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Ed. S. Degree 

Jennifer Hauver James
Graduate Coordinator

Todd Dinkelman
Social Studies Program Coordinator

Introduction

This guide supplements regulations of the Graduate School contained in the current Graduate Bulletin of The University of Georgia. The Graduate School and the Department communicate policies primarily through the Graduate Bulletin, Department and Program websites, and e-mail distribution lists. Every effort is made to help students stay informed of requirements and deadlines. However, it is the student’s responsibility to meet deadlines and to seek advice regarding degree requirements.

Program

The Social Studies Education Program in the Department of Elementary and Social Studies Education offers the Ed.S. degree program for individuals who wish to focus their careers primarily on social studies teaching and curriculum leadership at the precollegiate level. The Ed.S. degree program provides an opportunity for advanced study and specialization in the field of social studies without the heavy emphasis on research that is present in the Department’s doctoral degrees.

Admission Standards

Admission to the Graduate School of The University of Georgia is competitive, with each candidate’s credentials judged in comparison to other candidates’ credentials within the same degree program applicant pool. Selection is based upon a consideration of the strength of the complete application package.

Students applying to the EdS degree program must have a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and should have a cumulative graduate grade point average of 3.3 on a 4 point scale; a minimum of two years of teaching experience; and a pre-August 2011 Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score of at least 900 total and at least 450 verbal and 450 quantitative, or post-August 2011 GRE scores at least 146 verbal and 140 quantitative, or a Miller Analogies Test score of at least 408.

International students for whom English is a second language must submit a score of 550 or better on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) obtained within two years of the application.

Where other evidence warrants, the department may recommend acceptance of students who have lower GRE scores and/or lower GGPAs. However, such recommendations may be denied by the Graduate School.

The Social Studies Education Program does not admit non-degree graduate students.

Application Procedures

Individuals applying for admission to Ed.S. degree program should complete all application materials required by the Graduate School and a supplemental Social Studies Education Graduate Programs Application. The Graduate School application form, fee, test scores, and transcripts should be sent directly to the Admissions Office of the Graduate School.  The supplemental Social Studies Education Graduate Programs Application should be sent directly to the Department of Elementary and Social Studies Education.  See links below.

Applicants are urged to apply as early as possible, up to one year in advance of the desired entrance date. The Program suggests the following application target dates to assure full consideration for the desired semester of matriculation and funding opportunities: Fall and Summer Semesters, March 1; Spring Semester, October 1. Applications received after these target dates may be considered on a case-by-case basis. International applicants are urged to complete t heir application by January 1st for entrance into the Fall semester of the subsequent academic year.

Application materials to be submitted:

Information on Graduate School Admissions
Social Studies Education Supplemental Application

Requirement for Resident Credit

It is expected that a minimum of five 3 semester hour courses will be taken at the UGA campus. With approval from the Major Professor, the Graduate Coordinator and the Dean of the Graduate School, up to six hours of semester credit may be transferred in from an accredited institution provided that the student was admitted to an Ed.S. degree program in that institution at the time that the courses were taken. A maximum of 15 hours of non-resident in-service credit is allowed on the program of study.

Advising

Advising for Ed.S. degree students is performed by the Department’s faculty in coordination with the Graduate Coordinator. All incoming students are initially assigned an interim advisor who will help the student select courses to take in the first semester and schedule an informal preliminary program planning committee meeting no later than the end of the first semester of study. At this meeting a tentative program of study will be developed and the student will be introduced to the Department’s faculty.

Working in consultation with the Department Head, the Graduate Coordinator assigns each Ed.S. degree student a three-person faculty advisory committee composed of a Major Professor and two additional faculty members. The Major Professor serves as the head of the advisory committee. The committee determines the student’s program of study, develops, administers, and judges the comprehensive exam over the program of study, and serves as the advisory and examining committee for the applied project when one is required.

Program of Study

The program of study for the Ed.S. degree should be planned as a logically organized whole, taking into consideration the student’s record in previous graduate and undergraduate coursework. A minimum of 30 semester hours beyond the master’s degree must be shown on the official program of study.

An official program of study form should be filed when the student has completed four or five courses. This form is forwarded to the Department’s Graduate Coordinator for approval and then sent to the Dean of the Graduate School.
In developing a program of study, the student’s advisory committee considers such things as a student’s career goals, previous coursework and academic experiences, and particular interests, as well as degree requirements. The program of study should include courses distributed according to the following minimums:

A. Educational Foundations: 3 to 6 semester hours
B. Curriculum and Instruction: 9 to 12 semester hours
C. History and social sciences: 12-15 semester hours
D. Research Methods: 3 semester hours

Representative Courses

The listing below shows a variety of approved potential courses for each area of the program of study. Advisor-accepted substitutions for approved courses should be documented with a note to the student’s Departmental file.

