Program Structure:
A Balance of Electives and Required Courses
The program’s 30 graduate credits are organized into two specific categories—Electives and Required Courses. This structure affords exceptional flexibility for students in the program to create a distinctive program of study to match a variety of individual needs and professional goals.
Electives
Candidates in the Master of Science in Educational Studies can choose 18 additional credits from any Department in the Graduate School of Education or any other courses at Duquesne University for which they qualify. Candidates can select courses to deepen or expand content knowledge and technical skill.
Required Coursework
The program requires that candidates complete a minimum of 12 graduate credits from the Department of Foundations and Leadership—with three of those twelve credits earned in educational research.
A representative list of eligible courses and their descriptions follows. (An asterisk before the course title indicates that the course is routinely offered at distance)
Eligible Graduate Educational Research Courses From the Department of Foundations and Leadership (students select one course)
GFDE 502. Action Research in Education (3 credits)
This course also introduces issues of classroom data collection and interpretation. The course is designed for P-12 educators. Action research is scholarly investigation conducted by practitioners for the purpose of informing their own practice. For education, this means research conducted by educators with the intent of taking some action that will enhance instruction and, consequently, student learning.
GFDE 504. Statistics in Behavioral Research (3 credits)
Skills necessary for critical analysis of quantitative research in the behavioral sciences are emphasized. The major goal is to understand and interpret the statistical analyses used to describe distributions and to test hypotheses that are commonly used in empirical studies employing quantitative data.
*GFDE 580. Action Research Seminar (3 credits)
The Action Research Seminar focuses on applying the methods by which action research (also known as teaching inquiry or practitioner research) can be planned and carried out to a specific learning agenda that is determined by each candidate. Enrollment in the seminar is limited; permission of the instructor is required.
*GREV 525. Educational Research Literacy (3 credits)
The course is designed to develop the skills and knowledge base necessary for the conceptual understanding of research presented in the literature. By doing so, the course provides the student with the foundational skills and knowledge to become a critical reader of research.
Eligible Graduate Courses from the Department of Foundations and Leadership (students select three courses)
*GFDE 503. Multicultural Education (3 credits)
Examines principles of adapting school programs and materials to the interests of a pluralistic society. Addresses specific approaches for implementing a curriculum responsive to diverse and multi-ethnic populations incorporating cultural, racial, socio-economic, gender, and individual differences.
GFDE 507. History of American Education (3 credits)
An inquiry into and study of the history of American education. The course of study provides opportunities to understand the historical reasons for why education is institutionalized as it is in American society.
*GFDE 508. Historical, Philosophical and Sociological Foundations of Education (3 credits)
The course addresses fundamental contemporary educational issues from a historical perspective. The interaction of philosophical theories and societal dynamics in the development of American education are explored.
GFDE 509. Independent Study (3 credits)
This course provides candidates the opportunity to develop a project or investigate through supervised research. Enrollment in an appropriate area with consent of a full-time member of the faculty and approval by the Department Chair are required. Candidates interested in an Independent Study should consult the program advisor.
*GFDE 510. Theories of the Teaching and Learning Process (3 credits)
This course can be taken online or on-campus. The course provides opportunities to analyze assumptions about knowing, teaching, and learning; to study theories of human learning and their relationships to motivation, development, and teaching; and to reflect on and project one's own teaching and learning practice based on theoretically sound principles.
*GFDE 513, 514, 515, 516. Teaching as Intentional Learning (TIL)
(3 or 6 credits)
TIL courses are available only at distance. The courses provide unique experience for educators to examine concerns of practice informed by relevant educational theory and research. The number of credits taken in one semester (3 or 6) determines the course requirements. Special permission is required for enrollment. A minimum of 15 credits must be taken in TIL in order to develop an area of concentration.
*GFDE 520. Motivation in Education (3 credits)
This course is an opportunity to study theories and research onstudent motivation. The course examines the critical role thatmotivation plays in human learning by applying current theories andresearch in motivation to authentic issues of concern in educationalsettings. Using motivational theories as lenses through which toconsider student motivation from multiple perspectives, the courseencourages analysis of beliefs about motivation to encourage thedesign of sound theoretically-based motivational practices.
