Education Specialist, Social Emotional Learning, EdS

Education Specialist Degree

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.

Click here for potential career opportunities within the EdS.

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 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 all education specialist programs of 33 credits or less.

The median time to completion for this program is 23 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.

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.

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.

Both the Education Specialist (EdS) and Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership (EdS-EdL) require that all foundations courses and specialization or core courses be completed prior to students starting the capstone course.

EDU-7100 - Effective Communication
EDU-7154 - Leadership for Improvement in EdS
Specialization Course 1
EDR-8300 - The Research Process
Specialization Course 2
Specialization Course 3
Specialization Course 4
EDR-8400 - Advanced Qualitative Methodology and Designs -or-
EDR-8500 - Advanced Quantitative Methodology and Designs
Specialization Course 5
Specialization Course 6
ED-7053 - Education Specialist Capstone Project

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Specialization

The Social Emotional Learning (SEL) specialization is focused on mid-career or advanced classroom teachers, school counselors or psychologists, and school/district administrators who desire a more intensive examination of the five core competencies identified by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL): self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness. From a practitioner’s perspective, you will examine how these competencies are applied across classrooms, schools, homes, and communities. While individuals outside of the K-12 school context would benefit from the specialization, the courses do use a K-12 lens.