Program Overview

Introduction to the Educational Administration and Leadership (EDAL) Program

The Educational Administration and Leadership (EDAL) program is a graduate program designed for individuals seeking to exercise leadership in various educational settings. The program is offered by the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia.

Program Overview

The EDAL program is committed to providing students with knowledge, skills, and understandings that equip them to work successfully in diverse leadership roles across complex educational and schooling contexts. The program emphasizes intergenerational capacity building, cross-departmental faculty expertise, and contributions from scholar-practitioner communities and school district engagements. It also offers land-based learning opportunities toward fostering leadership for Indigeneity, anti-racism, and intersectional anti-oppression.

Program Requirements

• All EDAL MEd programs include core courses and electives.
• In total, students must complete 30 credits (usually 10 courses).
• To graduate from any EDAL program, students must complete a minimum of 18 credits in EDST-specific coursework.
• EDAL Certificate students are required to take three core courses (EDST 532, EDST 581, and EDST 582) and one elective decided in consultation with an advisor.

Core Courses

• EDST 532: Leadership in Educational Organizations: Explores various conceptions and understandings of leadership from classical writings to post-modern conceptions.
• EDST 581: Leadership, Administration, and the Aims of Education: Focuses on the particular responsibilities of Canadian schools and education, with students articulating their own conceptions of education and applying these to various aspects of schooling.
• EDST 582: The Study of Organization in the Educational Context: Examines classical and emerging perspectives on organizations, with a focus on schools and educational settings.

Research/Capstone Courses

• EDST 501: Research Traditions in Educational Administration: Permits students to become informed consumers of research and to ask fundamental questions regarding claims to knowledge.
• EDST 553: Group Inquiry in Educational Administration (Capstone Project): Team projects devoted to a substantial issue in educational administration, with students developing important research, analytic, and synthetic skills.

Electives

• A wide range of electives are available, including but not limited to:
  • EDST 550: The Role of the School Principal
  • EDST 551: Personnel Administration in Education
  • EDST 517: Improvement of Instruction through Supervision
  • EDST 531: Politics of Educational Governance
  • EDST 548: Teacher Unions and Education
  • EDST 554: Administration and Educational Policy
  • EDST 555: Educational Finance
  • EDST 556: Leadership and Administration of the Educational Programs
  • EDST 557: Professional Ethics for School Leaders
  • EDST 552: School Law
  • EDST 561: Practicum Simulation of School Leadership and Administration
  • EDST 565: Alternative Programs and Independent Schools
  • EDST 565: Organizational Learning in Education
  • EDST 565: Identity and Power in Work Organizations
  • EDST 565: Leadership is a Funny Business
  • EDST 579: School-Community Relations
  • EDST 580: Directed Study
  • EDST 590: Graduating Paper
  • EDST 598: Field Experience
  • EDST 599: Master’s Thesis

Electives with an Indigenous Focus

• EDST 565B – Indigenous Existential Resistance (Sundance)
• EDST 545 – Indigenous Inquiry and Research (Ts”kel elective)
• EDST 578 – Multiculturalism and its Critical Alternatives: Diversity in Education and Society (SCPE Elective)
• EDST 505 – First Nations Education and Change (SCPE elective)
• EDST 546 – Indigenous Epistemology and Methodology – (Ts”kel elective on campus, SQEL program off campus)
• EDCP 467A/EDCP 532 – Theories and Dimensions of Place-Based Education: Ecohumanist, Critical and Indigenous Lenses (Place-based Learning in Huu-ay-aht Territory)
• LLED 565B – Materials Development for Indigenous Language Learning and Teaching
• FNIS 533D – Indigenous Feminisms
• FNIS 533F – Indigenous New Media
• FNIS 533R – Theory & Methods Seminar
• FNIS 533S – Indigenous Geographies: Our Home on Native Land
• FNIS 533G – Indigenous Legal Traditions
• FNIS 533Q – Queer/Two-Spirit Indigenous Studies
• FNIS 533T – Indigenous Theatre and Film
• PLAN 548P – Current Issues in Planning: Indigenous Community Planning
• LIBR 569A 002 – Information Practice and Protocol in Support of Indigenous Initiatives

Fully Online Option

The Master of Education (M.Ed) in Educational Administration and Leadership (ONLINE) is offered fully online with options to take electives in-person during the summer. Courses for the online intake are synchronous and offered on weekday evenings (4:30-7:30pm) and/or on weekends (9:00-4:00pm) Pacific Standard Time (PST).

Application Process

• Online UBC application form: Submit through the official UBC application portal.
• Upload digital copies (.pdfs) of official transcripts: Scan and upload transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.
• Two references: Provide references from a course instructor or other person able to assess academic ability, and a supervisor or another person to whom the applicant is accountable.
• Statement of intent: Describe specific interests in pursuing a graduate degree, background, and experience.
• Curriculum Vitae / Resume: Provide evidence of potential to succeed in EDST at the graduate level.

International Applicants

• International Transcripts and Translation Requirements: Upload digital copies of official transcripts and certified literal English translations if transcripts are issued in a language other than English.
• Entering Canada: Apply for a Student Authorization (Student Visa) as soon as possible, providing a UBC letter of admission/acceptance, a valid passport, and evidence of adequate funds.

Tuition and Deadlines

• Tuition for Masters Programs: Found on the UBC Calendar website.
• Tuition for PhD and EdD Programs: Found on the UBC Calendar website.
• Deadlines for applications: Found on the EDST website for On-Campus EDAL programs and on the PDCE website for Off-Campus EDAL programs.