Education Specialist in Adult and Higher Education
Objectives
The Education Specialist Degree (EdS) in Adult and Higher Education is a scholarly practitioner’s degree for graduate students who have earned their Master's degree and intend to work within a postsecondary setting or other adult and community educational areas. The degree emphasizes doctoral level coursework to prepare students for specialized administrative positions where original research is not an expectation.
Program Flow
After acceptance, the student will be assigned a temporary advisor and should then meet with his/her assigned advisor. During the second semester of enrollment, the student will identify a graduate committee chair and committee members, establish and submit their program of study to the Graduate School,
Program of Study
Course Number Course Title Credits
Core Courses (15 Credit Hours)
EDLD 605 Higher Education History and Philosophy 3
EDLD 616 Organization and Administration of Higher Education 3
EDLD 628 College Students 3
EDU 637 Institutional Research and Assessment 3
or
EDU 614 Program Evaluation 3
EDU 600 Doctoral Seminar 3
Electives (18 credit hours)
EDLD 509 Issues and Trends in Higher Education 3
EDLD 512 Finance and Administration in Higher Education 3
EDLD 513 Resource and Program Management 3
EDU 612 Critical Race Theory 3
NASX 523 Am Indians/Minority in High Ed 3
EDLD 529 Post Secondary Distance Delivered Education 3
EDLD 635 College Teaching 3
EDLD 531 Student Development Theory 3
EDLD 533 Law and Policy in Higher Education 3
EDLD 535 Student Services 3
* Approved electives may be selected from other Education programs or departments that strengthen the student's program of study. These courses need to be selected in consultation with the chair.
Required Research Courses (9 Credits)
EDU 602 Educational Statistics II 3
EDU 610 Qualitative Educational Research 3
EDU 607 Quantitative Educational Research 3
* EDCI 506, EDCI 501 or equivalent are prerequisite courses.
Professional Paper or Comprehensive Exams 3
EDLD 575 Professional Paper or Comprehensive Exams
Total Credits 45
Committees
Candidates will have a three-member committee. Candidates should work closely with their committee chair to prepare and submit a program of study immediately upon admission to the program. The majority of the committee should be made up of faculty from the degree-granting department. The chair and one other member must be from the Educational Leadership faculty. The third committee member must have academic credentials in the area of the student's program of study and be approved by the Head of the Department of Education and Dean of The Graduate School.
Chairs
The student should carefully select his/her chair after thorough conversations with the Adult and Higher Education faculty members. The chair will serve as the student's primary advisor. The committee, as a whole, is subject to the approval of the Head of the Department of Education. Chairs and members of a student's committee are subject to change. In addition, revision to the program of study can be made during the course of study with the chair's approval.
Comprehensive Examinations
Near the end of completing course work, students will complete a written and oral comprehensive exam or a professional paper. Students are expected to demonstrate mastery of the program of study. The substantive content of the written exam questions will be determined by the chair in consultation with the committee.
Or
Professional Paper
The EdS student will develop a professional paper as his/her summative experience. The professional paper will address a specific issue and contextualized problem of practice using appropriate theory and research-based best practices. Specifically, the professional paper will: 1) frame the problem; 2) review pertinent research literature; 3) identify appropriate methods used to demonstrate the extent of the problem and the efficacy of the solution employed; and 4) provide recommendations grounded in research to solve the problem.