Post-Master’s Principal Certification Online

Prepare to lead with confidence as you learn to solve real-world challenges, lead improvements, and inspire teams—all while continuing to work and grow in your current role.

Apply by: 9/30/25
Start class: 10/14/25
Apply Now

Program Overview

Accelerate your professional growth with our online P.M. Principal Certification program

Designed for aspiring Texas education administrators, the accelerated Post-Master's Principal Certification online program from Texas State University offers a focused curriculum in key areas of school administration. Through engaging online courses, you will learn to address complex challenges, lead improvement initiatives, and make a lasting impact within your school community. The accelerated format helps you earn your certification quickly while balancing your current responsibilities.

The practicum includes a 160-hour internship which includes Advancing Educational Leadership (AEL) training and certification required for school administrators supervising through T-TESS. As part of the practicum, you will design and implement an action research project to drive school improvement at the campus level. Completing the program also prepares you to take the TExES 268 exam and the PASL assessment.

As a student of this P.M. Principal Certification online program, you will learn how to:

  • Cultivate an equitable and inclusive school culture
  • Lead effective curriculum and instruction
  • Strategically manage school resources
  • Foster collaboration for school improvement
  • Provide ethical and legally sound leadership
As a student of this P.M. Principal Certification online program, you will learn how to:
  • Cultivate an equitable and inclusive school culture
  • Lead effective curriculum and instruction
  • Strategically manage school resources
  • Foster collaboration for school improvement
  • Provide ethical and legally sound leadership

Also available:

We offer a variety of student-centered online degrees that can help you advance. Explore other education programs.

Total Tuition $8,982*
Duration As few as 12 months
Credit Hours 18
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Need More Information?

Call 833.690.1245 today!

Call 833.690.1245 today!

Tuition

Learn about a tuition that can fit your budget

Tuition for the principal certification online program is affordable and paid by the course, so you can achieve your academic goals while remaining within your budget.

View full tuition

Program Per Credit Hour Per Course Per Program
P.M. PrinCert $499 $1,497 $8,982*

*Tuition and fees are subject to change by legislative or Board of Regents action; changes become effective on the date of enactment. For more information, please visit https://onestop.txst.edu/cost-payments/cost-attendance.html.

Tuition breakdown

Total Tuition $8,982*
Per Credit Hour $499

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toward earning your degree?

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Calendar

View key dates and deadlines

The Texas State principal certification online program is delivered in a convenient online learning format that offers maximum flexibility for working adults like you. Choose the start date that fits your goals.

View Full Calendar  + 

TermStart DateApp DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlineTuition DeadlineClass End DateTerm Length
Fall 2 202510/14/259/30/2510/7/2510/14/2510/14/2512/12/258 weeks

Now Enrolling

Apply by 9/30/25
Start Class 10/14/25

Admissions

What you need for admission to the online P.M. Principal Certification program

Apply to the principal certification online program quickly and easily with our streamlined admission process. Review the admission requirements below and take the next step toward your professional goals.

View all admission requirements

To be eligible to earn your Post-Master’s Principal Certification online from Texas State University, you must have the following:

  • Completed online application
  • Nonrefundable application fee of $55 ($90 for international*)
  • Master’s degree from a regionally accredited university
  • Copy of official transcripts from all institutions where course credit was granted
  • Minimum 2.75 GPA overall or 2.75 GPA in your last 60 hours of undergraduate course work (plus any completed graduate courses)
  • A copy of your teaching record documenting one or two years of K-12 experience
  • Must have a valid Texas Classroom Teaching Certificate
    • TEA requires two or more years of certified teaching
    • Texas State accepts students with one year of certified teaching for the program and helps them in route to two years
  • Approved English proficiency exam score:
    • Applicants are required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score that meets the minimum program requirements below unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our exempt countries list.
      • Official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 78 overall
      • Official PTE scores required with a 52 overall
      • Official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 6.5 overall and minimum individual module scores of 6.0
      • Official Duolingo Scores required with a 110 overall
      • Official TOEFL Essentials scores required with an 8.5 overall

Transcripts may be sent electronically to [email protected] or mailed to:

Official transcripts can be mailed to:
TXST One Stop
Texas State University – Graduate Admissions
601 University Dr.
San Marcos, TX 78666

*Texas State defines an on-campus international student as anyone with a nonimmigrant visa status, including H-1B visa holders, or those seeking a visa to enroll. If you are not a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, you will be classified as an international applicant.

An online international student is someone who holds citizenship in another country, is not a U.S. permanent resident, and resides outside the U.S. while enrolling in an online program.

Students who are not on a visa but are graduating from a Texas high school after three years in residence are considered domestic applicants.

If you are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, you are considered a domestic applicant.

Admission Requirements

  • Minimum 2.75 GPA
  • No GRE required
  • Master’s degree from a regionally accredited university

Courses

Here’s what you will study in your online P.M. Principal Certification program

To graduate from the Post-Master’s Principal Certification online degree program, you must complete a total of 18 credit hours.

Expand All
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Successful leadership in school settings requires an understanding of human behavior and its ethics within a diverse context. This understanding begins with knowledge of self and leads to the understanding of organizations within the micro and macro environments. The focus of this course is on you, the learner, and your school and community. The goal is to enhance the student’s self-awareness of values, beliefs, attitudes and the ecological context informing and impacting their school leadership experience. Prerequisite: Instructor approval.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The relationship between school improvement and instructional leadership will be examined. The course will examine current research and trends related to professional learning and supervision in a school setting. Students will have an opportunity to learn about the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of individual, campus, and district professional development. The course is designed to promote leadership knowledge and skills that will enhance the instructional capacity of all campus staff members and thereby improve overall student success. Prerequisite: EDCL 5351 with a grade of "C" or better and instructor approval.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course is designed to develop campus leadership skills in elementary and secondary schools, focusing on the role and functions of the principal as a leader. This course also surveys and examines the implications of legal issues likely to be encountered by a school leader, examining constitutional provisions, statutory laws, court decisions, and regulations governing public schools with special reference to state and federal relationships. Prerequisite: EDCL 5352 with a grade of "C" or better and instructor approval.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course integrates key theories, concepts, and principles learned during the student’s course of study. The student will complete a paper including an action research plan designed to solve an educational problem present within a specific educational setting. The master’s student will defend the plan during the oral examination. Prerequisites: EDCL 5339, EDCL 5345, EDCL 5347, EDCL 5348, and EDCL 6352. Corequisite: EDCL 5348.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The practicum provides students the opportunity to develop leadership skills needed by principals of elementary and secondary schools. Students will develop a practicum proposal in cooperation with their site-mentor and university supervisor. The course focus is on the development of administrative skills in a real world setting. 
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course is a continuation of EDCL 6387 and allows students to continue projects and activities begun in the fall semester and to work further with their on-site mentor and university supervisor.

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