Education, MS

Dr. Kevin S. Doyle, Chair
Department of Education and Special Education
434.395.2328, doyleks@longwood.edu

Within the Department of Education and Special Education, there are nine areas of concentration leading to the Master of Science degree in Education. They are Counselor Education; Educational Leadership; Elementary Education; Elementary Education PreK-6 Initial Licensure, Elementary & Middle School Mathematics; Health & Physical Education, Special Education General Curriculum/Curriculum & Instruction Specialist; and Special Education General Curriculum/K-12 Initial Licensure. In addition, the M.S. degree in Education is awarded to Longwood students enrolled in the Special Education General Curriculum Liberal Studies five-year program. One graduate professional endorsement program for those who already hold a valid teaching license is offered in  Special Education General Curriculum. In addition, the department offers a certificate program in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Graduate Initial Licensure Process

Students in the Elementary Education PreK-6 Initial Licensure concentration, and Special Education General Curriculum K-12 Initial Licensure concentration, must complete a professional semester to meet state licensing requirements. This professional semester is designed as the capstone course in these programs. For those students who are already teaching under a Provisional or Special Education Conditional License, enrollment in the professional semester is still a requirement, but will be a mentorship of their current teaching position.

Upon acceptance to the graduate program, Initial Licensure Candidates will apply to the Teacher Preparation Program by the end of the first semester of enrollment after acceptance.

To be admitted to the Teacher Prep Program, the teacher candidate must:

• Complete the Teacher Preparation Program application in myLongwood.
  • Enroll in the OPS Teacher Prep Canvas Course.
  • Apply to the Teacher Prep Program by the deadline date listed in the chart in the OPS Teacher Prep Canvas Course.
• Submit a copy of one of the qualifying test scores listed below to OPS via the Teacher Prep course in Canvas
  • SAT taken after March 1, 2016: SAT composite score of 1170 with no less than 580 on Evidencebased Reading & Writing section and 560 on the Math Section; SAT taken after April 1, 1995 & Prior to March 1, 2016: SAT composite score of 1100 with, no less than 530 on both the math and verbal sections of the test; SAT taken prior to April 1, 1995: SAT composite score of 1000 with no less than 450 verbal and 510 math OR
  • ACT composite score of 24, math minimum 22, English plus Reading total 46 ACT taken prior to April 1, 1995: ACT composite score of 21, with the ACT mathematics score no less than 21, and an ACT English plus Reading score no less than 37) OR
  • Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading Score of 156; Writing Score of 162, and Mathematics Score of 150 (prior to January 1, 2014 Praxis 1: composite score of 532) OR
  • Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA) Reading and Writing subtest scores 235 AND SAT Mathematics score 560 OR
  • VCLA Reading and Writing subtest scores 235 AND ACT Mathematics score 22 OR
  • VCLA Reading and Writing subtest scores 235 AND Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics score 150
• Meet the GPA requirement via admission to the graduate program.
• Submit a copy of all official undergraduate transcripts via the Teacher Prep course in Canvas.
• Complete the online Child Abuse Recognition and Intervention Training Module and the Dyslexia Awareness Training Module submit a copy of the completion certificate to OPS via the Teacher Preparation course in Canvas.
• Inform OPS via email when all requirements have been met so your application will be processed

Graduate Studies Professional Semester

Students who wish to graduate in a timely manner must complete the Graduate Studies Professional Semester application and meet all requirements at the properly established time. Failure to meet any requirement by the deadline will delay your admission to complete the Professional Semester and may delay graduation.

Apply for the Graduate Professional Semester one semester in advance (February 1 for a Fall placement or September 1 for a Spring placement) by:

• Completing the Student Teaching placements application.
  • Access via myLongwood and select the appropriate graduate program area.
  • Detailed instructions are posted on the OPS website, if needed.
• Requesting positive faculty recommendation(s) via myLongwood as specified by the program area.
  • Faculty complete the recommendations online, using the faculty tab of myLongwood.
  • Faculty will need your request in myLongwood in order to generate the recommendation.
  • Submissions can be viewed in myLongwood once completed (follow up with faculty).
• Maintaining an overall GPA of 3.0.
• Submitting to OPS the following documents via the Teacher Prep course in Canvas:
  • Criminal background check results
  • Record of Negative TB Test results
  • Card or certificate proof of hands-on training in Emergency First Aid & CPR with AED for adults & children
  • Covenant Agreement Test

NOTE: Teacher candidates bear any costs associated with meeting placement requirements. All documents must be current within one year of actual placement in the professional semester. In addition to these Longwood requirements, school divisions may have other forms to complete and procedures to follow. The latest known information is posted on the OPS Canvas course. It is the teacher candidate’s responsibility to access the information and comply by the appropriate deadline.

