The Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Practice

The Certificate of Education Specialist (EdS) Program

The Certificate of Education Specialist (EdS) program is intended primarily for teachers, counselors, supervisors, and administrators in elementary and secondary schools. This program provides in-depth opportunities for further professional growth and specialization for persons who have completed the master’s degree. A minimum of 60 hours of graduate credit—which may include the master’s degree—is required.

Specializations include language arts/children’s literature, counseling, curriculum studies, early childhood education, educational leadership, educational technology, English education, foreign language education, gifted education, mathematics education, reading and literacy education, science education, social studies education, and special education.

The departmental-level academic course plan will be developed in consultation with and approved by the
student’s graduate advisory committee. The committee will include the student’s major advisor and at least two additional members of the graduate faculty such that the LSU Graduate School’s requirements for graduate committees are satisfied.

The degree is a non-thesis degree requiring a minimum of 60 hours of credit at the graduate level.

The specializations in language arts/children’s literature, curriculum studies, early childhood education, English education, foreign language education, gifted education, mathematics education, reading and literacy education, science education, social studies education, and special education require 60 hours of credit at the graduate level, and do not offer a thesis option. The curricular requirements include:

• six hours of Humanistic and Behavioral Studies.
• six hours in research.
• 30 hours in the area of specialization.
• 18 hours of electives.

The student must compete all required course work with a 3.0 GPA or higher, and must successfully compete a required six-hour practicum in the area of specialization. No final exam is required for these specializations.