Education Specialist Degree Online: Ed.S. Guide

By the Transforming Education editorial team. Reviewed for accuracy against the sources listed below.

An education specialist degree, abbreviated Ed.S., is a post-master's graduate degree for educators who want advanced preparation in a specific field without committing to a doctorate. It sits between a master's and an Ed.D. or Ph.D.: more specialized and more senior than a master's, but shorter than a doctorate and without a dissertation.

The Ed.S. does two different jobs. In most fields it is a certificate-upgrade degree: about 30 credits that move a teacher or administrator to a higher-tier credential and salary lane. In school psychology it is the entry credential for the profession and runs 60 or more credits with a 1,200-hour internship. This guide explains both, compares the Ed.S. to the Ed.D., covers concentrations and cost, and lists verified online programs at regionally accredited public and private non-profit universities.

What an education specialist degree is

Its defining features:

• Admission requires a master's degree, with GPA floors of 3.0 to 3.25 at the programs reviewed. School psychology is the exception: students usually enter from the bachelor's level through an integrated master's.
• 30 to 36 credits in the field, versus 60 or more for a doctorate.
• A capstone, portfolio or internship rather than a dissertation. Arkansas State's principalship track ends in a 14-week supervised internship; Valdosta State's leadership Ed.S. devotes 18 of its 30 credits to performance-based activities.
• A certificate outcome in many states. Alabama's Class AA, Georgia's Tier II leadership and level 6 teacher leadership certificates, and Arkansas's Building Level Administrator license are all mapped to Ed.S. programs listed below.

Ed.S. vs Ed.D.

Liberty's page captures the trade-off: the Ed.S. can be completed in a much faster timeframe than a doctorate, and up to 27 of its 30 Ed.S. credits transfer into the university's Doctor of Education. That makes the Ed.S. a sensible first step for people who are not sure they want a doctorate.

Choose the Ed.S. if you know the role you want and your state or district rewards the degree with a certificate or pay lane. Choose the Ed.D. for the doctoral title, superintendent or university roles, or research. See our educational leadership degree guide for doctoral options.

Common concentrations

Educational leadership and administration. The largest category. Tracks lead to principal, assistant principal, curriculum director, special education director and superintendent credentials. Arkansas State offers online Ed.S. tracks in principalship, superintendency, and curriculum, gifted and talented, and special education directorships. Valdosta State's online Ed.S. in Educational Leadership leads to a Tier II Georgia certificate. UWA's Ed.S. in Instructional Leadership requires a current leadership role and leads to Alabama's Class AA. Liberty offers Administration and Supervision and Educational Leadership tracks.

Teacher leadership and curriculum. For teachers who want to lead from the classroom: instructional coaching, department chairs, curriculum writers. Valdosta State's online Ed.S. in Teacher Leadership leads to Georgia's level 6 Teacher Leadership certification with the appropriate GACE assessment; UWA offers a Teacher Leader Ed.S.; Liberty offers Curriculum and Instruction.

School psychology. Here the Ed.S. is the professional entry degree. The National Association of School Psychologists' 2020 standards require specialist-level programs to include at least 60 graduate semester hours (at least 54 excluding internship) and a supervised internship of at least 1,200 clock hours with at least 600 in a school setting, and state that the specialist-level program is the minimum for being credentialed as a school psychologist. Because of the internship and clinical coursework, most programs are hybrid: Drexel's Ed.S. in School Psychology, for example, is a 90-credit full-time hybrid cohort with core courses in person. Fort Hays State offers an online or virtual version of its 36-credit Ed.S., entered through its 30-credit M.S., with the 1,200-hour internship completed in schools.

Subject and specialty areas. Ed.S. degrees also exist in reading (Arkansas State), special education (Liberty, UWA, Valdosta State), school counseling (UWA, Valdosta State), instructional technology (Valdosta State, Liberty), library media (UWA), higher education administration (Liberty) and physical education (UWA, Jacksonville State).

Who the Ed.S. suits

• Teachers in states with an Ed.S. salary lane or certificate tier, such as Alabama (Class AA) and Georgia (Tier II and level 6).
• Aspiring principals who need a building-level license and a supervised internship but not a doctorate. Arkansas State's principalship Ed.S. qualifies graduates for the Arkansas Building Level Administrator license and prepares them for the School Leaders Licensure Assessment.
• Current administrators moving up a credential tier, such as the sitting principals UWA's instructional leadership Ed.S. is built for.
• Future school psychologists, for whom the Ed.S. is the standard route.
• Doctorate-curious educators who want a credential now and the option to transfer credits later.

The Ed.S. suits people with a defined role in mind.

Licensure track vs non-licensure track

Both exist, and the same university often offers both.

• Licensure or certificate tracks: Arkansas State's leadership tracks (Arkansas administrator licenses), UWA's Ed.S. programs (Alabama Class AA), Valdosta State's leadership and teacher leadership Ed.S. (Georgia certificates), Liberty's Administration and Supervision track (Virginia school administration licensure), and every school psychology Ed.S.
• Non-licensure tracks: Liberty states that its other Ed.S. tracks, such as Educational Research, Higher Education Administration and Instructional Design and Technology, are non-licensure.

