Education Specialist, Early Childhood Education Specialization, EdS

Description of Program

The EdS program is designed specifically for professionals who desire continuing education in response to the national and international need for professionals trained to work in diverse organizational settings. This program is tailored for students who aspire to engage in advanced levels of professional practice while increasing leadership and scholarship skills to develop solutions and communicate ideas to diverse stakeholders within a chosen field of study. Each specialization within the EdS prepares students for making informed, ethical decisions and improvements to current educational, organizational, and societal issues.

Learning Outcomes

• Develop skills to support educational practices across diverse instructional and organizational settings
• Communicate with diverse audiences about educational theories, research, and practices
• Analyze professional skills, dispositions, and technology options for learning and educating diverse groups
• Apply evidence-based solutions for addressing educational, organizational, and societal issues
• Analyze current research, theories, and instructional practices in educational and organizational environments

Basis for Admissions

Admission to the Education Specialist (EdS) program requires a conferred post-baccalaureate master’s degree and/or doctoral degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution or an international institution determined to be equivalent through an approved evaluation service.

Degree Requirements

The EdS Program may be completed in 33 credits. An Academic and Finance Advisor or Enrollment Specialist evaluates each student individually and works with the student to create an academically sound Learning Plan based on prior academics and their professional goals.

The University may accept up to 12 semester credit hours in transfer with a maximum of 9 semester credit hours in transfer eligible toward the specialization courses in the Education Specialist degree for graduate coursework completed toward a non-conferred doctoral degree at an accredited college or university with a grade of “B” or better. Transfer credit is only awarded for course work that is evaluated to be substantially equivalent in content with the required course work for the EdS program. See the Transfer Credit Policy  for additional information.

Individuals with a previously completed master’s degree will meet the basis of admission to the Education Specialist Program. Students enrolled in the Education Specialist program are required to complete foundations, scholarly writing, specialization courses, and the capstone course with a Grade Point Average of 3.00 (B) or higher.

The Education Specialist (EdS) program emphasizes an applied, project based approach to development of appreciable improvements in the body of educational practice. The EdS attracts individuals who are primarily professionals either at the PK-12 level or the higher education level. (Enrollment managers, superintendents, principals, teacher leaders, and education faculty who primarily teach - not do research, educational consultants, trainers in organizations). The EdS capstone focuses on solving a problem in the workplace or in the professional field of education and results in a “product” or solution. This degree is also intended to help students increase their own workplace Leadership Skills.

Time to Completion

NCU allows 5 years to complete the EdS degree.

Normal time to completion for this program is 51 months.

Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most NCU students are working adults balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic and finance advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.

The normal time disclosed above reflects the experience of students who may have entered under different program requirements. In the quest for continuous improvement, academic leadership has revised the program to optimize curriculum and pace, facilitate student learning, and improve chances for success. Therefore, the program is now designed for students enrolling today to take advantage of these revised course structures, lengths, and schedules. New students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 18 months.

Students who are unable to complete a degree program within the stated time limits are dismissed. If a student believes they have extenuating circumstances they may document the circumstances and send a request for consideration to their respective School Dean or designee. Exceptions to the policy are determined on a case-by-case basis and are granted only once.

Certification and Licensing

The School of Education serves educational leaders by providing online graduate studies in education to reach worldwide populations. The EdS program is designed to reach national and international markets and does not purport to provide licensure or certification in any particular state or country.

Course Sequence

The EdS in Education requires two Foundations courses, two Research courses, six Specialization courses, and one Capstone course for a total of 33 credit hours.

All Education Specialist (EdS) programs require the foundation courses and specialization courses be completed prior to students entering into the capstone course.

• EDU-8000 - Foundations for Doctoral Study in Education
• EDU-8001 - Advanced Scholarly Writing
• Specialization Course 1
• EDR-8203 - Research Methods
• Specialization Course 2
• Specialization Course 3
• Specialization Course 4
• EDR-8204 - Advanced Qualitative Design and Measurement -OR- EDR -8205 Advanced Quantitative Design and Measurement  
• Specialization Course 5
• Specialization Course 6
• ED-7053 - Education Specialist Capstone Project