Have you been dreaming of an opportunity to step outside the day-to-day challenges of leading your school to find professional reinvigoration and personal renewal? This is what you’ve been waiting for...
Come to this fully-funded, two-week fellowship to join a cohort of independent and international school heads at Columbia University's Teachers College. Through intensive study and collaboration, you'll have a remarkable experience that leaves you with renewed vision, passion, and energy to lead your school.
Discuss current educational issues, dive into educational philosophy and ethics, and immerse yourself in reflective-practice. Engage in design thinking and case study work with Klingenstein master's students. Visit independent schools in New York City to observe a variety of programs and ideas.
Connect to a cohort of fellow leaders to form lasting relationships. In addition to academic study, participants enjoy time together with all New York City has to offer. The group attends a number of social and cultural events including dinners, a private museum tour and a Broadway show.
Balancing multiple roles and constituencies is an around-the-clock job for heads. The demands of running a school leave little time for much needed academic renewal and discussion and few chances for meaningful reflection and personal development. This unique opportunity to spend two weeks with fellow heads will allow you return to your school with solution-focused academic research, renewed vision, and revitalized passion for education and leadership. You owe it to yourself and your school to apply.
Your Klingenstein experience begins with your application via the Teachers College Office of Admissions. Applications for the Heads 2025 Cohort have closed.
To be notified when the application opens for the 2026 cohort, please fill out our Contact Us form and specific "Heads" as your program of interest.
Learn more about the Program requirements in the FAQ section.
The application deadline each year is April 1.
The Heads of Schools Fellowship is a non-degree program of Columbia University's Teachers College and participants are awarded 3 graduate credits for participation. Applications to the program are made through Teachers College and candidates must meet requirements of the college.
An interview is not required.
Yes. You may submit letters, but they are not required for this program. We do require you to provide the name and contact information of one member of your administrative team who can serve as a reference should we contact them.
Yes.
Admissions decisions will be available in June. Applicants will need to log in to the application system to view decision letters.
The Klingenstein Center provides accommodations in a New York City hotel for the program participants.
A fellowship is a merit-based scholarship. All accepted participants receive a fellowship that covers the costs of tuition and accommodation and some cohort activities. Costs of meals, travel to New York City, and daily transportation to and from Teachers College are the responsibility of the participant.
The admission deadline for the Heads 2026 cohort is April 1, 2025. The application will open in late 2024. Once it is available, you can begin your application at the Teachers College Non-Degree Application Page.
The Klingenstein Center Heads of School program is a non-degree program of Teachers College, Columbia University. Applications are submitted through the Teachers College Non-Degree Programs application process. There is an application fee of $75 USD. The application requires:
Applicants with degrees from outside the United States have additional requirements. 1) They must complete a course-by-course evaluation from either World Education Service (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE), which may take several weeks. 2) If the language of instruction for their undergraduate degree was not English, an IELTS or TOEFL score will be required.
The program generally begins on the Sunday following the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday in January and meets for the last two weeks at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.
Applicants must: