Guides
How to Become a Principal
Becoming a principal is a state licensing process, not a degree title. Most jurisdictions expect a valid teaching credential, documented classroom experience, completion of an approved administrator preparation sequence (often housed in an M.Ed. or EdS), any required leadership assessment, and an application to the state board. An educational leadership degree is supporting evidence, not the license.
Reviewed by Brittnie Vargas, School principal, M.Ed.Editorial processKey takeaways
- Becoming a principal is a state licensing process, not a degree title. Most jurisdictions expect a valid teaching credential, documented classroom experience, completion of an approved administrator preparation sequence (often housed in an M.Ed. or EdS), any required leadership assessment, and an application to the state board. An educational leadership degree is supporting evidence, not the license.
- No. The degree is graduate study. The principal credential is issued by the state after an approved sequence, experience, and any required exams.
- Coursework often can. Internships and field placements usually must be local and approved for the state where you want the credential. Confirm placement rules with the program and the board.
- No. Campus leadership roles are generally institutional HR decisions, not a K–12 building license. Use the higher-education administration specialization if that is your target.
Start with the state where you intend to hold the building credential, not with a program brochure. Principal titles differ — Preliminary Administrative Services, School Building Leader, Principal Standard Certificate — and so do experience clocks, internship-hour rules, and exam codes. The principal credential hub and each published state page cite the licensing board. Marketing language that a program “leads to certification” is not an eligibility determination.
A common sequence for already-licensed teachers: keep the teaching credential current, complete an approved educational leadership or principal preparation program with a supervised internship, pass any state leadership assessment (SLLA, PASL, CalAPA, state-specific tests), then apply through the board’s portal. Some states issue a certificate of eligibility before you have a job offer; others will not print the credential until an employing district verifies the assignment.
Degree choice is secondary to program approval. An M.Ed. in educational leadership, an EdS, or an EdD can all house an approved sequence. A higher-education administration concentration usually does not. If you are changing states, read the receiving board’s reciprocity page — this site does not republish interstate compact tables.
Use Title II and IPEDS as context, not as a ranking. Completions show that an institution conferred awards in a CIP code. They do not prove the program may recommend you for a principal credential. Confirm approval on the state board’s program list before you enroll.
Salary and employment figures live on the K–12 administrator career page. That page is labor outlook only. This guide is the national how-to. The state principal checklist is the legal how-to.
How to become a principal
Confirm the state credential title
Read the licensing-board page for the jurisdiction where you will hold the building credential. Titles, experience clocks, and exam codes differ. A program brochure is not an eligibility determination.
Keep a valid teaching or prerequisite credential
Most states require a current instructional or services credential and documented classroom or related experience. California’s Preliminary Administrative Services Credential cannot outlast that prerequisite.
Complete an approved administrator preparation sequence
Finish a board-approved principal or educational leadership program with a supervised internship the board accepts. An M.Ed., EdS, or EdD can house that sequence; a higher-education administration concentration usually cannot.
Pass the state’s leadership assessment
Sit the instrument the board names — SLLA, TExES 268 and PASL, FELE, CalAPA or CPACE, PAL, OAE 015, or another state exam. Neighboring cut scores are not yours.
Apply through the board portal
File the administrative credential with transcripts, internship verification, exam scores, and fingerprinting as the board lists. Some states issue a certificate of eligibility before a job offer; others require employment verification first.
Frequently asked questions
Does an M.Ed. in educational leadership make me a principal?
No. The degree is graduate study. The principal credential is issued by the state after an approved sequence, experience, and any required exams.
Can I complete principal preparation online?
Coursework often can. Internships and field placements usually must be local and approved for the state where you want the credential. Confirm placement rules with the program and the board.
Is higher-education administration the same pathway?
No. Campus leadership roles are generally institutional HR decisions, not a K–12 building license. Use the higher-education administration specialization if that is your target.
Where do I find the steps for my state?
Open the principal credential hub, then the published state checklist. Those pages include HowTo steps sourced to the licensing board.