The Education Specialist degree (Ed.S.) is an advanced degree that permits educational practitioners — teachers, administrators or human service professionals — to obtain specialized knowledge and skills or to expand the breadth of their knowledge and skills related to special education and disabilities.

Students can complete the Ed.S. degree as an on-campus student, strictly as a distance student or by taking a combina­tion of on-campus and distance courses. Distance only Ed.S. programs are not available in all specialty areas, and the availability of distance courses in a chosen specialty should be explored with a poten­tial adviser before entering the program.  For the most recent list of available distance courses, please refer to our distance graduate catalog.

If some courses are not yet available for distance delivery, students may meet these course require­ments through these options:

• Take the courses on the UNL campus during summer, fall or spring term(s)
• Take equivalent on-campus or distance courses at other campuses or other universities and transferring them to UNL.

Specialty Areas for Distance Students:

• Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
• Deaf Education/Hard of Hearing
• Early Childhood Special Education
• Severe Disabilities
• Special Education Administration
• Visual Impairments

Each student will write a set of goals related to the program and identify the area of specialization desired within the field of special education. Courses may include masters degree coursework already completed. Students can specialize in many areas of special education including disability areas, or other topics such as consultation, collaboration, program evaluation, law and policy, etc.

To obtain an additional teaching endorsement the student must meet all of the requirements of that endorsement. Once admitted, an individualized program of study will be created with an adviser.

The program of study will be based on the person’s intended specialty area and goals and will include:

1. At least 66 hours beyond the baccalaureate and must include:
   • Core courses (related to the student’s focus topic(s))
   • Related Courses (educational administration, curriculum, etc. which may be a secondary interest or “minor” area of study)
   • Electives
   • Research, Statistics and/or Evaluation Courses
   • Practica (Provides internship, laboratory or teaching experience in the area of specialization, and may be completed in the distance student’s local community, provided a qualified University supervisor can be arranged.  Special fees may apply.)
   
   
2. At least 33 of the hours must be in approved graduate courses offered in UNL’s Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders.
   
   
3. No less than 24 hours must be completed after the program has been filed with the Graduate College.
   
   
4. Completion of a comprehensive examination and an Ed.S. paper or project. The comprehensive examination will address the student’s area of specialization.  It will be created and administered by the supervising committee of faculty members.  The paper or project will be appropriate to the applied nature of the degree.  This paper is not a formal thesis or dissertation, but should be substantial in character and represent an application of the knowledge and skills the student is attempting to obtain in their Ed.S. degree program.  The paper(s) might be a literature review, applied research project report, a curriculum analysis, a manuscript suitable for publication, a grant application suitable for submission to a funding agency or in some other format suitable to the student’s interests and goals.  The paper might be written as a part of any course, for independent study credit, or done separately without credit.
   
   
5. All degree requirements must be completed within six years from the date of the program’s approval.

Indentifying an Advisor
Students should contact potential advisors in an early stage of considering enrolling in this program.  This will permit a discussion of the student’s goals and interests, the requirements of the Ed.S. program and whether the courses related to the proposed specialty areas are available via distance education.  As a part of the application process, the potential advisor must complete a form indicating that faculty member’s willingness to advise the student.

Supervisory Committee
The advisor with two other faculty members will be appointed as a supervisory committee and will be responsible for approving the program of study, monitoring a student’s progress, administering the comprehensive examination, reviewing and approving the student’s project and recommending the student for receipt of the Educational Specialist Degree.

High speed Internet connection is required. Check the Graduate Distance Catalog to learn the specific requirements for your program.

Some distance courses have supplemental materials on videos or CDs and others may require phone conferencing. You will interact with the professor and other students through e-mail, phone conferencing, and Blackboard.

Blackboard™ Requirements and Browser Configurations:
To effectively use Blackboard the Javascript and cookies on your computer must be enabled. Some content for features may require additional software. Pop-up blockers should be disabled for Blackboard (My.UNL). The browsers below are officially supported.

• Internet Explorer: 7.0 or higher
• Firefox: 2.0 or higher
• Safari: 2.0 or higher

Older versions of the above or alternative browsers (such as Mozilla and Opera) may be compatible, but some features might not be available. To download the latest browsers, click the “help” button in Blackboard (My.UNL) and access the Downloads area.

Operating Systems:
Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and up, or Mac OS X, 10.2 and up are strongly recommended. Older operating systems (Microsoft® Windows® 98SE/ME, MacOS 8/9) or alternative platforms (Linux) are compatible, but may not have full functionality. Blackboard (My.UNL) is not currently compatible with handheld devices or Web-enabled phones.

Required by Office of Graduate Studies

• Online Application for Graduate Admission
• $45 non-refundable application processing fee
• Two (2) sets of official transcripts
• If your native language is not English: verification of English proficiency
• If you are not a US citizen and you expect to hold an F or J visa: financial resource information
  
  

  Send to: Office of Graduate Studies
  University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  1100 Seaton Hall
  P.O. Box 880619
  Lincoln, NE 68588-0619

Required by Special Education and Communication Disorders

• Master’s degree from a fully accredited institution of higher education (Relevant professional experience is desired.)
• Entrance exam(s): GRE
• Minimum TOEFL:  Paper-550  Computer-213  Internet-79
• Autobiographical Statement that addresses your goals and specialty for the Ed.S.
• Departmental application
• Three recommendation letters using a program-specific recommendation form
• Resume/Vita
• Advisor support agreement

Application Deadline

Reece L. Peterson, Ph.D.
Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
202A Barkley Center
Lincoln, NE 68583-0732
Phone: (402) 472-5480
Fax: (402) 472-7697
E-mail: rpeterson1@unl.edu
Web: www.unl.edu/barkley/sped/eds/index.shtml