This advanced degree program is designed for experienced, certified science teachers or those with relevant experience in the fields of science or environmental education. You can learn more about the Educational Specialist degree at the School of Teaching & Learning degrees website.
General Information
Admission Criteria
- Earned master’s degree in science education, environmental education, or a related field.
- Acceptable scores on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
- Two to three years of classroom teaching experience or relevant work at an informal science or environmental education site.
- Strong content background. Equivalent of master’s degree in a science content area.
Minimum Course Requirements
The Ed.S. degree requires a minimum of 72 hours of graduate coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree or approximately 36 to 39 hours of graduate coursework beyond the master’s degree.
Coursework in 6 major categories is required:
- Area of Specialization: 12-13 credits in science education/educational technology/environmental education
- Content Area Specialization: 6-9 credits in science or environmental content or ethics/history/philosophy of science
- Curriculum/Foundations: 6 credits in curriculum or foundations, including areas such as psychological, social, or historical foundations
- Graduate Seminar: 3 credits of graduate seminar in the School of Teaching & Learning
- Research Methods: 3 credits in research methods courses such as EDF 6401: Educational Statistics or EDF 7486: Methods of Educational Research
- Supervised Research: 5 hours of EDG 6910: Supervised Research
Enrollment Requirements
The specialist degree can be completed part-time or full-time. Students must register for at least 6 credit hours during one semester of specialist work.
