Collegiate Graduate Program Policies

To meet its mission to prepare qualified leaders in education and human service fields, the College of Education and Human Service Professions, through its program faculties, delivers graduate programs of study. Some of these programs are offered under the auspices of the University of Minnesota Graduate School, including the, the M.A. in Communication Sciences Disorders, and the Master of Social Work. Other programs are offered as Collegiate Graduate Programs and are developed, delivered and assessed under these policies.

GOVERNANCE

Collegiate graduate programs will be governed by the College of Education and Human Service Professions Graduate Program Council (GPC).

Purpose

The Graduate Program Council (GPC) serves to stimulate appropriate consistency, congruency, and cohesiveness in policy and procedure across all graduate programs in CEHSP.

Authority

The GPC has authority to develop and implement policy and approve graduate curricula to guarantee consistency and congruency across programs. Graduate Program Council will approve all graduate level course curricula and collegiate program curricula, and formulate policy and procedure for the delivery of the collegiate graduate programs. The GPC shall, upon request from the faculty, the Dean, or its own initiative, study and review matters of administrative policy and graduate program development.

Responsibilities

The duties of the GPC shall be:

• to serve as curriculum committee for all graduate-level course proposals and graduate level program proposals;
• to initiate studies and formulate plans for both immediate and long-range development of the collegiate graduate programs;
• to develop and establish educational policy affecting the collegiate graduate programs;
• to provide direction to the Collegiate Graduate Program Director in interpreting and implementing Graduate Program policies related to the instructional, research, and service functions of the masters programs;
• to give direction to the Collegiate Graduate Program Director on general policies concerning budgeting, faculty personnel, liaison with departments, campus and University groups, state and national organizations and agencies;
• to review the programs’ progress in achieving goals.

Membership

The Graduate Program Council will consist of a representative from each CEHSP department that offers collegiate or Graduate School graduate programs, a representative of any formal organizational structure that sponsors inter-departmental programs, one graduate student to be selected by the Council from recommendations from the programs, and the Associate Dean, ex-officio. The representatives from the Graduate School programs will typically be the Director of Graduate Studies.

A faculty member of the Graduate Program Council will be elected as chair of the committee and will serve a two-year term beginning in the spring semester. Student representatives will serve a one-year term. There will be no term limits for faculty membership.

COLLEGIATE GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Appointment

The Collegiate Graduate Program Director shall be the Associate Dean of the College.

Authority

As administrative officer of the Program, the Collegiate Graduate Program Director shall have general administrative authority over the program and represent the Program in administrative planning. The Director shall have authority to make budget recommendations to the Dean after consultation with the Graduate Program Council. Direct responsibility is to the Dean of the College.

Responsibilities

The duties of the Collegiate Graduate Program Director shall be:

• To provide leadership in formulating policies, introducing proposals, and stimulating discussions among the faculty that lead to improvement of the Program.
• To implement policies and procedures set forth by the Graduate Program Council.
• To establish procedures for internal, systematic review of the operation of the Program.
• To monitor adherence to standards set forth by accrediting agencies, and to oversee review of the program by those agencies.
• To serve as the spokesperson for the program to the University, community, professional organizations, and other agencies concerned with education in general and teacher qualifications in particular.
• To make an annual report of the operation of the Program to the Dean.

COLLEGIATE GRADUATE FACULTY

Any faculty member with a doctoral degree will be considered collegiate graduate faculty.

Teaching. Graduate courses will be taught by graduate faculty, or faculty (full- or part-time) who have appropriate expertise and have been approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, or the Collegiate Graduate Program Coordinator in the discipline.

Committee Assignment. Graduate advising will be by graduate faculty. Requests to have non-graduate faculty serve on graduate committees as second or third members must be approved by Graduate Program Council.

ADMISSION

Admission criteria

Collegiate graduate programs have minimum admission requirements as follows:

• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
• A minimum undergraduate gpa of 2.5.
• A personal goal statement and three letters of reference
• International students whose first language is not English must present a TOEFL score of 500 or higher.
• Specific programs may adopt additional and/or higher requirements.

