Education Improvement and Transformation MS

Major: Education Improvement and Transformation
Degree Awarded: Master of Science (MS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 45.0
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 13.9999
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11-9032

About the Program

This program is intended for adult learners with an interest in advancing their career in the field of education and who want to self-design a program that is tailored to their individualized needs. Appropriate for those students pursuing traditional education pathways—becoming a PK-12 teacher or moving into school administration, for example—it is an equally good choice for those wanting to make a positive impact on our education system and students, whether PK-12 or post-secondary, through different kinds of professional paths. The MS in Education Improvement and Transformation is a customizable degree. Students select from 15 areas of study to pursue some combination of three-course Professional Development Concentrations (PDCs) and Post-Baccalaureate Certificates (PBCs), then 9.0 credits of elective courses available in the School of Education and other schools and colleges in Drexel, and then complete a three-course, research-based capstone project relevant to their own career pursuits. Both the PDCs and the PBCs are comprised of focused coursework in a specific area.

Currently available PDCs include:

• Collaborative Special Education Law and Process: Prepare to meet the unique learning needs of students with disabilities through legally mandated school, home, and community collaboration.
• Creativity and Innovation: Learn how to think like a creative professional, apply creativity to your chosen career, tap into your innate creativity, and investigate strategies to implement your ideas in an educational setting.
• Education Policy: Gain insight into the policy-making aspect of education, with an emphasis on American policy and the ethics behind creating educational policies.
• Entrepreneurship: Learn tools used by successful entrepreneurs and apply your knowledge through social experiential learning experiences.
• Evaluation and Assessment: Even the most successful education institutions need to evaluate their performance. This concentration focuses on the evaluation process and how to effectively assess institutions on multiple levels.
• Higher Education: Develop the skills and knowledge necessary to begin or advance your career in higher education administration and leadership. Coursework prepares students for roles in diverse institutions and organizations within the broad field of higher education.
• Instructional Design for e-Learning: Prepare to effectively and efficiently design learning environments and experiences in diverse organizational settings using a variety of media.
• Leadership in Educational Settings: Gain the knowledge and skills needed to be a leader in an educational setting, and examine how educational leaders operate by exploring topics such as decision-making and policy.
• Learning in Game-Based Environments: Prepare to effectively use educational games in and out of the classroom and training center. You'll gain an overview of game development processes, learn to build basic games, and most importantly, examine how to assess and evaluate the learning experience as it relates to educational games.
• Learning Analytics: Learn to understand and improve instructional processes, the role of data in organizational change, and leadership in educational systems based on multiple data and information sources. Be prepared to make data-driven decisions about education improvement using a broad range of data collection, analytical, and visualization methods.
• Lifelong Learning: Focus on learning in developmentally adaptive and industry specific environments. Appropriate for those that want to be equipped with a working knowledge of learning strategies for individuals of all ages and in all contexts, with a special emphasis on non-traditional and adult learners.
• Learning Technologies: Learning technologies are changing education through online tools and methods. As a result, designers and instructors who understand how and why people use technology are in high demand. This program encourages you to explore various aspects of learning technologies, including designing and implementing learning experiences.
• Mind, Brain & Learning: Study mind, brain, and education science in real-world contexts and apply this knowledge through innovative teaching, assessment, and instructional design in alignment with the human learning process.
• Online Teaching and Learning: Prepare anyone with a commitment to effective learning the foundations, practical strategies and tactics to be an effective online educator in any learning context. Address the unique instructional knowledge and skills required to effectively design and deliver instruction online.
• Organization and Talent Development: Gain the strategic human resource development capabilities and competencies to lead talent development, coaching and mentoring, and organization development and change initiatives in any organizational setting.
• Urban Education: Urban education is one of the most prominent subjects in education today. Learn about the differences and similarities between urban and rural education settings, and how to resolve conflict in urban school settings, among other relevant topics.

After students complete a minimum of 27.0 credits through some combination of PDCs and PBCs, they will finish the program by enrolling in three elective courses (9.0 additional credits) and then a 9.0 credit sequence that includes a research course and completion of a capstone project that allows them to synthesize the previous learning in their program and to produce work that that bears on their career goals and may have transformative impacts on our education system. The combination of the PDCs/PBCs, the electives, and the three capstone courses provides the student with the 45.0 credits required for the MS degree.

Pathways to Completion

As the graphic below indicates, students have two defined pathways to earning the MS in Education Improvement and Transformation:

• Option A: A student may choose to pursue as many as three of the PBCs listed below, and "stack" the credits earned in conjunction with these (up to 27.0) towards the degree requirements (45.0 credits). To do this, a student will need to apply to enter the MS program no later than the time of completion of their second PBC.

• Option B: A student may choose to enroll in the MS program from the outset and pursue the 45.0 credits needed to earn the degree. They can do this by completing up to three PDCs listed above OR by earning up to three PBCs from the list below OR completing a combination of PDCs and PBCs adding up to three.

In the case of either Option A or Option B, after earning 27.0 credits, the student will be required to select elective courses totaling 9.0 credits, and then complete a 9.0 credit research-based capstone project sequence.

Post-Baccalaureate Certificates available:

• Organizational and Talent Development
• U.S. Education Policy
• Creativity Tools and Techniques for the Classroom and Workplace
• Online Teaching and Learning
• Instructional Design for e-Learning
• Learning Analytics
• Lifelong Learning
• Learning in Game-Based Environments

Additional Information

For more information, visit the Drexel University MS in Education Improvement and Transformation webpage.

Degree Requirements

The core of the Master of Science in Education Improvement and Transformation program is made up of a combination of three professional development concentrations and/or stackable post-baccalaureate certificates in strategic education improvement areas and topics.

These concentrations cover areas such as assessment, strategic partnership, change leadership, educational policy, disabilities, virtual schools, charter schooling, homeschooling, community engagement and development, urban education, school boards, and financing education. Additional concentrations may be developed on a topical needs or special-population-based basis.

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Electives include graduate courses in ELL, EDGI, EDLT, EDAM, EDLS, EDHE, SCL, CRTV, EHRD, EDPO, EDEX, EDUC, and MTED with course numbers 500-799.

Sample Plan of Study

Students have the option to select from the Practitioner or Thesis Capstone track during Second Year, Spring and Summer Terms.

Note: Second Year Summer may be less than the 4.5-credit minimum required (considered half-time status) of graduate programs to be considered financial aid eligible. As a result, aid would not be disbursed to students this term.

Education Faculty

Emeritus Faculty