Educational Specialist (EdS) degrees
The College of Education offers graduate work for the educational specialist (EdS) degree in counselor education; educational leadership; educational psychology: general educational psychology, educational psychology, educational research, and school psychology; elementary education, secondary education (music education is available as a teaching field within secondary education); and special education.
The College of Education conducts its EdS programs in accordance with The University of Alabama Graduate School policies outlined in this catalog. The EdS degree requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of study beyond the master’s degree. Effective for candidates admitted July 1, 2017, and thereafter, a cumulative grade point average of not less than 3.50 is required for all courses in a Class AA teaching field or area of instructional support. Additionally, for admission to Class AA instructional support programs (School Counseling or School Psychology), at least two full years of full-time acceptable professional work experience is required. For admission to Class AA Teacher Leader, a minimum of three full years of full-time teaching experience in a P-12 setting is required.
Admission to the Graduate School does not mean that the EdS student is admitted to candidacy for the degree. Requirements for admission to candidacy for the EdS degree are the same as those for the master’s degree in the same area. A student should note any foreign language requirement. Each EdS student completes the Admission to Candidacy (found on Slate) for the EdS Degree form that is on the Graduate School’s website and submits it to the Graduate School. The Graduate School must approve the student’s EdS plan of study prior to admission to candidacy for the degree.
A standard form for an EdS plan of study is not available at the Graduate School’s website, because each department or program participating in the EdS degree has established a framework of requirements for the degree that indicates the general structure of its program.
Additional information concerning the plan of study, admission to candidacy, admission and degree requirements may be outlined in the individual program descriptions, College of Education Admission requirements and the Graduate School’s Admission Criteria and Degree Requirements sections of this catalog.
You can click on your program of interest below to view its UA Catalog listing.
Class AA certification programs
Graduate students seeking Class AA certification must enroll in and complete the EdS (or doctoral) State-approved program in that certification area in order to obtain University of Alabama recommendation for Class AA certification. A student who takes a course for credit in a master’s level program may not take the same course for credit in a sixth-year program. In compliance with regulations established by the Alabama Department of Education and outlined in the Alabama Administrative Code, coursework used to meet Class B or Class A certification requirements may not be used to meet certification requirements for Class AA certification in any teaching field or area of instructional support.
The College of Education conducts its EdS programs in accordance with The University of Alabama Graduate School policies outlined in the Degree Requirements section of this catalog. The EdS degree requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of study beyond the master’s degree. (Students completing an EdS program and also expecting to receive an Alabama Class AA certificate for service in the public schools must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours and achieve a minimum 3.50 grade point average on all work attempted.)