Graduate professional education programs at Western Kentucky University just became a lot more affordable for many students.
In recognition of the impact that alumni and area educators are having on P-12 students and their academic succcess, WKU is providing a scholarship to students currently enrolled or who desire to enroll in our Teacher Leadership Master of Arts in Education (MAE) degree, the newly revised P-12 principal certification program, and the Education Specialist (EdS) degree in Elementary and Secondary Education.
Beginning with the Fall 2013 semester, scholarships will be provided to all students in the above programs who are graduates of WKU or who are employed in one of the 37 districts belonging to the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative. While the tuition for these programs will remain the same ($490 per credit hour for face-to-face classes and $588 per credit hour for online courses), the scholarship will reduce the cost to students to $395 per credit hour. For a 30-hour online program (just for one example), this is a cost savings of $5,790.
Students will be eligible for the scholarship for a period of three years. The scholarship will increase based on any annual growth in tuition rates during this period, so the cost to students will remain $395 per credit hour regardless of changes in overall tuition. The offering of this scholarship reflects the university's desire to make graduate professional education programs more affordable and accessible for dedicated, hard-working teachers who aspire to become teacher leaders and administrators in area schools.
The university is working to establish an application procedure and I will update with this information as soon as that process is set up. The School of Teacher Education and the Department of Educational Administration, Leadership, & Research will also contact current students with directions on how to apply for the scholarship. Prospective students are encouraged to apply to their respective programs and advisors will direct them toward completion of the application process.
Contact the School of Teacher Education for more information about the MAE in Teacher Leadership. E-mail the following faculty members for information specific to various strands in the MAE program:
- Elementary: Dr. Lisa Murley (lisa.murley@wku.edu)
- Middle Grades and Secondary: Dr. Beckie Stobaugh (rebecca.stobaugh@wku.edu)
- Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education: Dr. Margaret Gichuru (margaret.gichuru@wku.edu)
- Special Education: Dr. Gail Kirby (gail.kirby@wku.edu)
Contact Dr. Murley and Dr. Stobaugh respectively for information about the EdS degree in elementary and secondary education.
Contact the Department of Educational Administration, Leadership, & Research or e-mail me directly (gary.houchens@wku.edu) and click here to learn more about WKU's recently-revised, highly-selective, cohort-based program for P-12 school principal certification. Applicants to the program must already have a Master's degree (MAE Teacher Leader preferred) and may earn Rank I credentials along with principal certification.
Applications for the Fall 2013 principal cohort are due August 16 (fall term courses begin August 26). Applications for the Spring 2014 cohort are tentatively due by September 15. Due to the comprehensive application and screening process, interested candidates are encouraged to contact me or the department for more information right away.
UPDATE, 8/6/2013: The scholarship has been officially named the Topper Educator Graduate Scholarship.
Students who are interested in applying for the Fall cohort should, in addition to submitting a complete application by Friday, August 16, plan to participate in screening interviews on the evening of Monday, August 19 and Tuesday, August 20. Students must participate in screening interviews on one of these two dates to be considered.
Students are also encouraged to apply for the Spring 2014 cohort. The Topper Educator Graduate Scholarship is available for all incoming cohorts for the next three years. Applications for spring are tenatively due September 15.
UPDATE, 8/7/13: I've further learned that this scholarship applies only to Kentucky residents who also meet the other eligibility criteria. However, I believe that WKU regards many of the border counties of Tennessee and Indiana as "in state" also. I will confirm this and update accordingly.
UPDATE, 8/12/13: Scholarship application now available: Download Topper Educator Graduate Scholarship form.
UPDATE, 8/13/13: The CEBS website now features a page about the scholarship, including the form in PDF and Word formats: http://www.wku.edu/cebs/tegs/
Comments