Master of Education

The Master of Education degree (M.Ed.) is designed for those who wish to prepare for careers as teachers, specialists, administrators, or supervisors in elementary or secondary schools. To be eligible for the degree, a student must meet the undergraduate requirements in Education, i.e., eighteen semester credits in Education, including student teaching, and must be offered admission to the degree program by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. The Master of Education degree is available for those doing major work either within or outside of the College of Education and Human Development. 

Students should refer to the section of this catalog titled "Departmental Programs" for the admission, degree, examination, and course requirements unique to each department.

Course Requirements 

A minimum of 30 semester credits is required for the M.Ed. degree, of which at least one-half must be at or above the 500 level. No less than 12 credits, including 2 for the Independent Study Report (997), must be in a single field or an area of concentration (major). At least 6 credits must be in an area or cognate to the area of concentration. At least 6 credits must be in the Foundations of Education.

Residence Requirement 

Students should contact the program for current residency requirements.

Independent Study 

The independent study is designed to enable the student independently to investigate a topic related to the major field of study. The study may be a presentation, analysis, or discussion of information and ideas already in the literature of the field. The requirement is designed to ensure that a student can investigate a topic and organize and present a scholarly report on the investigation.

The topic for an independent study must be approved by the student’s advisor and the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. The independent study proposal must be approved no later than the semester prior to the one in which the student expects to graduate, and must be filed in the School of Graduate Studies before a student is advanced to candidacy for a master’s degree. The student must prepare and secure the advisor’s approval of an independent study report. The advisor will certify completion of the report to the School of Graduate Studies by submitting the Final Report and submit a grade for 997-Independent study to the Office of the Registrar.

Candidacy for the Degree 

To become a candidate for the Master of Education degree the following requirements must be met in approximately the following sequence:

  1. Completion of 12 graduate credits at UND.
  2. A GPA of at least 3.00 for all work attempted.
  3. Appointment of an advisor from the major department. The advisor, who must be a member of the Graduate Faculty, will be appointed by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies upon recommendation of the graduate director of the student’s major department. The form for advisor appointment is available on the School of Graduate Studies website. The advisor is responsible to the department and the School of Graduate Studies for the supervision of the student’s work.
  4. Approval of a Program of Study on a form available on the School of Graduate Studies website. The Program of Study should be prepared in consultation with the advisor early in the second semester, and must bear the signature of the student, the advisor, and the Graduate Program Director and must be submitted to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies for approval by the designated deadline.
  5. Approval of a topic for the independent study by having the advisor sign the Topic Proposal form and submitting the Proposal to the School of Graduate Studies for the Dean’s signature.

The student and the advisor will be notified in writing of the advancement to candidacy. Students must complete all requirements for advancement to candidacy prior to the semester in which they plan to graduate.