Education Specialist in Counseling, School Psychology, or Special Education
The Ed.S. program is designed for persons who have completed a masters degree and wish to increase their skills for advanced certification requirements or other professional objectives. The Ed.S. level is the minimum preparation for school psychologists, directors of special education, and advanced certification for counseling and guidance personnel in most states. Further, the Ed.S. has become the intermediate degree for many professionals who supervise masters degree level personnel.
Admission to Ed.S. Study
The applicant must hold a masters degree in the area of the chosen Ed.S. major. Masters degree majors in a closely related field may be approved upon recommendation of the selection committee.
Admission to Ed.S. Candidacy
To be considered for degree candidacy, the student must have prepared a program approved by two graduate faculty members and be approved by a majority of the members of the CESE graduate faculty. Before admission to degree candidacy, the student must have completed 12 credit hours of the proposed program.
General Requirements
The student must complete 64 credit hours of course work (including the masters degree) and a specialist paper. All post-masters degree course work must be taken from members of the ISU graduate faculty or be approved in advance by the graduate faculty of CESE. A minimum grade point average of 3.00 (B) is required over all course work taken in the Ed.S. program. An oral examination which will cover the specialist paper and other relevant topics is required.
Specific Requirements
Counseling Major
At the post-masters degree Ed.S. level all course work must be in counselor education-related areas and must include at least 3 credits of counseling practicum or counseling internship.
School Psychology Major
The Ed.S. in School Psychology is designed to be consistent with the minimal entry-level requirements in the field of School Psychology as presented by the National Association of School Psychology. A Masters Degree in School Psychological Examiner or its equivalent is required. The Ed.S. is viewed as a practitioner's degree and will focus on applied activities.
Course Requirements
CESE 616 Psychological Assessment 2 cr
CESE 652 Specialist Paper 3 cr
CESE 661 Techniques in
School Psychology 2 cr
CESE 665 Clinical School Psychology 3 cr
CESE 669 Internship in
School Psychology 3 cr
CESE 759 Ed.S. Internship in School
Psychology 6 cr
An additional 16 credits of approved electives are required which comply with the National Association of School Psychology guidelines. CESE 530, 534, 610, 611, 613, 614, 619, 622, 624, 627, 633, 638, 660, 662, 663, 664, 668, 759, PSYCH 531, EDUC 604.
Substitutions are acceptable but must be equivalent in content and approved in advance.
A masters degree in School Psychological Examiner, or its equivalent, is required prior to enrolling in the Ed.S. program. Students who enter the program with an equivalent masters degree must satisfy all of the requirements for the School Psychological Examiner degree.
Students will complete a Specialist Paper which will consist of an applied research activity in the field of school psychology. This paper will be written in a form suitable for submission to an appropriate journal.
Special Education Major
The following coursework is required:
a. A minimum of 21 credits in special education course work at or above the 600 level (including administration of special education), of which 6 credits are in the supervision of clinical practicum in special education and 3 credits are in internship in special education.
b. Behavioral sciences and/or counselor education/school psychology, 9 credits.
Educational Specialist Paper
The specialist paper in Counseling/School Psychology/Special Education is viewed as a scholarly work agreed upon by the student and his/her two CESE graduate faculty sponsors. This paper may be either research or non-research oriented, but should reflect an issue of concern to practicing counselors/school psychologists/special educators, and thus it would tend to be of a practical nature as it relates to a specific problem in the field.
The paper should be written following the American Psychological Association Style Manual and completed and given to the examination committee a minimum of two weeks prior to the final oral examination.
Time Requirement
All requirements for the Ed.S. must be completed within a period of five years from the date of completion of the first post-masters degree course to be applied toward the degree.