Instructional Coaching Graduate Certificate
Instructional Coaching is a school-based mechanism for promoting and supporting quality instruction in classrooms, with the ultimate goal of improving student outcomes. Instructional Coaching is a well-defined conceptual construct designed to equip educators with advanced pedagogical skills, deep content knowledge, organizational skills, teaming skills, and the ability to communicate with, promote, and support classroom teachers to improve instruction and delivery.
This certificate prepares both alternatively certified and traditionally prepared educators to support and enhance teachers' knowledge, skills, and dispositions through research-based peer-coaching models. This certificate is a 4-course sequence completed over 3 semesters. Courses can transfer to a Master's Degree or an Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership (ELRC) or Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI).
The Instructional Coaching Certificate targets in-service teachers interested in increasing their educational skills by providing them with a rich framework of practice in effective instructional coaching, such as instructional modeling, demonstrations, and pedagogical skills, and focusing on the practical application of research and recommended practice in turnaround/transformation schools.
Courses are 100% web-based and delivered asynchronously.
Required Coursework | 12 hours
| Course Number | Course Title | Semester Offered | 2026-2027 Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| EDCI 7930 | Promoting Instructional Coaching (3) | Summer | May 25 - June 5 |
| EDCI 7931 | Advancing Teacher Leadership (3) | Summer | July 6 - July 24 |
| ELRC 7422 | School Improvement & Action Research (3) | Fall | 7-week course |
| ELRC 7404 | Internship (3) | Fall & Spring | 7-week course |
Unlike other certificates, the Instructional Coaching Certificate was strategically created first as an endorsement through the Louisiana Department of Education; those who complete and are licensed to teach in LA earn both an add-on endorsement and the LSU certificate.
Currently enrolled students
Any student who has been admitted to a graduate degree program is eligible to earn the Certificate in Instructional Coaching. Students currently enrolled in a graduate degree program who are interested in completing the Instructional Coaching Graduate Certificate should first contact their major professor. If you have questions, email Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD.
New graduate students seeking a certificate in Instructional Coaching only
Applications and supporting materials for all graduate studies must be submitted through
the LSU Graduate School portal. Students should have all materials available prior to submitting an application:
Email Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, and notify her that you are interested in the Instructional Coaching Graduate Certificate.