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Overview
Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degrees are awarded in Educational Leadership,
Curriculum and Instruction, and School Psychology. The Ed.S. degree provides
an opportunity for professionals in leadership positions in an educational environment
to receive in-depth academic study. This degree provides the opportunity for
the development of a high level of professional proficiency in such areas as
instruction, supervision, administration, curriculum, and current research literature.
The primary goal of the Ed.S. degree is teaching or acquiring professional proficiency
in a specialized education-related area. Because the purpose of the Ed.S. degree
may differ from that of the Ed.D., credit earned in an Ed.S. program is not
automatically transferable to a doctoral program. Instead, if a holder of an
Ed.S. degree enters a doctoral program at a later date, the doctoral advisory
committee will decide how much of the credit earned in the Ed.S. program will
be credited toward the doctorate. In any case, only 30 hours taken prior to
doctoral status may be transferred into the doctoral program of study.
University Admission Standards
Admission to the Education Specialist program requires (1) a master’s degree
from a regionally accredited institution (except in the case of the School Psychology
Specialist program, which does not require a master’s degree, but does have
other special admission criteria), (2) a combined score of 1000 (Verbal and
Quantitative Sections of the General Graduate Record Examination), (3) other
criteria as required by the individual departments, and (4) a recommendation
for admission by the appropriate College of Education Graduate Admissions Committee.
Admission to the university does not constitute admission to a specialist program.
Examinations
Educational Leadership majors must successfully complete one five-hour examination
in their major area and one three-hour examination in an area of specialization.
Curriculum and Instruction majors must successfully complete one three-hour
examination in their teaching specialty and one three-hour examination in the
Educational Foundations area. School Psychology (School Psychology Track) students
must successfully complete one three-hour examination during the last semester
of enrollment.
Program of Study and Academic Standards
A program of study (i.e., required course work) will be specified by the student’s
program area and approved by the college. Minimal core requirements for the
Ed.S. degree consist of 36 hours beyond the master’s degree in an approved program,
which must include a minimum of 12 graduate-level hours in the specialization
area, 6 graduate-level hours in research/statistics, and additional core requirements
that are specific to each of the Ed.S. degrees. An overall 3.0 GPA must be maintained
on all graduate work attempted. All other academic standards which apply to
master’s students will not be lower for specialist students.
Transfer of Credit
Educational Leadership program. A maximum of 9 semester hours earned
in a master’s degree may be applied to the program of study. Transfer credit
decisions are made by the respective graduate program coordinators and the specialization
advisers with the approval of the College of Education.
Curriculum and Instruction program. A maximum of 9 semester hours earned
in a master’s degree may be applied to the program of study. Transfer credit
decisions are made by the respective graduate program coordinators and the specialization
advisers with the approval of the College of Education.
School Psychology program. Students entering the School Psychology program
from the baccalaureate level may transfer in a maximum of 9 semester hours of
graduate credit earned subsequently at an accredited institution of higher education.
Courses taken as an undergraduate student may not be used for transfer unless
the credit was graduate level and not a part of the undergraduate degree program.
Time Limitation and Continuous Attendance
The student has seven years from the date of admission (prerequisite, articulation,
and foundation courses are exempt) to the specialist program to complete the
degree. No course older than seven years, at graduation, may be used in the
program of study for a specialist degree. Students who do not maintain continuous
enrollment (missing enrollment at the university for a period of two major semesters
[spring/fall], excluding summers) must Filename for readmission to the university,
although seven years is measured from when the student was first admitted to
the program.
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