Education, The School of

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University of South Dakota
School of Education
Student Services Office
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: 605-677-5612
http://www.usd.edu/ed

Degrees Available from the School of Education at The University of South Dakota:

MASTER OF ART
Elementary Education
Secondary Education
Special Education
Counseling and Psychology in Education
Health, Physical Education and Recreation
Educational Administration

MASTER OF SCIENCE
Technology for Education and Training

SPECIALIST IN EDUCATION
Curriculum and Instruction
Counseling and Psychology in Education
Educational Administration

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
Curriculum and Instruction
Educational Administration

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Counseling and Psychology in Education

Dean: Rick Melmer
Associate Dean: Jeri L. Engelking
Associate Dean: Linda Reetz

In 1927, The Regents of Education formally established the School of Education for the preparation of teachers. Over the years, resources from across The University have been involved in the preparation of professional educators. In each of the subject-matter areas such as fine arts, humanities, languages, mathematics, sciences, and social sciences, the student has a chance to study under the best instructors in the region.

The School of Education continues to give the same educational excellence that it did at the very beginning in 1927. Programs and courses are designed to meet the needs of teachers, supervisors, counselors, administrators, and other personnel who are directly concerned with teaching. The School of Education’s academic programs are organized to include four divisions: Curriculum and Instruction; Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; Counseling and Psychology in Education; and Educational Administration. Field-based experiences are integrated throughout graduate programs to provide practical application, reflective decision-making, and continual development of human relation and leadership skills.

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has accredited all the School of Education programs for the preparation of elementary/secondary teachers, and school service personnel through the Doctorate degrees. All programs leading to teacher certification or other school services licensures are approved by the State Board of Education of the South Dakota Division of Education (DOE).

Admission Requirements to Graduate Programs in the School of Education:

Students are admitted to graduate programs in the School of Education by their respective divisions. There are two levels of admission as outlined below. (Some programs within the School of Education have higher or additional requirements. See specific division for those exceptions.)

Full Admission: Students meeting the criteria will be fully admitted to do graduate study in the School of Education. Each division will determine how and when the student becomes a candidate for the Ed.D. degree.

1. Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
2. Undergraduate GPA of 2.7 or above.
3. GRE scores of 900 or more (verbal and quantitative). Some programs in the School of Education accept the Miller’s Analogy Test (MAT) score 45 (scaled = 403).  See individual programs.
4. Applicants with M.A./M.S. degree from an accredited institution must have a 3.0 graduate GPA.
5. Additional requirements exist for international students.

Provisional Admission: Students who do not meet the criteria for full admission may be admitted to graduate programs by the division on a provisional basis for a trial term if they meet the following criteria and must move to full admission before completion of 18 hours.

1. Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
2. Undergraduate GPA of 2.5 or above.
3. GRE scores of 700 or above (verbal and quantitative)Some programs in the School of Education accept the Miller’s Analogy Test (MAT) score 35 (scaled = 388) See individual programs.
4. Three satisfactory professional recommendations.
5. Applicants with M.A./M.S. degree from an accredited institution must have a 3.0 graduate GPA.
6. Additional requirements exist for international students.

Exceptions: Students who are denied for any reason may petition the Graduate Admissions Committee of the School of Education. This committee will review the student’s application materials and forward to the division those names and recommendations of those students they feel should be admitted as exceptions.

Doctoral Programs in the School of Education –

Core Course Requirement – The following core courses must be completed at the University of South Dakota:

1. A minimum of three semester hours from statistics courses EDER 762 or EDER 861.
2. A minimum of three semester hours from the four foundation courses:
   EDFN 710 History of Education
   EDFN 720 Philosophy of Education
   EDFN 740 Comparative Education
   EPSY 741, Cognitive Approaches to  Educational Psychology
3. A minimum of one semester hours in dissertation seminar.

Advisory Committee – The division chairperson of the major will appoint a four member advisory committee with the approval of the Graduate Dean when a student becomes fully admitted. One member of the advisory committee must be from outside the major program division.

Credit Hour Requirements – A minimum of ninety (90) semester hours of graduate work (including fifteen (15) semester hours for the dissertation) beyond the baccalaureate degree including a minimum of sixty (60) semester hours beyond the master’s degree, or a minimum of thirty (30) semester hours beyond the Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree is required. At least forty-five (45) semester hours of graduate work (including dissertation) must be in the student’s major and at least fifteen (15) semester hours of supporting graduate courses must be earned in other options as determined by the student’s advisory committee. The balance of the coursework may be selected from any of the departments in the Graduate School. Note: a minimum of thirty (30) semester hours of post master’s coursework in addition to the dissertation must be earned at The University of South Dakota.

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