Licensure tracks carry prerequisites that non-licensure tracks do not: a current certificate, years of experience and, at Arkansas State, a mentor and documentation of teacher effectiveness.

Accreditation and why it matters

Three layers apply:

• Regional (institutional) accreditation of the university, which governs aid and transfer. Liberty and UWA state SACSCOC accreditation on their pages. Where a program page did not name the institutional accreditor, the program list below says so.
• CAEP (or AAQEP) for educator preparation units. Arkansas State states that licensure programs in its College of Education and Behavioral Science are CAEP-accredited; UWA states its online Ed.S. programs are CAEP-accredited; Liberty states CAEP accreditation for its School of Education licensure programs. CAEP accreditation matters most for leadership and teacher leadership tracks that lead to a certificate.
• NASP approval for school psychology programs, which many state licensing boards reference. Confirm a program's NASP status directly before enrolling; neither school psychology page reviewed for this guide stated it.

As always, state program approval is what allows a program to recommend you for a certificate. Programs are built to their home state's rules.

Admissions basics

• Master's degree from an accredited institution. GPA floors: 3.0 at Liberty; 3.25 at Arkansas State, with a probationary route for 3.0 to 3.24.
• Certificates and experience for leadership tracks: a standard teaching license and one year of teaching at Arkansas State (though the Arkansas administrator license itself requires three years); a Class A leadership certificate, a current leadership role and three years of leadership experience at UWA.
• Supporting materials: a self-disposition document and a $30 fee at Arkansas State; a portfolio and interview at UWA; transcripts and no standardized test at Liberty. Background checks are routine.

Curriculum, credits and duration

• Credits: 30 is standard (Arkansas State, UWA, Valdosta State, Liberty); Jacksonville State's physical education Ed.S. is 30 to 31; Fort Hays State's school psychology Ed.S. is 36 after a 30-credit M.S.
• Duration: Arkansas State lists as few as 18 months for principalship and 14 to 16 months for director tracks; UWA estimates one to two years; Valdosta State's leadership sequence fits in four semesters; Liberty runs 8-week courses.
• Field components: a 14-week, 3-credit supervised internship at Arkansas State that can be completed while working; 18 credits of performance-based activities at Valdosta State; a 1,200-hour internship in school psychology.

Note: Leadership internships are usually completed in your own school or district while you keep your job, which is what makes a fully online Ed.S. realistic. Ask who will supervise you on site.

What it costs

All figures are approximate and come from the cited program pages and NCES.

• National context: NCES reports average 2021-22 graduate tuition and required fees of about $12,600 per year at public institutions and about $29,900 at private non-profits (Digest Table 330.50).
• Arkansas State: $350 per credit, $10,500 total for 30 credits with fees included, the same for all U.S. residents.
• University of West Alabama: $429 per credit plus a $120 technology fee per semester, about $12,870 in tuition for 30 credits.
• Liberty: $630 per credit full-time and $695 part-time for 2026-27, about $18,900 to $20,850 for 30 credits.
• Valdosta State and Fort Hays State: current rates are not on the program pages reviewed; use the universities' tuition schedules.

A range of roughly $10,500 to $21,000 in tuition covers the online Ed.S. programs above, which is modest for a post-master's credential.

Online format realities

• Leadership and curriculum Ed.S. programs are genuinely online. Arkansas State says 100 percent online; UWA says fully online; Liberty says the degree can be done entirely online with optional intensives.
• School psychology is mostly hybrid, with in-person clinical courses at most programs and an in-school internship everywhere.
• Accelerated terms (8 weeks or similar) are the norm.

State reciprocity caveat

Ed.S. certificates are state credentials. An Alabama Class AA, a Georgia Tier II or an Arkansas Building Level Administrator license is issued by that state to graduates of its approved programs; another state may accept it, add requirements, or not recognize the tier at all. Before enrolling out of state, confirm with your own department of education how the credential will be treated.

Career outlook and pay

From the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections, for the roles Ed.S. graduates most often hold:

• Elementary, middle and high school principals: median annual wage $105,870; 343,800 jobs in 2025; employment projected to show little or no change; about 20,600 openings per year. Principals typically need a master's degree in education administration or leadership plus several years of teaching, and most states require public school principals to be licensed as school administrators.
• School psychologists (within psychologists): median annual wage $95,990; employment of 64,000 in 2025 projected to reach 64,500 by 2035. BLS notes that school psychologists typically need at least a master's degree and that education specialist (Ed.S.) and doctoral degrees are also accepted.
• Instructional coordinators: median annual wage $77,440; 2 percent projected growth; about 23,100 openings per year; master's degree typical.

For comparison, the median wage for all occupations was $50,980. For classroom teachers, the Ed.S. return usually comes through the salary schedule, so check your district's lanes before you enroll.

Programs to consider

The programs below are online or primarily online Ed.S. degrees from regionally accredited public and private non-profit universities, verified on each program's own page, spanning leadership, teacher leadership, curriculum and school psychology. They are in no particular order and this is not a ranking. Confirm current tuition, admission prerequisites and your state's treatment of the credential with each program.