links:
Ed Leadership Application [pdf]
EDAD Admission Part - I [pdf]
EDAD Admission Part - II [pdf]
Ed Leadership Brochure [pdf]