Graduate Catalog :: College of Education, Health and Human Sciences

Individual program requirements described in The University of Memphis Graduate Catalog, 2012-2013, are subject to change. Please consult your department or the Office of the Graduate School for changes that may occur before publication of the next issue of this Catalog. Every graduate student is expected to comply with the general requirements of the Graduate School (see Admissions Regulations, Academic Regulations, and Minimum Degree Requirements) and the program requirements of the degree being pursued (see departmental listings in this section).

Graduate programs in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences prepare students to be leaders within their professional areas of education. Candidates for a degree must design a curriculum plan that has the approval of their major advisor, the department chair, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

In programs where candidates are specializing in a professional area, awarding a degree or recommending for a professional license does not merely attest to the accumulation of the specified number of hours in the classroom or other professional setting but also to the demonstration of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions. The faculty has the responsibility to both the public and the profession to award a degree or license only when the candidate has demonstrated a satisfactory level of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions as judged by the program faculty. Further, candidates must exhibit integrity and character consistent with the standards of ethical principles set forth by appropriate professional associations and Tennessee law.

The College of Education, Health and Human Sciences offers degrees at the master's, specialist, and doctoral levels. The master's degree programs are the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), Master of Science (MS), and the Regents Online Master of Education (MEd). Offered at the post-master's level are the degrees of Education Specialist (EdS), Doctor of Education (EdD), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Graduate degrees in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences are available in the departments of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research; Health and Sport Sciences; Instruction and Curriculum Leadership; and Leadership.

For specific information concerning majors, areas of concentration, course requirements, etc., students should review the program descriptions found under the departmental listings in this Bulletin. See the chart of academic programs at the beginning of this section for majors and concentrations.

The College of Education, Health and Human Sciences offers programs leading to the Master's degree in the departments of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research; Human Movement Sciences and Education; Instruction and Curriculum Leadership; and Leadership.

The Master of Science degree is available to individuals who are already licensed and want to expand their work in their teaching areas or individuals without licensure who desire to work in education-related settings but do not need teacher licensure. This degree is directed toward the development of competencies necessary for leadership and advancement in K-12 settings and fields related to education.

The Master of Arts in Teaching degree is designed for people with outstanding undergraduate records who are seeking initial teacher licensure at the graduate level. It is also available to those already licensed who seek additional licensure in one or more areas. Students may pursue licensure in special education, early childhood, elementary, or secondary fields.

Admission to the Graduate School allows students to enroll and begin to take courses prior to admission to a degree program. However, a student's initial enrollment should not be taken to mean acceptance for degree candidacy. To become a candidate for a degree, the student must apply for a specific degree and major and be accepted for that degree. A maximum of 12 hours taken prior to acceptance will be counted for that degree. At the beginning of the semester of graduation the student must submit an "Intent to Graduate" form and an "Application for Admission to Master's Degree Candidacy" form. See the Graduate School homepage for specific dates and forms. For advice on completing the candidacy form, the student should consult the major advisor or the Office of Teacher Education.

Prior to initial enrollment, the student is advised to arrange an interview with the chair or a representative of the department in which the student plans to major. At this meeting the student may be assigned an advisor who will help the student in planning a program of studies. Some departments appoint an advisor upon admission.

The maximum combined credit in "Independent Study" and "Workshop" courses that can be applied to the master's degree is 12 semester hours with no more than 6 semester hours applying to the major. Seven semester hours of credit in "Independent Study" courses may be applied to master's degree requirements, but no more than 4 of these hours may be taken in either the major or the collateral area.

If the student should elect to take "Workshop" courses and no "Independent Study" courses, only 6 workshop hours could apply to the major.

For all master's programs, a minimum of 70% of the total required hours must be taken at the 7000 level. At least 12 semester hours of these must be taken in the major.

Each student, in consultation with an advisor, will plan a program of studies leading to the fulfillment of the requirements for one of the degrees listed below.

