Auburn University
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GUIDELINES FOR SPECIALIST IN EDUCATION DEGREE
 
Department of Curriculum and Teaching
 
 
The Specialist in Education degree is designed for professional educators who wish to enhance their competence in an area of specialization. Generally, because the Ed.S. Degree is considered a terminal degree, students who pursue specialist degrees do not then enter doctoral programs. However, because some states now require that teachers who wish sixth-year teacher certification complete a specialist degree, some students who earn specialist degrees may wish ultimately to earn doctoral degrees as well. Students who wish to explore the possibility of earning both a specialist and doctoral degree should work closely with their advisers to design plans of study that are compatible with the requirements for both degrees.
 
ADMISSION
 
1. Applicants must have completed master's degree programs in the areas of specialization for which they are applying.
 
2. Their cumulative graduate grade point averages must be at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) when they apply.
 
3. To be fully admitted to Specialist in Education programs, applicants must submit combined Verbal and Quantitative GRE scores of at least 800 and at least 350 on each subtest.
 
4. GRE requirements will apply to students who completed master's degree programs at Auburn as well as to students who have completed master's degree programs elsewhere.
 
5. The weighted scores of all applicants must meet the 400 minimum established by the Graduate School for admission to master's degree programs.
 
6. Applicants seeking exceptions to these requirements for admission must submit additional evidence of their academic abilities (including writing samples). They will be invited to submit evidence of their potential for leadership and letters of recommendation solicited directly by the Graduate Studies Committee. They will also have the option of discussing their qualifications with a review panel consisting of three faculty members in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, one of whom is currently serving on the Graduate Studies Committee and will convene and chair the session.
 
ADVISORY COMMITTEES
 
7. Students will be assigned advisers in their respective areas of specialization when they are admitted.
 
8. With their advisers, students will select at least two others to serve on their advisory committees: at least one other member of the College of Education faculty and at least one person outside the department.  Students seeking degrees in secondary areas of specialization and in Music Education must select at least one committee member from faculties in their teaching fields (e.g., English, Mathematics, Music).
 
PLANS OF STUDY
 
9. Specialist in Education degree programs will consist of at least 48 quarter hours beyond the master's degree.  Plans of study for specialist programs will be built upon course work completed for the master's degree. The combined programs must include courses in four areas: general curriculum; educational psychology or learning theory; social, philosophical, or historical foundations of education; and educational research.
 
10. Generally, plans of study will be organized in two parts (Graduate School Form 3S): Area of Specialization and Related Areas.  For programs in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Area of Specialization will include the teaching field and related courses in pedagogy (Mathematics and Mathematics Education courses, for instance, or Early Childhood Education and Family and Child Development courses).  Related Areas will include Foundations of Education courses and support work or electives not directly related to the area of specialization. (Although the university requires that students complete a total of 40 hours in the teaching field during their master's and specialist programs, students must take 20 hours in the teaching field to qualify for AA certificates in addition to the 20 that they must have to qualify for A certificates.) No more than 7 hours may be earned by completing the required field project.
 
11. Students in specialist programs will take written examinations that reflect their plans of study. Advisory committees will determine the nature of the examinations, which will require at least six hours of writing.  No oral examination will be required unless a student's advisory committee agrees that one should be held.
 
12. Students must complete their programs, including their field project, within five years of the date that they complete the first post-master's degree courses that appear on their plans of study. 
 
FIELD PROJECT
 
13. Advisory committees must approve students' written proposals before the field project can be undertaken.
 
14. A variety of tasks may be undertaken as field projects, e.g., research appropriate to students' interests, needs, and formal preparation in research; development and field testing of curricula or teaching materials; adaptation and application of strategies learned in courses; and development, delivery, and assessment of staff development (in-service) activities related to students' areas of specialization.
 
15. Advisers will monitor and supervise students' work in the field.
 
16. At the end of their field projects, students will submit written reports of their projects to members of their advisory committees and will discuss their completed projects with members of their committees at meetings arranged expressly for that purpose. All members of the advisory committee must approve the field project report, and the adviser must submit a record of the committee's approval to the department head.
 
17. Advisers will maintain at least one copy of the report submitted for each field project that they direct.
 
CERTIFICATION
 
18. Students seeking sixth-year certification in another state must assume the responsibility for developing a plan of study that satisfies that state's requirements.  
 
 

8/15/91
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