Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Middle Grades Education, Ed.D. (Language Arts, Mathematics, and Social Studies Concentrations)


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Contact Information

Phone: (470) 578-6314

Program Description

The Ed.D. degree in Secondary or Middles Grades Education is designed for candidates who possess a teaching certificate and hold a Master’s degree in a Georgia Professional Standards Commission recognized area of certification. Through this program, candidates develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve as learner-centered specialists engaging in scholarly inquiry and research. Through Teaching Field courses and electives, they deepen their expertise in a chosen area of study. This program of study thus provides the skills necessary to synthesize theory and practice through further examination of theoretically-based curriculum development, understanding of global education issues, and inquiry into making education equitable, democratic, humane, and socially just.

The Ed.S. in Secondary or Middles Grades Education is fully embedded into the Ed.D. program. Those students who complete the Ed.S. in Secondary or Middles Grades Education at Kennesaw State University may apply their entire program of study to the Ed.D. Those students who have completed their Ed.S. at another institution will be eligible to have their transcripts analyzed and can possibly receive up to 17 hours credit toward the Ed.D.

Admission Requirements 

The following are admission requirements beyond the general Graduate Admissions  KSU requirements.

  • An earned Master’s degree in professional education or a related field;
  • A clear and renewable Georgia Teaching Certificate or departmentally-approved equivalent.
  • At least three years of professional teaching or administrative experience or both in P-12 education (current full-time employment as a professional educator is preferred);
  • Research Response & Analysis writing sample. The applicant will select from two recent research articles in their area of content expertise and provide a 3-5 page written response to the article. Click here for the specific instructions.
  • A competitive Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score and Graduate GPA. The GPA and GRE will be utilized with other admission criteria to determine program eligibility. Although no minimum scores are required, candidates are encouraged to prepare and score well since admission to the program is competitive. Please note: The Analytical/Writing score one receives as part of the GRE exam is used competitively in the admission review process. It is strongly encouraged for applicants to do well on this portion of the exam.

Admission Criteria for Unique Cases

Currently, there are no exceptions to the admission requirements.

Transfer Credit

Those students who have completed their Ed.S. at another institution will be eligible to have their transcripts analyzed and can possibly receive up to 17 hours credit toward the Ed.D.

Petition to Graduate

Each candidate must petition to graduate online. For more information, please view the corresponding section of Academic Policies .

Program of Study

Education and Research Core (15 Credit Hours)


Candidates take 15 hours within the Education and Research Core, which includes content in research, educational psychology, assessment, diversity, and educational policy. 

Major (42 Credit Hours)


Teaching Field Pedagogy and Teaching Field Content

Area 1: Teaching Field Pedagogy (18 Credit Hours)


Area 2: Teaching Field Content and Cognate (24 Credit Hours)


Technology Course (3 Credit Hours)


All candidates take a Technology Course. Select one from the following:

Teaching Field Content Courses (12 Credit Hours)


Language Arts

Additional credit hours selected from the following:

Any 7000, 8000 or 9000 level ENGL or ENED course as approved or recommended by advisor. Students may also consider 6000 or higher EDRD and PRWR courses with English advisor or program coordinator approval. 

Mathematics

Additional credit hours selected from the following:

Any 7000, 8000 or 9000 level MATH or MAED courses as approved or recommended by advisor. Students may also consider 6000 or higher STAT courses with mathematics advisor and statistics faculty approval. 

Social Studies/History

Additional credit hours selected from the following:

Any 7000, 8000, or 9000 level HIST, GEOG, ECON, ANTH, POLS, SSED or EDSS courses as approved or recommended by advisor. Students may also consider 6000 or higher AMST courses with history advisor or program coordinator approval. 

Note

Note: In addition to teaching field content courses, the following education courses can be taken (WITH FORMAL ADVISOR PRE-APPROVAL) to satisfy requirements in Area 2: EDUC 7725 Best Practices in Teaching and Learning in Content Field ; EDUC 7710 Principles, Trends, and Issues in Standardized Educational Testing ; EDUC 7705 Assessment and Evaluation in the Content Area EDUC 7706 Motivation  

Cognate: Content, Pedagogy or Endorsement (9 Credit Hours)


Students must take a minimum of nine credit hours of additional Content and Pedagogy courses listed above, or Endorsement courses. Students purusing an Endorsment may select from the following: 

Dissertation (9 Credit Hours minimum)


Program Total (66 Credit Hours minimum)


Students may be awarded the Ed.S. after completion of 30 hours; please see Ed.S. program of study for required coursework.

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