Content for Specialty 18-21 hours
Research 3 hours (EDPR 7521 or 7523)
Electives (selected in consultation with student's advisor) 9-18 hours

Total 30 hours

Minimum requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching degree are:

Professional Core 9-15 hours

Professional Specialization 15-21 hours
Professional Development 7 hours
Research 6 hours

Any substitutions for departmental required courses in the major must be approved by the graduate coordinator and the department chair. Substitutions that affect college or degree requirements must be approved by the advisor, the department chair, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

A thesis of 3 to 6 semester hours may be presented as partial fulfillment of degree requirements. Each degree candidate must enroll for thesis credit each semester until the thesis is completed. A student who fails to complete the thesis at the end of the academic semester following registration for the total credits allowed to count toward the degree will be required to renew his/her status. In order to remain in active status, the candidate will be required to register for 1 hour of thesis credit each academic semester until the thesis is completed. Summer school enrollment is optional for continuous enrollment. Credit will be posted upon the completion and acceptance of the thesis, but no more than 6 hours will be counted toward degree requirements for a master's thesis. This requirement may be waived for any semester the advisor is not on campus or for other reasons approved by the major advisor, the department chair, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. Students in the MAT program may not enroll in thesis credit during the semester of student teaching.

Theses must be prepared according to guidelines specified by the College. For specific information, a student should consult his/her major professor. NOTE: Students electing to write a thesis should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before starting to write.

Students choosing to complete a Master's Project for the MAT degree must enroll in 3 hours of Master's Project credit. A grade of IP (In Progress) will be assigned until the Master's Project is completed. Receipt of the grade of IP requires continuous enrollment each semester for the same number of hours, including summer, until a final grade of S or U is earned. Students in the MAT program may not enroll in the Master's Project during the semester of student teaching.

Before being recommended for graduation, every candidate for the master's degree is required to pass a final comprehensive examination.

Departmental requirements with reference to comprehensive examination, thesis, research, and course requirements for each of these degree programs are found under the appropriate departmental sections in this Bulletin.

The Master of Science degree program is used for securing additional endorsements in the areas of Beginning Administration K-12(B), Professional Administration K-12, Counselor K-12, Librarian K-12, Reading Specialist (grades K-12), Early Childhood PreK-3, Special Education Modified, Special Education Comprehensive, and Special Education Early Childhood. The applicant who wishes to add these areas must complete an approved program and be recommended by the College.

To obtain a Tennessee License with an endorsement in one of the following areas: School Psychologist or Special Education Speech and Language PreK-12, the applicant must complete the approved program and be recommended by the College.

The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program awards initial teacher licensure with a master's degree. Programs are available for Early Childhood (PreK-3); Elementary (K-6); Middle Grades (4-8); Secondary (7-12); Special Education: Modified or Comprehensive (K-12); Special Education: Early Childhood (PreK-3); and high school in math, sciences, business education, foreign language, history, and the social sciences.

Students seeking initial licensure must complete at least one semester of student teaching/internship requirements in the placements coordinated and approved by the Coordinator of Field Experiences in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. Students may not student teach during the summer semester.

Students who have received a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution that did not qualify them for a teacher's license may become eligible for licensure by enrolling as a master's student in the MAT degree program and completing the requirements for the program according to the current catalog. These candidates should confer with the coordinator of the MAT licensure program concerning individual program requirements.

The student must apply for admission to the Graduate School and to the Master of Arts in Teaching degree program. When approved, the student will be assigned a graduate advisor.

For initial licensure the student must have an appropriate undergraduate major for the area of teaching licensure being sought.

Adding an endorsement at the graduate level that requires The University of Memphis's recommendation may be accomplished by completing the requirements of the approved program. Information can be obtained from the teacher licensing advisor.

Simultaneously with admission to the MAT or teacher licensure program, the student must apply for and meet standards required for admission to the Teacher Education Program (TEP). Only Level I MAT courses should be taken prior to admission to TEP. Students must take the Praxis II Content Knowledge Exam for their licensure area, the PPST Writing Subtest, and successfully interview for TEP admission. Students must be fully admitted to TEP one full semester before application to student teaching and internship is submitted. Application for student teaching/internship is submitted the semester before enrolling in student teaching/internship. A maximum of 12 hours may be taken prior to admission to TEP and the MAT degree program.

For additional information, consult the general advisor in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.

The Master of Arts in Teaching degree may be earned with the completion of a thesis or Master's Project.

For a more detailed explanation of the program, see the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership program description.

This certificate program is designed for educators who want to integrate the use of computers in the classroom. The certificate requires the completion of 12 hours from a designated core of courses. The focus of these courses is to develop the technological competencies needed for the development, utilization, and integration of instructional computing technology in the classroom.

Students interested in receiving a Certificate in Instructional Computing Applications must be admitted to a College of Education, Health and Human Sciences graduate program. The courses may be completed as part of a degree program with the advisor's approval, or as additional course work.

The post-master's degree programs of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences require the candidate to have a clear professional goal and a commitment to scholarship, leadership, and excellence. To accomplish this, a close, continuous professional interaction between the candidate, faculty, and fellow students is an integral part of the program of study.

To be admitted to post-master's degree candidacy in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, the student must first meet all Graduate School requirements and then complete a candidacy file in the department in which admission is sought.

The Education Specialist is an interdisciplinary degree designed to provide an individualized, flexible program of studies for the educator-practitioner in either a school or non-school setting, whose academic interests are aimed at specific and individual career goals and needs. It offers opportunities for advanced professional specialization and includes a relevant culminating experience or a thesis. Studies may be focused in the departments of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research; Instruction and Curriculum Leadership; and Leadership. A collaborative EdS is offered with the Department of Psychology.

Program objectives are: (1) strong knowledge base in a major area of study, research, cultural or psychological foundations, and a supportive area of study; (2) ability to evaluate and conduct research in higher, adult education, and lifelong learning; (3) development of skills and dispositions for leadership positions in educational organizations.

Doctor of Education programs in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences are designed to improve the competency of teachers, counselors, supervisors, and administrators; to serve the career needs and goals of individuals in education-related fields; to encourage research in a student's area of concentration; and to initiate and implement programs involving the school and the community. The programs provide both breadth and depth of preparation through a flexible combination of academic specialization, interdisciplinary study, and significant research.

The PhD in Counseling Psychology or Educational Psychology and Research is offered by the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research. It is designed to meet the needs of candidates who wish to seek licensing as counseling psychologists or candidates preparing for research and college faculty positions.

Admission to the EdS, EdD, and PhD programs is handled by the department in which the student wishes to major. After completion of the department's candidacy file, the department admissions committee will act on the application and notify the student of its action.

When admitted to candidacy, the student should consult with the department chair and the temporary advisor in order to secure the appointment of a permanent major advisor who will also serve as chair of the program advisory committee. The department chair, following consultation with the student and the major advisor, will make a recommendation to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies concerning the appointment of a graduate program advisory committee to assist the student in planning a complete program of studies. Upon approval by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, the appointment will be forwarded to the Graduate School.

The student's program advisory committee for the EdS, EdD, and PhD degrees shall be composed of at least three members. Each committee member must be a member of the Graduate Faculty at The University of Memphis.

All programs of study for the EdS, EdD, and PhD degrees are individually designed by the student and the program advisory committee to accomplish the student's educational goal and ensure mastery of requisite knowledge, skills, and dispositions for the discipline.

Each student, in consultation with the program advisory committee, will plan a complete program of studies. The program of studies must be placed on file with the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies before the end of the semester immediately following admission to the program. No doctoral student may be considered as officially in residency unless the student has filed a program of studies, signed by the program advisory committee.

The student's program of studies for the EdS degree must include a minimum of 33 semester hours earned no more than six years prior to the date of graduation.

