Students can take the courses required for licensure and certification in Iowa while pursuing the Ed. The Education Specialist in special education administration program is offered jointly with the Division of Curriculum and Instruction. The program provides sufficient training and experience to enable graduates to obtain entry-level positions in administration. The career focus of the program is on middle management positions such as supervisor and assistant director. The program requires a minimum of 62 semester hours.
Emphasis is placed on the integration of theory and practice in the program.
Students are expected to achieve competence in the areas of educational program planning, finance and governance, leadership theory, evaluation, and research methodologies that include statistical methods. They also must gain expertise in areas of specialized program and personnel policy analysis. Commonly selected specialization areas are general administration, elementary school administration, secondary school administration, systems analysis and research, school finance, curriculum, legal aspects, theory, and school personnel. The academic programs in higher education encompass that complexity. Degrees are offered at all levels, with emphasis on both research and practice.