The following minimal requirements will satisfy the Educational Specialist
Certificate in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis. The student's
program is to be developed in consultation with an advisor whom the
student selects as early in the program as is practicable.
A. The Educational Specialist Certificate Program is a two-year program
of professional study and preparation beyond the Bachelor's degree.
The first year permits the completion of the Master of Science (M.S.)
degree in Educational Administration.
B. The student must meet the following minimum requirements:
1. Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis Courses 48 credits
2. Research Methods and Statistics Courses 6 credits
3. Supporting Courses 6 credits
Total 60 credits
C. The student must complete the minimum number of graduate courses
and credit distribution as set forth below.
1. Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis Courses
Category I. Completion of the following:
702--Introduction to Elementary and Secondary Education Administration
Category II. At least five (5) courses including fifteen (15) graduate
credits selected from among the following:
830--Financing Elementary and Secondary Education
840--Legal Aspects of Elementary and Secondary Education
860--Organizational Theory and Behavior in Education
870--The Politics of Education
875--Theory and Practice of Educational Planning
Category III. At least ten (10) additional courses including at least
thirty (30) graduate credits selected from any courses in educational
administration. (A maximum of three (3) graduate credits of 890, 990,
or 999 may be included in the 30 credits.) Students seeking Superintendent
Certification need to incorporate required coursework into Category
III.
2. Research Methods and Statistics Courses
At least two (2) courses including six (6) graduate credits of research
courses distributed as follows:
1. An introductory statistics course which includes descriptive statistics,
central tendency, probability, inference, and variance and selected
from among Educational Psychology 561, Sociology 361, Statistics 301,
or other courses specifically approved by the department.
2. The research requirement for the Educational Specialist Certificate
shall be satisfied by completing Educational Leadership & Policy
Analysis 824, Field Research Designs and Methodologies in Educational
Administration.
3. Supporting Courses
At least two (2) courses including six (6) graduate credits of supporting
coursework in teaching and learning (typically Curriculum and Instruction
704 and one additional course). Additional courses in teaching and learning
are recommended.
D. Program Approval
1. The Education Specialist Certificate Program plan (as well as any
subsequent amendments and changes) must be submitted through the Department
Chairperson and approved by the Department as soon as is practicable
following admission to the program and, in any event, not later than
scheduling of the specialist comprehensive examination.
2. Satisfactory completion of the approved Specialist program plan
shall be certified by the Department Chairperson prior to scheduling
the final oral examination.
3. Occasional exceptions to the minimum specialist program requirements
may be made by the Department on request by the student and major professor
through the Department Chairperson.
SPECIALIST COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
A. The specialist comprehensive examination must be passed as a requirement
for the Educational Specialist Certificate in Educational Leadership
& Policy Analysis. To be eligible to take the exam, the student
must have completed a minimum of six (6) courses and eighteen (18) credits
in educational administration courses from Madison faculty. The examination
may be taken during or after the semester in which the 6 course and
18 credit requirement is met. The examination is offered three (3) times
a year near the end of an academic semester or summer session.
B. If failure results, the specialist comprehensive examination may
be repeated one time. After a failure the student is required to complete
a minimum of 6 additional credits in Educational Leadership & Policy
Analysis before retaking the examination.
SPECIALIST PAPER AND FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION
The department has established the following criteria as guidelines
for the specialist paper.
a. The specialist paper should be derived from a current, practical
problem which is researchable and limited in scope.
b. The specialist paper should have the approval, cooperation, or collaboration
of the governing board or administration of an educational institution
when appropriate.
c. The specialist paper should utilize applied, market, or policy research.
d. The specialist paper should result in recommendations for action.
The design and methodology for the specialist paper will be developed
by the student and major professor and reviewed and approved by a three-person
faculty committee which will also conduct the oral examination on the
completed specialist paper.
MINIMUM STANDARDS AND PROGRESS TOWARD THE CERTIFICATE
A. A minimum of sixty (60) graduate credits must be completed in the
Educational Specialist Certificate Program with an overall GGPA of at
least 3.00. The student must maintain a minimum overall 3.00 GGPA in
Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis courses at all times.
B. The Educational Specialist Certificate Program must be completed
within seven (7) years from the date of admission to the program. Failure
to complete the program in 7 years will result in the student being
declared "inactive." Students declared "inactive"
will be ineligible to take the final oral examination and receive the
certificate until a new graduate program has been approved
by the Department and any new or different program or examination requirements
then in effect have been met.
C. Students declared "inactive" for three (3) years may be
dropped from the Specialist program. Students who have been dropped
must seek readmission to a specific degree program in the Department
and meet all existing admission, program, and examination requirements.
TRANSFER CREDITS
At least 30 graduate credits of the 60 graduate credits for the Educational
Specialist Certificate Program shall be taken at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Students are advised to work closely with their advisor and/or the Coordinator
of Admissions to insure approval of transfer credits.