Selection

Each program field will establish an admissions committee. Applications will be submitted to the Office of Collegiate Graduate Programs where files will be created and forwarded to program admissions committees. Recommendations for admission will be made to the Director of Collegiate Graduate Programs.

Exceptions

Exceptions to admissions criteria may be recommended for applicants exhibiting strong experience and/or knowledge in the field. Up to 15% of applicants accepted for any term may be accepted as exceptions to the criteria.

Deadlines

Application deadlines are set by the program, but must be at least six weeks prior to the beginning of the term of admission.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Credit Requirements

Credit requirements for collegiate graduate programs are as follows:

• A minimum 30 semester credits, 5000-level or above, which have not been used to fulfill an undergraduate requirement, or 4000-level that have been approved for graduate credit through the Graduate School. All courses toward a graduate degree must have been taken after the awarding of the baccalaureate degree and must have been registered for graduate credit. Exceptions must be approved by GPC.
• At least 20 credits must be completed at UMD including core courses as specified by the program. Exceptions to the minimum 20 credits must be recommended by the Committee and approved by GPC. Transfer courses may be accepted for core courses when judged equivalent (based on review of a course syllabus) by the Committee, and approved by the CGP Director.
• No more than 12 semester degree credits may be taken prior to admission in the program, and such credit must be earned within five years prior to admission to the program. Exceptions to the 12 credits prior to admission must be recommended by the Committee, and approved by CGPC. Use of credit earned more than five years prior to admission must be (1) validated; (2) recommended by the Committee; and (3) approved by CGPC.
• Course validation. Student will prepare a paper outlining the content of courses in question and documenting how the content has remained relevant for the student in current career, or how continued learning has taken place in the field.
• All credit must be completed within seven years of admission. Any course completed more than seven years before completion of the program must be validated by a CEHSP/UMD faculty member in the content area, recommended by the Committee, and approved by the Director.

Continuous Enrollment

Once admitted, students must maintain continuous enrollment in course work, or in EHS 0799, Masters Active Status, until the degree is posted. Failure to enroll in any semester will cause program discontinuation. Re-entry to a collegiate graduate program will require re-application in the following term.

Final product

A collegiate master’s degree will culminate with an experience resulting in a final product. The final product is a capstone experience that should reflect the proficiency and competency of the student and demonstrate to the Graduate Committee or advisor the student’s independent work. The final product will carry 2-6 credits depending on the scope of the project or the depth of the investigation. Each program will define (1) final product options available to the student, (2) specific guidelines for completion of each option in the program,  (3) the number of credits it will carry in the program, (4) what is submitted with the final product proposal form, and (5) how and to whom it must be presented  on completion.  Collegiate graduate programs can require final product options from the following list. 

• A thesis that includes literature review, methodology, analysis, results, discussion, and bibliography (6 credits).
• A research/field/curriculum  project that includes literature review, question or problem statement, and description of how the question was answered (4-6 credits);
• A conceptual paper providing a theoretical integration of findings from a literature review (2-4 credits);
• A portfolio prepared while registered for Educ 7099 (4 credits).

When students propose to complete a final product cooperatively, the proposal must delineate and document each student’s responsibility and effort, and must include a statement of how the scope of the project will be expanded as a result of the cooperation.

Minimum Grade Requirements

A minimum of 20 credits must be taken for A-F grades. A minimum 2.8 cumulative grade point average is required for awarding of the collegiate master’s.

Advising

Collegiate graduate students will be guided by a Graduate Committee of at least two members of the graduate faculty. Requests to have a non-graduate faculty member serve as a second or third member of the Committee must be approved by Graduate Program Council. The Committee approves the student’s program plan, makes recommendations to the Collegiate Graduate Program Director on prior work that can be used in the program, guides the student’s final project, reviews and signs off on the final product and degree recommendation forms.

Required Forms

Required forms are used to document progression through the program. They are required to assist students, and to prevent any misunderstanding at the point at which a degree should be conferred.

