Admission Requirements:

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

1. Meet the Graduate School admission requirements;
2. Hold a 2.75 undergraduate GPA or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate work or 3.3 GPA in 12 hours or more of work at the graduate level or a minimum 50th percentile on the Graduate Record Examination writing. International students must have a minimum score of 550 on the TOEFL; 
3. For Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education (ECE) , elementary education, middle level education, secondary education, curriculum and instruction, and for students in educational media and technology who are pursuing the NP endorsement: hold a valid teaching credential. For international students who do not intend to teach in the United States, this requirement can be waived. Teaching certification is NOT required for the programs Master of Arts in Educational Psychology (EPDL) , Master of Arts in Social Foundations of Education (SFND) , or for students in Master of Arts in Educational Media and Technology (EDMT)  not pursuing the NP endorsement;
4. Furnish an analysis of professional goals written by the candidate. This analysis should include a description of how the chosen degree program will help meeting the selected goals and how the candidate’s life experiences, accomplishments and interests will contribute to his or her success in the program; and
5. Request and have submitted two letters of recommendation that address the candidate’s professional commitment, experience and potential. The transcripts, analysis of goals and letters of recommendation should give evidence of potential for graduate-level scholarship.

Department Information:

Teacher Education - College of Education

Advisor Information:

Retention Requirements

Retention requirements can be considered a “mid-point progress review” in the master’s degree programs. It is necessary to successfully complete all retention requirements before proceeding with the remainder of the program.

To proceed with exit requirements, students must:

1. Complete ECE 600  and ECE 602  and ECE 609  with a grade of B or better in all three courses. ECE 600  should be taken in the first ten hours on the program;
2. Complete EDPS 667 , EDPS 677  or EDPS 687  within 15 hours of graduate credit with an overall GPA of 3.0 or better;
3. Schedule and satisfactorily complete a progress review after 22 credit hours have been completed; and
4. If a student’s progress is judged unsatisfactory at the time of the progress review, the decision will be reviewed by all early childhood education graduate faculty, with the decision based on a majority vote. Students who do not meet the criteria, but maintain graduate student status, may continue to take graduate credit for professional development.

Degree Requirements: 32-33 hours

All of the courses in the program and restricted elective areas count towards the Early Childhood Endorsement. The ZS requires a total of 26 hours of credit listed in the program and restricted elective areas.

The curricular requirements include a minimum of 32 graduate-level hours, to be distributed as follows: