How to Apply

Complete your application on MSU’s application management system. Follow the steps listed below:

• Create account and login.
• Start New Application: Select Graduate from dropdown menu and Create Application.
• Provide Personal Background information.
• Under Other Information, select the first semester you wish to enroll in classes. To select Major Preference, scroll to the College of Education and select K-12 Educational Administration (Masters). Provide additional details about Enrollment Information, Communications preferences, and Financial Aid. It is not necessary to include the Personal or Academic Statement as requested in Other Information (you will provide a Professional Goal Statement following submission of your initial application). Providing information on your experiences in the COVID-19 section is optional. Provide responses to Conduct Questions and Other from the dropdown menus and in text boxes where appropriate.
• Include all Academic History information. To begin, click on Add Institution.
• Test Scores: The GRE (Graduate Record Exam) is not required. All international applicants and applicants whose first language is not English must be able to be proficient in English as a condition for regular admission to MSU. Such applicants will be required to demonstrate their proficiency by meeting certain minimum standards. See Multilingual and International Applicants below for more information.
• Employment/Activities Page: Leave blank.
• References: Using Add Recommender, provide contact information for three people who are familiar with your academic and/or professional abilities. Those individuals writing reference letters should be encouraged to be as specific as possible in their comments. The portal will then send out recommendation requests to the people you listed. The requests come from admissions@admissions.msu.edu.
• Provide your Signature electronically by typing in your full legal name, then select Confirm.
• The Review section will provide you with a list of potential errors if a section has not been completed. Please return to those sections and make the appropriate corrections before finalizing the application and submitting your payment.
• Once you have finalized your application, you will complete the payment ($65 for domestic applicants of $75 for international applicants).

Once you have finalized your application, you will receive a confirmation email. You can then login to the application portal to upload and track your application materials. If you cannot submit the required materials in PDF format or have any questions, please contact k12adm@msu.edu.

1. Add the following documents in the application portal:
   1. Resume or Vita: List each activity that accounts for your time since earning a bachelor’s degree (e.g., employment, military service, travel). Be sure to include the type of activity, name of your employer, city/state, and dates. List the most recent activity first.
   2. Professional Goal Statement: This required statement should describe: how the applicant’s professional and educational experiences have influenced the desire to pursue graduate study, the broader, long-term career interests of the applicant and how the K-12 program relates to those interests, and the applicant’s goals and objectives for graduate study. This statement is used to determine if the applicant’s goals are consistent with those of the program and to assess the clarity and coherence of the applicant’s writing.
2. Request the registrar of each college or university attended to send one copy of each official transcript. We cannot accept transcripts sent by applicants. Transcripts of work taken at MSU need not be requested. Colleges and universities generally require both fees and time to process requests for transcripts. To be considered “official” the transcripts must have a university seal or notarization mark and be sent directly by the institution electronically to k12adm@msu.edu or to the following address:

Program Assistant, K-12 Educational Administration
Department of Educational Administration
Erickson Hall
620 Farm Lane Rm. 402
East Lansing, MI 48824-1034
Phone: (517) 353-8480 / Fax: (517) 884-1392

International & Multilingual Students

All international applicants and applicants whose first language is not English must be proficient in English as a condition for regular admission to MSU. Such applicants will be required to demonstrate their proficiency by meeting certain minimum standards. Find the most up-to-date information on accepted English language tests for international students on The Graduate School’s website.

English language tests must have been taken within two years of a student’s application. Achieving an acceptable score on one of the tests does not, by itself, guarantee an applicant’s admission to the program.

Applicants should have all test scores sent directly from the testing agency electronically or to:

Office of Admissions
Michigan State University
Hannah Administration Building
426 Auditorium Road, Room 250
East Lansing, MI 48824

International transcripts must be submitted as official documents directly from each post-secondary institution. In most cases, these documents will need to be sent in official, sealed, issuing institution envelopes. Records must show courses taken, grades earned, and must be translated into English if the original records are in another language. Translations must be done by the issuing institution, a certified translator in the country of study, or by an American Translator’s Association certified translator in the US. The original record should be also included. See information on the Academic Programs website.

APPLICANTS FROM CHINESE UNIVERSITIES

The CDGDC verification of transcripts for Chinese applicants has been recently modified. Please see the following link for important details about the admissions requirements for applicants from Chinese Universities  http://grad.msu.edu/apply/docs/CDGDC.pdf. Please refer to the China Academic Degree and Graduate Education Development Center (CDGDC) for more details http://www.chinadegrees.cn/en/.

Complete the Financial Proof and Affidavit of Support for International Graduate Students to demonstrate the ability to pay for your program and sent to the department. ** This document must originate from your source of support and must be a certified, original statement with stamp and original signature.

Email questions to k12adm@msu.edu.

Review of Applications

The review committee of K-12 Administration faculty members considers the following in assessing master’s program applications:

1. Experience teaching and leading in a K-12 setting.
2. Strength of professional background and academic record.
3. Alignment of professional goals with the purposes and objectives of the master’s program.
4. Recommendation letters from individuals who are fit to evaluate academic and leadership potential.
5. Consistency with Graduate School and College of Education admission requirements.