Degrees · Ohio
Education Specialist Pathways in Ohio
Education Specialist (EdS) in Ohio is a graduate award, not Professional Principal License. This table lists 9 institutions with matching IPEDS completions. Completions are not approval to recommend candidates for the license. Use the Ohio principal checklist for the credential.
An Education Specialist (EdS) degree sits between a master's and a doctorate. Educators often pursue an EdS for advanced leadership preparation or specialist endorsements. Whether it satisfies a state administrative credential depends entirely on that state's published requirements, never on the degree name alone.
Reviewed by Brittnie Vargas, School principal, M.Ed.Editorial processHow this degree relates to the Ohio principal credential
The Ohio license is Professional Principal License. Read the principal checklist for steps, exams, and the board source — this page is the IPEDS inventory for Education Specialist (EdS), not a second copy of that checklist.
Ohio’s principal license is grade-banded, which is the detail that most often undoes an otherwise complete CORE application. The State Board of Education of Ohio issues a Professional Principal License tied to early childhood, middle-level, 5–12, or related bands that match the ages and grade levels of the candidate’s qualifying teaching. Two years of successful high-school teaching under a standard or professional license supports a 5–12 principal license; those same years do not automatically unlock an early-childhood principal license. Professional pupil-services experience can substitute for teaching when it is the professional pupil-services license and the ages align, but a pupil-services role in a high school does not, by itself, create a PK–6 principal license.
Preparation is an approved principal program plus a dean’s recommendation, not a self-assembled transcript of leadership electives. The State Board’s principal-licenses page treats the recommendation as a required element. Candidates who finish coursework, pass OAE 015, and then wait months for a dean’s letter are not “done” in CORE until that recommendation posts. OAE 015 Educational Leadership is the examination the pathway names; other Ohio Assessments for Educators content tests used for teaching licenses do not replace 015.
Institutions with Education Specialist (EdS) programs in Ohio
Rows come from IPEDS awards by CIP and award level. This extract reported no completion counts, so none are shown. An institution that conferred awards is not automatically approved to recommend candidates for Professional Principal License.
| Institution | CIP | Award level |
|---|---|---|
| Baldwin Wallace University (Berea, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Post-master’s / EdS |
| Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (Bowling Green, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Post-master’s / EdS |
| Cleveland State University (Cleveland, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Post-master’s / EdS |
| Kent State University at Kent (Kent, OH) | 13.0406 Higher Education/Higher Education Administration | Post-master’s / EdS |
| Kent State University at Kent (Kent, OH) | 13.0407 Community College Administration | Post-master’s / EdS |
| Kent State University at Kent (Kent, OH) | 13.0411 Superintendency and Educational System Administration | Post-master’s / EdS |
| Ursuline College (Pepper Pike, OH) | 13.0411 Superintendency and Educational System Administration | Post-master’s / EdS |
| Ursuline College (Pepper Pike, OH) | 13.0499 Educational Administration and Supervision, Other | Post-master’s / EdS |
| Youngstown State University (Youngstown, OH) | 13.0401 Educational Leadership and Administration, General | Post-master’s / EdS |
Frequently asked questions
Is an EdS required to become a principal?
Requirements vary. Many states accept a master's in educational leadership plus an approved principal preparation program; some pathways use an EdS. Check the principal credential page and your state board.
Should I choose an EdS or an EdD?
Choose based on the credential and career target. If you need post-master’s leadership preparation without a doctoral dissertation, an EdS may fit. If you need a terminal practitioner doctorate for district, system, or higher-ed leadership, compare EdD programs, and still verify licensure separately.