The Master of Education degree program is designed to meet the academic and professional interests of a person working in the educational field.  The College of Education offers Master of Education degrees in on-campus and online formats.

Program Plan

Upon admission to a Master of Education program, each student is assigned an academic advisor. The student and advisor plan a program of study to meet the student’s individual goals and general degree requirements. Departments may require that a copy of the program plan be kept on file.

Time Limits

Graduate students and advisors should be guided by the Graduate College policy on  master’s degree time limits. If a time extension is desired, it may be requested by completing a Graduate Student Petition, including an Academic Progress Plan. These petitions are considered and acted upon by the student’s advisor, the department, and the Graduate College. Each individual who has the authority to act on the petition may either approve or deny the petition.

Course Requirements for Ed.M. Students

All students admitted to a Master of Education degree program must fulfill  Graduate College requirements for the master’s degree, departmental requirements, and the following College of Education minimum requirements on the Urbana campus or through Urbana off-campus or online courses:

• Completion of 32 hours:
  • 8 hours of foundations coursework
    • Select two of the following foundations courses, taken for four credit hours each. At least one of these two courses must be from outside the degree granting department.

CI 446 Culture in the Classroom
CI 501 Curriculum Development for the 21st Century
EPOL 401 History of American Education
EPOL 402 Asian American Education
EPOL 403 Historical and Social Barriers
EPOL 405 School and Society
EPOL 406 Professional Ethics in Education
EPOL 407 Critical Thinking in Education
EPOL 408 Aesthetic Education
EPOL 409 Sociology of Education
EPOL 410 Racial and Ethnic Families
EPOL 412 Politics of Education
EPOL 413 Economics of Education
EPOL 480 Technology and Educational Reform
EPOL 552 Foundation of Higher Education
Any 400 level EPSY course
EPSY 553 Global Issues in Learning

• 12 hours of 500-level coursework in education
• 12 hours of additional 400- or 500-level courses selected by the student in consultation with an academic advisor (595 independent study can be applied up to a maximum amount of eight hours)

In addition to the specific requirements stated above, individual programs in the College of Education may require additional courses to complete the student’s degree program.