How to Apply to the Teacher Leadership Program
All candidates for admission to the Teacher Leadership Program (AGS or EdM) must submit the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) online application. The usual application fee has been waived for this program. If you are applying for a specific scholarship (such as the Jewish Day School Fellowship or the ICEF Fellowship), you can indicate that by selecting the appropriate name under the “Concentration” menu.
Please note that not all sections of the GSAS application are necessary for your application to the Teacher Leadership Program to be considered complete. Only the following sections of the GSAS online application are required:
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Personal Information
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Program Information
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Resume (see details below)
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Educational Record (see details below)
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Recommendation Information (see details below)
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Statement of Purpose
All applicants will be interviewed in person or via video conference.
Application Deadlines
For the Jewish Day School Fellowship, the application deadline is January 31st. Admissions letters will be sent out starting March 15th.
For district partnerships such as the Brandeis-Arlington Teacher Leader Fellowship, the Brandeis-Waltham Teacher Leader Fellowship and the ICEF partnership, the application deadline is April 1st. Admissions letters will be sent out starting May 1st.
The regular application deadline for the Master of Education and Advanced Graduate Study programs is April 15th. Admissions is rolling until the cohort is full. The cohort is capped at 25.
Application Requirements
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Successful candidates to the EdM and AGS programs will have at least four years of teaching experience.
Teachers from Jewish day schools applying for the Jewish Day School Fellowship must have at least five years of teaching experience.
You are required to upload your transcripts to the Educational Record page of your application in order for it to be considered complete. At this stage of the process you may upload your institution’s unofficial print or web version of your transcript. Many institutions allow students and alumni to access their grade report online; these reports are sufficient for application file review. Official copies of your transcripts are only required if you are admitted and have confirmed your intention to enroll. Official transcripts mailed to Brandeis prior to an acceptance of an offer of admission will be destroyed. Please note that transcripts must be in English or be accompanied by an English translation.
Candidates to this program must submit names of two references. One of these must be the head of school or principal, and the second must be a colleague. The recommendation letters should take the form of:
A Letter of Endorsement from a teaching colleague attesting to your instructional excellence and leadership potential.
A Letter of Nomination from the principal or head of school that includes:
The letter of nomination should address the following questions:
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How would you characterize this person's teaching? Would you say that s/he is an effective, even exemplary, teacher?
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Will other teachers have confidence in this person as a leader of teacher learning? On what are you basing this assessment?
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What role(s) would you like this teacher to play in the school?
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How would this teacher's leadership help your school to achieve its instructional goals?
You will be asked to submit responses to two of the following three questions (select either 1 or 2; and 3):
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Describe one significant change in your classroom teaching practice. Why did you undertake this change? What challenges did you encounter? How well is it working and how do you know?; OR
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Describe a change that you tried to initiate in your school. Why did you undertake this change? What challenges did you encounter? How well is it working and how do you know?; AND
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What experiences and capacities do you bring to teacher leadership? What new understandings and skills do you want to develop?
The GRE is not required for admission to the Teacher Leadership Program.
You will be interviewed as part of the review process. The interview may be done in-person if the applicant is able to meet with the committee on campus or via video conference online.
Because this is a part-time nature program, international applicants requiring an F-1 visa are ineligible to participate.
If you have other questions regarding visa status and or eligibility, please contact the International Students and Scholars Office.