Master of Science in Educational Studies

Admission Requirements

The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies’ current minimum general admission requirements as published in the graduate catalog.

1. A four-year bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university
2. Minimum of 8 undergraduate credit hours of social sciences/humanities
3. A cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.75 for all undergraduate work or a GPA of at least 3.0 for the junior and senior years of undergraduate work (based on A=4.00)
4. Three letters of recommendation that address the academic and professional qualities that support you for graduate work
5. Statement of Goals and Objectives (see below)
6. Satisfy the School of Graduate Studies’ English Language Proficiency requirements as published in the graduate catalog.

Statement of Goals and Objectives. As part of the application process, the applicant must respond to the following questions:

1. Describe several personal and professional goals you would like to achieve in the next five years. Include in your description reasons why these goals are important to you.
2. What are the characteristics, attitudes, values, and/or skills that you think will make you a good candidate for your professional role?
3. What have you already done professionally or personally of which you are proud? Please include a chronological history of all professional teaching or administration experiences, as well as academic honors or achievements you have earned.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 30 credits, to include:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Core Courses (15 credits)
EFR 501	Psychological Foundations of Education	3
EFR 505	Educational Equity and Social Change in Schooling	3
EFR 506	Multicultural Education	3
EFR 527	Education Policy: Theories Research	3
EFR 509	Introduction to Applied Educational Research (counts as 3 credits of scholarly tools)	3
Choose TWO additional scholarly tools courses from three listed below (6 credits)
EFR 515	Statistics I	3
EFR 510	Participatory Qualitative Research Methods	3
EFR 514	Advanced Textual Analysis	3
Electives or Internship (2-3 credits)
Choose 3 credits from Teaching & Leadership (TL), Higher Education (HE), Educational Leadership (EDL)
Thesis or Scholarly Project
EFR 995	Scholarly Project	2-4
or EFR 998	Thesis

Required for all students, regardless of thesis or non-thesis:

1. A minimum of 30 credits, including both credits required for the major and credits for the independent study, scholarly project or thesis.
2. At least one-half of the credits must be at or above the 500-level.
3. A maximum of one-fourth of the credit hours required for the degree may be transferred from another institution.

Thesis Option:

1. Four credits for the Thesis (EFR 998 Thesis)

2. Preparation of a written thesis is approved by a committee of three faculty. The student’s advisor chairs the committee.

3. Presentation and defense of the thesis takes place before the final report is sent to the School of Graduate Studies.

Scholarly Project Option:

1. Two credits for the Scholarly Project (EFR 995 Scholarly Project).

2. Pass a written final comprehensive examination covering the major field and, at the advisor's discretion, any secondary fields.

3. Preparation of a written scholarly project must be approved by the faculty advisor.

4. Presentation of scholarly project takes place before the final report is sent to the School of Graduate Studies.