EDUCATIONAL SPECIALIST DEGREE

The Educational Specialist degree (Ed.S.) is undifferentiated but with eight areas of specialization--adult education; counselor education; educational administration; elementary education; health, physical education, and recreation; higher education; secondary education; and vocational education; and may be issued by the Graduate School to those students whose major objective is to develop educational competency in one of these specialized areas. All graduate courses applicable to this degree must be taken on the Fayetteville campus unless otherwise specified.

All requirements for the Educational Specialist degree with specializations in adult education, educational administration, or vocational education may also be completed at Graduate Resident Center in Pine Bluff.

Admission to the Program

Admission to the Educational Specialist degree program is based on the total profile of applicants' educational background and their career objectives. After students have been admitted to the Graduate School, they may seek acceptance in one of the program areas of specialization. All students seeking admission must meet the following admission criteria:

1) Completed a master's degree or its equivalent in a related field.

2) Presented a Graduate Record Examinations general score on three parts (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) or a Miller Analogies Test score. These scores are considered as part of the applicant's profile. Required scores may vary within given programs.

3) Attained a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.25 on all graduate course work previous to being admitted into the Specialist program.

4) Students with a 3.00 to 3.25 cumulative grade-point average in all graduate courses must present a combined minimum Graduate Record Examinations general score of 1300 on three parts (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) or 55 on the Miller Analogies Test.

5) Two years of successful professional experience, or equivalent, in an area related to the student's academic goals prior to the completion of the degree.

6) A minimum of three letters of recommendation (form ORGS-33) from individuals capable of commenting on qualification for graduate study.

7) A personal interview with the program area graduate faculty. This evaluative process will subjectively measure such factors as poise, professional objectives, professional commitment, and ability to discuss professional problems.

A student is formally admitted to this program when recommended by the Committee on Graduate Study in Education to the Dean of the Graduate School.

General Requirements

All Ed.S. programs contain a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate work beyond the master's degree in a planned program. The program for each student must include the requirements specified in the particular program to which the student has been accepted; assessed deficiencies in the area of specialization; assessed courses to meet current professional requirements of the Master of Education degree; a minimum of nine semester hours of graduate work in a related field(s) outside the College of Education; a graduate course in research, statistics, or data processing applicable for educational specialists; and an original project, research paper, or report for which variable credit up to six semester hours is required.

After a student is accepted into an Ed.S. program, a committee with a minimum of three members will be appointed and a program of study will be established outlining the minimum requirements. Only the adviser and one other member of the student's committee may be from the program area sponsoring the program. The committee's responsibilities include the determination of deficiencies, the acceptability of previous graduate work, the approval of the candidate's program of study, the approval of the original project or research paper, and the conduct of a final examination. This examination will be a comprehensive oral evaluation scheduled near the end of the candidate's program and will include one or both of the following: (1) evaluation of the original project, research paper, or report, and (2) evaluation covering material related to the background and professional preparation of the candidate. A written examination may not be taken to substitute for the oral examination. A written account of the original project, research paper, or report will be filed with the program area sponsoring the candidate's program of study.

A declaration of intent to pursue the Ed.S. program must be filed with the Dean of the Graduate School by the student immediately following the approval of the program of study. The last 30 hours of the program must be completed within a period of six years from the date of declaration. A minimum of 30 weeks of resident study at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in an approved program is required. Credit earned in any University of Arkansas center, off-campus workshop or special course will not count as residence study in the Ed.S. program. The only exception is course work completed at the Pine Bluff Graduate Resident Center by students pursuing the Ed.S. degree in education with a specialization in adult education, educational administration, or vocational education.

Upon completion of all requirements, candidates are issued an Educational Specialist degree. Their names appear on the commencement program, but there is no distinctive academic regalia in connection with the Educational Specialist degree.