The student's program of studies for the EdD or PhD degree must include a minimum of 54 post-master's semester hours. Time limitations for completion of the degree vary by department. The Departments of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research and Leadership have ten (10) year time limitations for completion of the doctoral programs. The Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership has a twelve (12) year time limitation for completion of the doctoral program.

Credit earned at another institution must be presented for consideration not later than the end of the student's second semester of enrollment. Upon approval by the student's program advisory committee, the credit will be transferred to apply toward the EdS, EdD, or PhD, provided that the credit meets general University and specific program requirements.

Approved transfer credit may be accepted for not more than 12 semester hours of post-master's degree course credit for the EdS, EdD, or PhD degree.

The maximum combined credit in Independent Study and "Workshop" courses that may be applied to EdS degree requirements is 9 semester hours.

The maximum combined credit in Independent Study and "Workshop" courses that may be applied to the EdD degree requirements is 18 semester hours.

Content for Specialty 21 hours (Including 6 hours culminating experience)
College Core 6 hours (Complete one three-hour course in research* and one three-hour course in educational psychology appropriate to the area of study)
Electives 6 hours

Content for Specialty 42-45 hours (Includes 9-12 hours dissertation)
Research Core* 9-12 hours (EDPR 8541, 8542 and 3-6 hours of research electives)

^*A master's level introduction or research course is assumed (EDPR 7521 or 7523).

Any changes to be made in a program of studies must be submitted on the appropriate form and must have the approval of the program advisory committee, the department chair, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

Students working toward the doctoral degree must fulfill the University and College residency requirement after filing a program of studies.

The purpose of residency is to provide the doctoral student with significant time for sustained contact with faculty members. An expected outcome is the acquisition of skills of inquiry, an opportunity for research, and the incorporation of professional values into the experience that the student brings to graduate school. Also, it facilitates the creation of a cohesive climate in which inquiry becomes the linking feature of the graduate student experience. In short, residency is expected to be a vehicle for socialization into the shared community of professional life. At the heart of that community lies a commitment to sustained inquiry that extends beyond the period of doctoral preparation and into the student's lifetime work, either as a practitioner or as one who demonstrates leadership based on a foundation of inquiry.

1. A doctoral student must select one of the following course enrollment options:

The student will maintain two semesters of continuous enrollment of 9 hours per semester. The enrollment requirement may be satisfied by enrolling in fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Three semesters of continuous enrollment of 6 hours per semester;
Nine hours of enrollment per semester during two consecutive summers and at least 3 hours per semester during the intervening fall and spring semesters.

2. A plan for the scholarly product of residency will be developed by the student and major professor. The plan will be reviewed by the department.

The plan will be contained in a 3-5 page document.
It will contain an introduction to the problem area that the student will address during the coming period of residency. This introduction will include a specification of the problem, an indication of its importance, and a brief summary of pertinent literature placing the problem in its context. Relevant theoretical implications will be noted.
It will detail a plan of action including projected time benchmarks to resolve the problem. It is expected that this plan will allow for a sustained and multifaceted inquiry that incorporates significant components derived from the literature and that have implications for the field of study.
Tools of inquiry expected to be required in the course of completing the residency will be noted. If the candidate possesses these tools, some indication documenting the mastery of the tool component should be noted. If skills of inquiry are to be acquired during the course of the residency this must be noted.
Faculty resources associated with each component of the plan must be indicated.
The products of the residency will be noted. It is expected that the residency will lead to a paper submitted to a refereed journal or a peer-reviewed conference.
A copy of the scholarly product of residency that has been approved by the major advisor must be filed with the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
All research involving data collection, use of existing data, or other investigations using human subjects must be reviewed and approved by the University's Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects prior to beginning any such research.

Timetable for Filing for Residency

Prior to beginning residency, the written plan must be filed. The plan must have the approval signatures of the chair of the candidate's program advisory committee and of the department chair. It must be submitted to the department office of the candidate's major for approval no later than the last day of graduate registration in the semester designated to count as residency. Students are expected to have satisfied requirements for admission to the doctoral program before filing a residency plan.