A Program Plan, signed by the student and all Committee members, and outlining all course work that will be completed for the degree must be filed with the Collegiate Graduate Programs Office by the end of the second semester of enrollment following admission to the program. Failure to file a Program Plan may result in a hold on registration. Any changes to the program plan must be documented by addendum, signed by the student, and approved by all members of the Committee and the CGP Director.

A Final Project Approval Form must be signed by the student, and approved by all Committee members and the CGP Director prior to enrollment in the final project course. Permission numbers for enrollment will be distributed by the CGP Office only when the Final Project Approval Form is on file.

A Recommendation for Degree Form must be signed and filed in the CGP Office for degree clearance. If discrepancies exist between the Recommendation for Degree and the Program Plan, the form will be returned to the student for reconciliation. It is the responsibility of the student and the Committee Chair to verify courses and credits among the Recommendation for Degree form, the approved Program Plan, and the graduate transcript.

PROGRAM ASSESSMENT

Program faculties will build assessment plans into governing policies for each major or specialization. The assessment plan should address standards set by the appropriate accrediting agency. A College-wide assessment plan should be developed by the Graduate Program Council and carried out under the direction of the Collegiate Graduate Program Director.

AUTHORIZED DEGREES AND SPECIALIZATIONS

MASTER OF EDUCATION

Purpose Statement

The Master of Education Degree is for the professional development of persons in educator or training roles within the human services professions: classroom teachers, teachers in specialized areas, and professionals with training responsibilities in health sciences, social services, community education, as well as in business or industry. This graduate degree program is designed to meet the professional growth needs of the candidate. Each candidate plans an individual program of studies in consultation with a committee of three faculty members.

Program Requirements

A minimum of 30 credits including 20 credits of core courses, 6-8 credits of electives, and a final product of 2-6 credits. 

Admission

Minimum requirement is an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a cumulative grade point average of 2.8, a TOEFL score of 500 or higher from students whose first language is not English, two letters of reference, and a 2-3 page paper describing professional goals and the importance of reflection in educational practice. 

M.ED. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Purpose Statement. The Master of Education in Environmental Education is designed to prepare individuals to work as environmental educators in diverse settings such as elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education, nature settings, outdoor education programs, parks and recreation programs, and independent environmental organizations. The program will provide students with training and opportunities to:

• gain knowledge and experience in working as an environmental educator in formal and non-formal educational settings;
• gain a research-based foundation of knowledge in environmental education;
• expand a repertoire of skills and activities useful in working as an environmental educator;
• explore and define a personal environmental education philosophy;
• develop skills in teaching through hands-on, experiential, and inquiry-based methods; and
• network with other professionals working in environmental education.

Program Requirements

Core requirements in professional development, research and theory, teaching methodology, issues, and diversity (21 credits); specialty courses in at least two of the following areas: ecological content, sociological understanding, psychology, technology, learning theory and application, curriculum design, or research design, methods and analysis (9 credits); and thesis (6 credits).

Admission Requirements

Admission is limited to a cohort of students that can be advised by the environmental education faculty (approximately 6 per year) and is thus competitive. A minimum 2.80 in the undergraduate major is recommended. In addition to the application and official undergraduate transcripts, applicants must submit evidence of achievement on the Graduate Record Examination, or a portfolio that includes: references; a personal goal statement; description of prior training and experience in environmental education; and five different examples of what the applicant considers best work toward environmental education. A TOEFL score of 500 or higher is required from students whose first language is not English.

MASTER OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Purpose

The Master of Special Education (M.SpEd.) is designed for licensed special education teachers and offers advanced training in behavior intervention planning, administration and supervision, research, and program evaluation.

Program Requirements

The program will operate as a cohort of graduate candidates who take courses together over three summers and complete data-based research or field projects as a terminal activity for graduation.  Requirements include 15 credits in special education; 6 credits of research methods and design; and 9 credits or research and investigation.

Admission Requirements

Minimum requirements include: a license to teach special education; a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university; a minimum undergraduate gpa of 2.5; and a TOEFL score of 500 or higher from students whose first language is not English. The following items will be evaluated by the admissions committee: a personal goal statement; three letters of reference; a 3-page writing sample on a topic selected by special education faculty.