The Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership is a part-time programme running for 12 months from the date of first registration for the programme.

Entry Requirements
Candidates must have:

• An honours primary degree and three years or more relevant professional experience in education or cognate field. Relevant professional experience, equivalent to five full years, may be considered as an honours equivalent.

It is desirable that candidates also have the following:

• Some professional experience of educational leadership;
• A clear sense of professional purpose (demonstrated via a 750 word statement of purpose submitted with the application).

The closing date for online application ( at www.pac.ie) is normally 1st April of the each year. It may be necessary to limit the number of candidates admitted to the programme and for this reason, attendance at interview may be necessary.

Students take 60 credits as follows:
ED6510 Schools as Organisations (1): Policy, Planning and Review (15 credits)
ED6511 Transformative Leadership in Education: Theory and Practice (15 credits)
ED6512 Schools as Organisations (2): Leading School Improvement (15 credits)
ED6513 Mentoring and Coaching Practicum in Educational Leadership (15 credits)

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module Descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2016 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules 2015/2016.

Application and Transfer to the MEd
For candidates who satisfactorily meet the entry requirements of the MEd, and have achieved at least a Second Class Honours grade in the Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership, an exemption of 60 credits of the taught element of the MEd programme will be granted. However, the remaining 60 credits of the MEd programme must include the compulsory dissertation of 30 credits.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership (NFQ Level 9, Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be

• Show a critical understanding of the essential relationship between leading and mentoring in the workplace;
• Reflect critically on key areas of theory, policy, empirical research and values underpinning educational leadership and mentorship;
• Participate in and contribute to debates on contemporary issues in educational leadership;
• Demonstrate emergent postgraduate level proficiency in the fundamentals of educational leadership and mentorship;
• Demonstrate postgraduate level knowledge of the foundations underpinning educational leadership and mentorship, and utilise these to develop leadership-focused projects.