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The Department of Educational Leadership and Professional Studies offers graduate study for education professionals who wish to enhance their careers with advanced degrees (EdD, MEd, MA), certifications, and endorsements. Our programs help students achieve in areas such as educational research, teaching, supervising, and providing leadership as directors, principals, teacher leaders, librarians, or curriculum specialists at all levels of instruction: elementary, secondary, and higher education.
Alumni in education are employed or in graduate school within 6 months after graduation
Noteworthy Educational Leadership and Professional Studies Jobs and Mid-Career Salaries with 8+ Years of Experience (PayScale)
This program focuses on developing advanced practitioners in the fields of bilingual education and English for speakers of other languages. As part of the full master's degree program in education, the concentration stresses principles of inquiry, theory, professional applications, and research. More info »
View academic program requirements and course descriptions in the University Course Catalog:
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This concentration focuses on inquiry-based learning of developmentally appropriate practice, family involvement, technology, and issues and trends in early childhood education. Students apply theoretical knowledge to action research studies conducted in a variety of early childhood settings. More info »
The 30-credit master's degree in higher education administration is an advanced and in-depth study of the history, structure, organization and administration of colleges and universities in the United States. Overall concentration is on leadership. More info »
Enhance your leadership skills for career advancement and personal or professional development. Offered in a low-residency, hybrid format, this three-year 55-credit program is especially suitable for working professionals. Designed for both novice and experienced leaders, the multidisciplinary program prepares candidates for executive leadership positions in a variety of career settings. More info »
The graduate English as a Second Language (ESL) Alternate Route Certificate Program at William Paterson offers courses, seminars, and field supervision leading to state certification in teaching English as a Second Language. Applicants to the English as a Second Language (ESL) Alternate Route Certificate Program must have a Certificate of Eligibility (CE) in ESL from the New Jersey Department of Education. More info »
Each of the courses uses appropriate technology to allow learners to discover knowledge dynamically and emphasizes the NCTM standards of problem solving as a means as well as a goal. Importance is placed on communication of ideas in various means, interrelatedness of math applications, as well as the special NCTM standards for a particular content. More info »
This 12-credit professional graduate certificate program is designed to prepare candidates to enhance their knowledge, skills, and competence in designing and teaching STEM and STEAM courses, to adequately integrate emergent technologies and/or the various forms of the arts into these courses. More info »
The Teacher Leadership Certificate program is designed to enable teachers to earn a Teacher Leader Endorsement under the New Jersey Teacher Leader Law. Through NJ DOE (Department of Education), teachers are allowed to add a Teacher Leader Endorsement onto their initial instructional certificate by completing a state approved program that is aligned to the Teacher Leader Model of Standards. To meet the demand of this new certificate, a 12-credit hybrid course of study was developed at WPU. This two-semester, cohort-based program requires the completion of four (3 credit) courses outlined below. Candidates will study the seven domains of the Teacher Leader Model Standards throughout the program as recommended by the state. Learn more >>
William Paterson’s College of Education has been providing outstanding programs in education since the institution’s founding in 1855. Our departmental focus is on creating educational leaders prepared to meet present and future challenges. Taught by renowned faculty, our programs are designed to enable graduate students to immediately apply diverse skills and knowledge in leadership roles. Our programs provide flexibility for working professionals, with on-campus, online, and hybrid courses available.
In our educational leadership and professional studies programs, students learn in-demand skills that employers have identified as critical for job candidates, including:
Our graduates are in-demand candidates for leadership positions as principals, assistant principals, higher education executives, curriculum supervisors, reading specialists, and many others. They are leaders in P-12 schools throughout New Jersey, as well as higher education professionals at colleges and universities.
Our professors are proud practitioners in their fields and love to share their expertise beyond the classroom. Mentorship is at the core of our department, and it’s our goal that every student work directly with a faculty member to expand their knowledge and worldview.
William Paterson bachelor’s degree in education and master’s degree in higher education administration, current PhD candidate in curriculum and instruction at Penn State University
And we're ready to help you grow. At William Paterson, we provide students with the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to forge forward as a powerhouse—both in the classroom and in their careers. Apply today to discover your potential.
For Lisa Sama-Barreto, completing her degree in spring 2024 as part of William Paterson University’s inaugural cohort of doctor of education (EdD) in leadership graduates was never a question, even when life took an unexpected turn. She had entered the EdD program in 2021 and was in her third year, conducting interviews and research for her dissertation, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram in October.
“This is going to sound very strange but being in the doctoral program made me focus on the doctoral program and not on the breast cancer. I didn't have a lot of time to think about it. I was always moving at 100 miles an hour,” says Sama-Barreto. The EdD is her third William Paterson degree; she also earned the bachelor of arts in English/writing in 2000 and the master of education (MEd) in educational leadership in 2010.
Sama-Barreto underwent surgery in November 2023, and did radiation treatments five days per week for four weeks from January through February 2024. All the while she continued to collect dissertation data, analyzed the data she collected while she recovered from surgery, and wrote chapters four and five of her dissertation while undergoing radiation therapy.
“The doctors tell me that I am the epitome of early detection. My prognosis is great. I didn't have to have chemotherapy because they caught it so early. But if I had to do that too, I would have done it, and I would have still finished this program,” says Sama-Barreto.
During her treatment, she also continued to serve as principal of Burnet Hill Elementary School in Livingston, NJ, where she is responsible for 500 students and 120 staff members. Prior to her role as principal in Livingston, Sama-Barreto spent 22 years with the Woodland Park School District as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal.
After receiving her diagnosis, she confided in her dissertation advisor, education Professor Sam Fancera. “I met with Dr. Fancera and I told him what was going on and that it's not going to stop me. I told him, ‘I'm going to finish this program. I'm going to finish my studies.’ He never asked questions, but he was available to me always, and he was a source of support.”
Sama-Barreto acknowledges that the radiation was very difficult, and the dissertation process was grueling. But her passion for her dissertation topic, “Principals’ Perspectives on English as a Second Language Program Refusals” gave her motivation to push through. “When parents refuse services for their eligible children, what are principals doing to support the children in the classroom? I wanted this paper done. I want it out there, for people to think about the ESL population of students. They are a unique group of children that have extraordinary needs.”
She also drew on her own heritage as a daughter of immigrants to find the courage to keep going. “My parents came from Italy with very little money. My grandparents made a bold move to leave their countries of origin and to take my parents with them. And I feel like I really relied on those same characteristics of determination, perseverance, grit, and tenacity to dig deep into myself. Just to have that understanding of where I come from, that's what really drove me.”
After successfully defending her dissertation on March 26, Sama-Barreto then began the process of “edits upon edits,” often working at 4:00 a.m. before submitting her final paper on May 9, and getting word from Professor Fancera that she was officially done.
Sama-Barreto, whose ultimate “glass ceiling goal” is to become a superintendent, is one of the University’s first group of nine doctor of education in leadership candidates receiving their degrees at the May 20 graduate commencement ceremonies. The three-year, 55-credit EdD program prepares candidates for executive leadership roles in a variety of career settings.
In addition to Professor Fancera, Sama-Barreto is thankful for the support of her fellow EdD candidates, as well as her husband, her two sons, and her parents.
“If you make a goal in your mind and you stay focused on that, nothing can stop you. I feel like nothing could have stopped me from being here and graduating with my cohort,” she says.