A. Approved Educational Foundations Courses:

EFND 7010 Comparative and International Education
EFND 7020 History of Education in the United States to 1865
EFND 7030 History of Education in the United States Since 1865
EFND 7100 Gender and Education
EFND 7110 The African American Educational Experience
EFND 7120 Sociological Theories of Education
EFND 7130 Democracy and Education
EFND 7140 The Social and Cultural Contexts of Teaching
EFND 7150 Anthropology of Education (alternatively, may be used as 1 ANT content course)
EFND 8010 Philosophy of Education
EFND 8040 Pragmatism and Education
EFND 8060 Social and Political Philosophies of Education
EPSY 6010 Foundations of Human Development for Education
EPSY 6060 Foundations of Motivation for Education
EPSY 6800 Foundations of Cognition for Education
SOCI 6060 Sociology of Education

B. Approved Curriculum and Instruction Courses:

ESOC 6100 Teaching United States History
ESOC 6350 Social Science Curriculum in Secondary Schools
ESOC 6360 Methods of Teaching Social Science in Secondary Schools
ESOC 6380 Computer Technology Applications in Social Science Education
ESOC 6400 Teaching Social Studies in the Middle Grades
ESOC 7010 Teaching of Geography
ESOC 7050 Problems of Teaching Secondary Social Studies
ESOC 7080 Curriculum Planning in Social Sciences
ESOC 7200 Economic Education in the Social Science Curriculum
ESOC 7420 Social Studies for the Young Child
ESOC 7520 Teaching Politics, Government, and Citizenship
ESOC 8010 History of Social Studies Education
ESOC 8250 Values Education for Citizenship

C. History and Social Science Content Courses:

Students may concentrate in a single discipline or in a combination of history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, political science, economics, or geography. Transcripts will be reviewed carefully for their content in these areas. Arts and science courses are required unless substituted with approved content centered alternatives offered in our own Department. No program will be approved with fewer than 15 semester hours of history and social sciences courses.

HIST 6XXX and higher (ESOC 6100 may be substituted for 1 HIST content course)
GEOG 6XXX and higher (ESOC 7010 may be substituted for 1 GEOG content course)
POLS 6XXX and higher (ESOC 7520 may be substituted for 1 POLS content course)
ECON 6XXX and higher (ESOC 7200 may be substituted for 1 ECON content course)
ANTH 6XXX and higher (EFND 7150 may be substituted for 1 ANTH content course)
PSYC 6XXX and higher
SOCI 6XXX and higher

D. Approved Research Methods Courses:

ESOC 6990 Research Seminar in Social Science Education
ERSH 6200 Methods of Research in Education
ERSH 7400 Qualitative Research in Education

Applied Project

An applied project is usually carried out in a typical classroom or school setting. The project may, for example, involve a quasi-experimental trial of a teaching approach advocated in education literature. The format and contents of applied projects vary considerably. Since the Graduate School does not review applied projects, the Major Professor and advisory committee serve as the final arbiter of acceptability for both content and format. The Department encourages students to use the APA (4th ed.) style manual for the preparation of applied projects. Applied projects that are based on research with human subjects must be cleared by UGA’s Institutional Review Board.

Ed.S. students who are undertaking an applied project work with their Major Professor and advisory committee to develop this 3 credit hour (ESOC 7650) component of the degree. The student is required to submit a brief prospectus and obtain approval from his or her advisory committee prior to implementing an applied project. The Major Professor oversees the student’s work on the applied project and may require a review of the entire advisory committee and/or revisions prior to acceptance as satisfactory.

Students who culminate their Ed.S. degree with an applied project take only an oral comprehensive exam. This exam, composed of questions related to the program of study, is administered during the final semester of coursework, often immediately prior to the meeting for the advisory committee’s approval of the applied project prospectus.

Written Comprehensive Exam

Candidates for the Ed.S. degree who are not undertaking an applied project must successfully complete a written comprehensive examination that covers their program of study. An oral follow-up exam may also be required.

Time Limit

All coursework requirements for the Ed.S. must be completed within six years, beginning with the first course listed on the student’s program of study. Extension of time will be considered only for conditions beyond the control of the student and will be approved or denied on a case by case basis by the Dean of the Graduate School.

Forms Required for Degree Completion

To help ensure smooth progress through your graduate degree program, a variety of forms need to be filed. The chart below lists the forms used for the Ed.S. degree.

Additional Information

This guide provides information considered most essential to help students gain an overview of the Department’s Ed.S. degree program. Further information regarding Graduate School policies is available from faculty advisors and the persons listed on the coversheet.