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Certificate in Leadership

The Certificate in Leadership is designed to prepare graduate students to contribute to their professional communities as highly effective leaders as well as develop in their personal leadership journey. Students from all disciplines – including education, nursing and other healthcare roles, administration and business – will learn how to address complex, real-world problems with evidence-based decisions. This is done through leadership frameworks, theories and philosophies.  

Total cost at ACE

$5,100

(tuition + fees)

Applications due April 3 for April 6, 2020 Term

Estimated Time to Completion:
10 Months

View Tuition Details

Key Features

  • Flexible Design: Study on your schedule. Our online format allows you to plan your coursework around your life.

  • Applicable Skills: Use what you learn, no matter what your career path is. Develop your skills in many facets of leadership: communication, collaboration, ethics, cultural responsiveness, strategic planning and innovation. Learn strategies for solving problems you encounter every day. 

  • Prepare for Your Future: Strengthen your future marketability by demonstrating a commitment to effective leadership as a personal and professional journey.

For more information about this program, view the College Catalog. You can also ask questions anytime via chat.

See Student Experience
See Student Experience

View Academic Calendar
View Academic Calendar

Understand Admission Requirements
Understand Admission Requirements

Explore Payment Options
Explore Payment Options

Department Chair

Kathleen Stroud, Ed.D.
Administrative Faculty and Chair,
Department of Leadership and Administration

Quality Without Question

We are, and have always been, regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. This accreditation guarantees that our programs meet certain levels of quality standards.   

A Note About Licensure:

While this certificate provides a comprehensive understanding of the intended certificate outcomes, it does not lead to licensure, certification, or endorsement. ACE offers several programs that do provide a pathway to licensure, certification, or endorsement and they can be found here.

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Tuition

Certificate in Leadership

Total Tuition

18 semester credits x $235 per credit

$4,230

Fees

$50 Application Fee

$720 Technology & Library Fee ($40 per credit)

$100 Program Conferral Fee

$870

Total Program Cost*

$5,100

*This is an estimated value of the cost for tuition and fees. Amounts may vary depending on number of transfer credits applied to the selected program hours, the pace and satisfactory completion of the selected program credit hours, receipt of scholarship and/or grant amounts, and adjustments to tuition or fees as described in the Catalog Right to Modify Tuition section.

State of California Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF)

It is a state of California requirement that a student who pays his or her tuition is required to pay a state-imposed assessment for the Student Tuition Recovery Fund. For more information and to see if you must pay the state-imposed assessment for Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) click here.

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ACE General Admission Requirements

  • Complete and submit all application components including the admission application, including the enrollment agreement, and payment agreement.
  • Submit the nonrefundable application fee.*
  • Provide official transcripts from a regionally accredited institution indicating successful completion of the level of education required for entry to the program.**

*The application fee is valid for one year from date of submission.
**Additional evidence may be required to fulfill state requirements, including but not limited to verification of professional experience, test scores, or an interview.

Program Admission Requirements

Certificate in Leadership

  • ​Bachelor's or Highest Post-Baccalaureate degree earned from a Regionally Accredited Institution    
  • Minimum grade point average cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for full admission
  • Transcript​

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International Transcript Requirements

All applicants must submit to the Admissions Office official, sealed college transcripts from each institution attended.

  • Transcripts that are international and/or not in English must be evaluated through an NACES-recommended agency.
  • Texas applicants may only submit evaluations from agencies approved by the Texas Education Agency.
  • International applicants must request the course-by-course evaluation. The evaluation report must show that the non-U.S. education is equivalent to the education/accreditation level required for the program.

English as a Second Language Applicants

All applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate competence in the English language as demonstrated in one of three ways:

  1. Submission of an official transcript showing a degree from a United States secondary school or regionally accredited college/university.

  2. Submission of an official minimum score on the paper or internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exams.
    • The minimum TOEFL score required for the internet-based version is 80, and the paper-based version requires a minimum TOEFL score of 20 for each of the three skills: Reading, Listening, and, Writing.

    • The minimum IELTS score required is 6.5. Note: IELTS is not acceptable for Texas programs leading to certification.

    • The testing agency must send test scores directly to American College of Education.
  3. Applicants to the Texas Educational Leadership program whose first language is not English must submit scores from the Internet-Based (IBT) TOEFL. An overall score of 80, and a score of 26 on the speaking section is required.

Admissions Appeal Process

Applicants have the right to appeal admissions decisions. Begin the process by filling out the admissions appeal here.

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Courses

Explore the classes you'll take to fulfill this program's 18 semester credit requirement. For more information, a complete list of requirements, and course options, see the College Catalog.

Leadership Courses

(18 semester credits)

Success is attributed to effective decision making, a skill required for professional and personal reasons. An essential ability required by leaders, decision making is a process which identifies critical elements of a choice to determine a course of action. The focus for this course considers ways decisions are made and how these techniques can be evaluated to improve outcomes. Specifically, the course addresses the development of skills to efficiently and consistently make informed decisions using data to maintain awareness of organizational needs, demographics, and performance levels. The role of collaboration in decision making is also a major focus.
This course focuses on establishing and maintaining the vision and mission of an organization through effective use of performance data to inform the selection of strategies and practices contributing to organizational success. Through the development of organization wide initiatives and priorities, supported by effective communication, students learn to facilitate collaborative efforts, develop productive partnerships, and empower leadership skills in others to create a culture of achievement.
This course examines the leadership process in the context of developing and distributing or sharing leadership within an organization. It investigates team and group dynamics, team building, interpersonal and group relations, and effective problem solving and decision-making skills within collaborative environments. The course places particular emphasis on the development of human resources skill sets for leaders, including risk-prone behaviors and conflict management; relationships among leaders internal and external to the organization; and how leaders build other leaders, contributing to effective succession plans to maintain organizational cohesion and performance.
This course focuses on individuals as leaders from an individual perspective, emphasizing  principles and practices of interpersonal relationships for leadership development, professional role modeling for those who look to them for guidance, and advocacy for change within and outside the organizational environment. In the course, students will take an introspective look at their leadership as a personal and professional journey - how their past life experiences set them on a course toward leadership, where they are today in their journey, and how they envision and are preparing for future destinations.
Students will evaluate and compare different leadership theories, frameworks, and philosophies. Students will also reflect upon their own leadership experiences through the perspectives of those theories. This course places emphasis on bridging theory to practice for leadership development and to be an effective leader in a variety of settings. 
Students will design, develop, and implement models of strategic planning that exhibit innovation. This course focuses on the overall performance of an organization by identifying, clarifying, and aligning specific leadership behaviors to the organization's mission, goals, and values. Strategic plans will be developed to ensure that an organization is effectively and efficiently meeting the needs of stakeholders within and outside of the organization while meeting its goals and sustaining its values.
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