Principal Certification

If you have a master’s degree, you may be eligible to take 18 additional hours (six online courses + 250 hour practicum experience) through our department and earn the credentials needed to become a campus principal or an assistant principal. This principal certificate program is fully aligned with the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) standards and designed for classroom teachers who want to advance in K-12 education.

Successfully prepare for your role as a school principal or instructional leader with the accelerated online Principal Certification Only (PCO) program at The University of Texas at Arlington. This program (18 credit hours, 6 courses) features online coursework and a completion time of as few as 12 months. The program prepares you to take both the TExES Principal (268) as an Instructional Leader exam and the Performance Assessment for School Leaders (PASL) 368 exam.

In this program, you will gain comprehension for testing in six domains of school culture: Leading Learning, Human Capital, Executive Leadership, Strategic Operations, and Ethics, Equity, and Diversity.

Admission

Out-of-state students will not qualify for Texas educator certification and are therefore not admitted to the PCO program. The PCO program is designed to prepare eligible candidates for Texas principal certification.

• Master's degree from an institution of higher education that is accredited by an accrediting agency, as recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
• A minimum GPA of 3.0 in master’s coursework
• TOEFL also may be required for students who are interested in applying for educator certification.
• Hold a standard teaching certificate
• Have a minimum of two completed years of classroom teaching experience
• Three letters of recommendation. Download the Letter of Reference form (.pdf)
• Other documents required for TEA reporting

As required by Texas HB1508, applicants need to be aware of the following:

• In order to receive a teacher certification in Texas, you must pass a criminal history background check.
• If you have been convicted of an offense that is considered not appropriate for an educator, you could be ineligible to earn this certification from the state of Texas.
• You have a right to request a preliminary criminal history evaluation letter from the Texas Education Agency prior to admission into this program. The Texas Education Agency currently charges a $50 fee for this criminal history evaluation. View more information on Preliminary Criminal History Evaluation

Have a question? Call us at 866-489-2810.

Certification Requirements

The following requirements must be met to be approved for principal certification.

• Holds or has held a standard teacher certificate.
• Has had a minimum of two creditable years of classroom teaching experience. A teacher service record must sent from the school district directly do the director of certification via US Postal Service. Creditable years is defined as having been completed in an accredited school district. Out of state teaching experience may qualify provided it was done within a school accredited by that state.
• Holds a Master's degree. The degree must be conferred, which can take several weeks after graduation.
• Has completed an approved administrative practicum.
• Has completed an approved program designed for meeting the certification requirements. All coursework must be completed and grades must be posted.
• Has passed the TExES Standard Principal Certificate Exam (limit of four retakes).

TExES Exam

Eligible Texas principal certification candidates must be approved to take and pass two exams, the TExES 268 Principal as Instructional Leader (PIL) and the TExES 368 Performance Assessment for School Leaders (PASL) prior to certification as a school principal. These exams will be approved according to state and program policies, and successful candidates can apply for Texas Principal as Instructional Leader certification through the Texas Education Agency once they have met all state and university requirements, including passing both of these exams.  

View program in catalog