When the candidate in good standing has completed all course requirements for the EdS, EdD, or PhD degree or is enrolled in the last semester of coursework (exclusive of culminating experience or dissertation) he/she must pass a comprehensive exam, written and oral, covering the major and collateral fields of study. For EdD and PhD candidates, residency must be completed prior to taking the comprehensive exams. The student who passes the comprehensive exam will be designated as a Late Doctoral Candidate or Late Specialist candidate in the candidate's degree status. Doctoral students may not enroll in dissertation hours until they have attained Late Doctoral status.

The EdS degree candidate will present a six-hour culminating experience appropriate to the major area of specialization. This may be fulfilled through a thesis based on research related to the major, a field study of a significant problem, an organized internship, or a special project appropriate to the major.

An acceptable dissertation is a requirement for all doctoral degrees. The dissertation must embody the results of an extended research effort that is an original contribution. It should reflect the candidate's ability to conduct independent research and interpret in a logical manner the facts and phenomena revealed by the research. The student will be required to meet the specific regulations of the major department and of the Graduate School (see the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide). The EdD or PhD degree candidate will present a dissertation for 9-12 hours� credit.

All degree candidates must maintain continuous enrollment of at least one credit hour per semester (Summer school enrollment is optional for continuous enrollment.) once they begin taking field study, culminating experience, or dissertation hours. If they fail to do so, they will be charged retroactive tuition at graduation.

Credit will be posted upon the completion and acceptance of the culminating experience or dissertation, but no more than 6 hours will be counted toward degree requirements for an EdS culminating experience and no more than 12 hours for a doctoral dissertation.

The continuous enrollment requirement may be waived for any semester the advisor is not on campus or for other reasons approved by the major advisor, the department chair, and the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.

Failure to remain in continuous enrollment without an approved waiver will result in reevaluation of the candidate's status in the program by the program advisory committee.

After completing the comprehensive examination, the candidate will form a dissertation advisory committee of at least four graduate faculty members. The dissertation advisory committee will direct the development of the candidate's prospectus, dissertation, and defense. The chair (major professor) must be a full graduate faculty member from the candidate's area of concentration within the major. At least one other committee member must be a faculty member in the candidate's major. The department chair, following consultation with the candidate and the major advisor, will make a recommendation to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies concerning the appointment of the dissertation advisory committee.

In order to provide a relatively uniform framework for preparation of a doctoral prospectus, the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences has specified a format to be followed in its preparation. Copies of the format may be obtained from the major advisor or from the office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

Once a prospectus is approved, it is expected that the study will be completed within three years; if not, the program advisory committee will reevaluate the candidate's status in the program.

"Early doctoral student" designation applies to all doctoral candidates from the time of formal admission to candidacy in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences until the time of completion of course work and passing the comprehensive exam. At that time the candidate is redesignated as "late doctoral student."

Culminating experiences and dissertations must be prepared according to guidelines specified by the College and the Graduate School. For specific information, the student should consult his/her major advisor. NOTE: Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before starting to write.

After the completion of the culminating experience/dissertation and all other prescribed work for the degree, all candidates will be given a final oral examination dealing primarily with the culminating experience/dissertation and its relation to the candidate's major field of study. This exam will be conducted by the student's culminating experience/dissertation advisory committee.

Graduate assistantships for post-master's students are available in most of the academic areas of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, and a limited number of graduate assistantships for master's students are available.

Active work and satisfactory progress toward a degree are necessary to hold an assistantship, and graduate assistants are required to be registered in each term in which they hold assistantships. Full-time graduate assistants take twelve hours of course work per semester (six hours if they are enrolled for thesis or dissertation hours) and serve 20 hours per week on the assistantships.

Permission for graduate assistants to take fewer then twelve credit hours in a semester may be granted by the Graduate School upon the recommendation of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences's Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and the department chair. Permission to take more than twelve hours may be granted upon recommendation of the department chair and the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.