Meet remaining program area requirements by the deadline established by the program area, which in most instances is prior to starting the professional semester. This includes:

• Submitting to OPS a copy of all licensure assessment score reports required for your program area.
  • Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA).
  • Praxis II - if applicable.
  • Reading for Virginia Educators (RVE) - if applicable.
• Completing all course work. Consult your graduate catalog for specific program requirements.

Other Important Information:

• Monitor the OPS Canvas course for important dates, deadlines, meetings, etc.
• Attend all required meetings prior to the professional semester (Orientation, Seminar Day, etc.)
• OPS will obtain professional semester placements for the initial licensure candidates who are not employed as full time teachers. If employed with a provisional license, please call the OPS for additional information.
• If you have a provisional license, you will work with the school division personnel in completing and submitting the licensure packet. OPS will work with all other teacher candidates to apply for initial licensure with the Virginia Department of Education.

Thesis

The writing of an acceptable thesis is an option for the Special Education/Liberal Studies 5-year concentration. The thesis proposal will summarize the proposed study and give research methodology or critical framework for the study. The thesis proposal is formulated by the student in consultation with an advisor and submitted to the student’s thesis committee. The student’s thesis committee will be composed of three graduate faculty members; adjunct faculty will not serve on this committee. The Longwood University Human and Animal Subjects Research Review committee must approve the proposal prior to commencement of the research. The grading system for the evaluation of the thesis will be pass (P)/satisfactory progress (SP)/not pass (NP). Students must remain continuously enrolled in at least one credit hour until completion.

For general requirements on the thesis, consult the “Academic Regulations ” section.

Collaborative Research

The writing of acceptable research is an option for the Special Education/Liberal Studies 5-year concentration. The collaborative research proposal will summarize the proposed study and give research methodology or critical framework for the study. The student in consultation with a faculty member either conducting similar research or willing to support the student’s research formulates the collaborative research or action research proposal. It is then submitted to the student’s research committee. The student’s research committee will be composed of three graduate faculty members; adjunct faculty will not serve on this committee. The Longwood University Human and Animal Subjects Research Review committee must approve the proposal prior to commencement of the research. The grading system for the evaluation of the research will be pass (P)/satisfactory progress (SP)/not pass (NP). Students must remain continuously enrolled in at least one credit hour until completion.

For general requirements on collaborative research, consult the “Academic Regulations ” section.

Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination will be of the essay type, consisting of several broad question areas. It is designed to evaluate the student’s competency in written expression and the ability to reason. In addition, the student’s knowledge of and ability to apply specific theory and research relating to his/her area of study will be evaluated. The grading system for the evaluation of the comprehensive examination will be pass(P)/not pass (NP). Two of the three members of the committee must agree for a “Pass” grade.

The student’s comprehensive examination committee will be composed of three graduate faculty members; adjunct faculty will not serve on this committee. The committee will be responsible for the preparation and evaluation of the comprehensive examination.

Students must have completed or be enrolled to allow for completion of 30-36 semester hours of course work depending on specific program requirements, students must have a B average (3.0 GPA) in all courses completed for the degree, and students must have already filed the Application for Graduate Degree to be eligible to enroll in the comprehensive examination.

The comprehensive examination in Education will be administered two times a year from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on the third Saturday of October and the first Saturday of March by the College of Graduate and Professional Studies on the main campus in Farmville. Students must register for the comprehensive examination (COUN 699  or EDUC 699 -select the section of your program) no later than the last day to add a course in the semester in which they wish to take the examination. The College of Graduate and Professional Studies will send written notification after the last day to add a course in a semester to all students registered for the comprehensive examination. The notification will include specifics about administration of the exam. Some programs provide study guides, which will be included with the above notification.

Students who do not pass the examination shall be allowed one re-examination. The Education re-examination can be administered at a time set by the Dean of College of Graduate and Professional Studies within the same semester with a fee of $35.00 required prior to administration of the re-examination. Alternatively, the reexamination can be administered at the next scheduled exam date with the student registering for the re-exam section of EDUC 699  in that term and paying the $35.00 course fee. Failure of the examination for a second time will be final, and students will be dismissed from the graduate program.

For general requirements on the comprehensive examination, consult the “Academic Regulations ” section of this catalog.

Professional Portfolio

The completion of the HLTH 691 - Professional Portfolio , is required as the culminating experience and exit requirement for the program in the Health and Physical Education concentration. Students are scaffolded by their advisor throughout the program regarding professional portfolio requirements. During their final semester of enrollment, students are required to develop and present a professional portfolio which documents their mastery of program standards and highlights their growth throughout the program. Grading is Pass/Not Pass. A student who earns a Not Pass is allowed to retake HLTH 691  once. Should the student earn a second Not Pass, the student will be dismissed from the graduate program.