Graduate Studies - Education

Faculty

J. Maurice Persall, Chair, Orlean Bullard Beeson Professor
Leslie Sturdivant Ennis, Associate Director, Professor
J. Mark Bateman, Associate Professor
F. Jane Cobia, Associate Professor
David C. Little, Associate Professor
Patricia F. Wood, Associate Professor
Robin C. Duncan, Assistant Professor
Patricia Neill, Assistant Professor
Jo Beth Newton, Assistant Professor

Graduate Programs and Requirements

Degrees/Majors

Master of Science in Education (M.S.E.) - Class A Certification

Early Childhood Education OR Elementary Education, M.S.E.
Fifth-Year Non-Traditional Program: Early Childhood and Elementary Education (MSE-ECEL), M.S.E.
Fifth-Year Non-Traditional Program: Secondary Education (MSE-FYNT), Class A Certification, M.S.E.
Gifted Education, M.S.E.
Instructional Leadership, M.S.E.
Secondary Collaborative, M.S.E.
Music Education*

Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) - Class AA Certification

Early Childhood Education, Ed.S.
Elementary Education, Ed.S.
Instructional Leadership, Ed.S.
Teacher Leader, Ed.S.

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Educational Leadership, Ed.D.

Graduate programs in education are offered in six areas (early childhood education, elementary education, gifted education, instructional leadership, secondary collaborative, and secondary education) and at two levels of certification (provided current certification requirements of the Alabama State Department of Education have been met): a master of science in education (M.S.E.) degree with Class A certification and an educational specialist (Ed.S.) degree with Class AA certification. See the Graduate Advisement subsection at right for contact information.

*See the School of the Arts Music Division section for details on graduate music education programs.

Graduate Admission Standards for Traditional and Fifth-Year Non-Traditional Programs

Admission Requirements

Completion of application and payment of application fee.
Receipt of two official transcripts from all institutions attended.
Satisfactory score on Graduate Record Exam (GRE) admissions test or Miller Analogies Test (MAT).
Alabama Class B or Class A certification (except for fifth-year non-traditional programs) to be eligible for certification.
Satisfactory performance on statement of purpose essay.
Satisfactory performance on scholarly writing sample.
Three letters of reference. One must be from the applicant’s supervisor.

Additional requirements may apply to specific programs.

Levels of Admission

Formal Admission

Minimum GPA of 3.00 for all college work attempted. (Fifth-year non-traditional program in secondary education requires a 2.80 on all college work attempted.)
Minimum of 295 (combined verbal and quantitative) on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or a minimum of 396 on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Applicants submitting a GRE score will be given preference.
Satisfactory performance on scholarly writing essay.
Completion of undergraduate prerequisites or passing score on the appropriate content area Praxis II test (fifth-year non-traditional program only).

Transfer Credit

In the traditional graduate studies, a student may transfer up to six semester hours of graduate credit from an accredited four-year college or university which has a state-approved graduate program in the major and in teacher education for degree programs only. Transfer credits will be evaluated by the graduate studies chair for applicability to the Samford program after application to the graduate studies is received. For the interview with the chair, each graduate transfer student will be asked to bring a catalog from the college where the courses were taken. Transfer credits more than six years old will not be accepted. These policies apply to each graduate program.

Please note: Courses may not be transferred into the fifth-year non-traditional program in early childhood/elementary education (MSE-ECEL) or the doctoral program, nor can any course taken for undergraduate credit be used to count toward graduate credit. No more than two content area courses may be transferred into the fifth-year non-traditional program in secondary education (MSEFYNT).

Graduate Tuition Scholarships

Tuition scholarships are available to all candidates who have been accepted for graduate study at the master of science or educational specialist level. These scholarships are available for courses in education throughout the year. Please note that this scholarship is not available for doctoral students.

Retention and Completion

Students on the M.S.E. and Ed.S. level must maintain a GPA of 3.00; students on the Ed.D. level must maintain a GPA of 3.50. All students must follow a prescribed course of study specified on their program checklist as approved by the Alabama State Department of Education. They must complete all work within six years. All graduate students in an approved program must take and pass a comprehensive examination for each certification area following completion of their coursework. All graduate students receiving initial certification must also pass the Alabama Prospective Teacher Testing Program (APTTP), which includes the appropriate PRAXIS examination. At the end of any semester, a student whose cumulative GPA falls below the required minimum (3.00 for M.S.E. and Ed.S.; 3.50 for Ed.D.) may not continue in the program. Any grade below a C- shall not be counted for credit and the course must be retaken.

Graduate Advisement

Frequent meetings with the graduate advisement counselor are required throughout the graduate program. Samford University complies with the requirements of the Alabama State Department of Education concerning the admission, retention, and completion of all requirements for students seeking Class A or Class AA certification.

Requests for information about or applications to graduate studies should be addressed to the Chair of Graduate Studies, Department of Graduate Studies, Samford University. This office is located in OBB Room 226. For the fifth-year nontraditional program in early childhood/elementary education (MSE-ECEL), requests should be addressed to the Certification Officer, Department of Teacher Education, Samford University, OBB Room 322. For the fifth-year non-traditional program in secondary education (MSE-FYNT), requests should be addressed to the Director of Graduate Admissions, phone: 726-2947, e-mail: fynt@samford.edu.

Programs

Master

Doctorate

Educational Leadership, Ed.D.

Educational Specialist

Courses

Education - Graduate

Education - Doctoral

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