Educational Leadership and Human Development
Educational Specialist
Candidates who have already earned their master's degree in library science or education may pursue an Education Specialist degree in Human Services, Learning Resources. This program prepares candidates for advanced positions in school librarianship at the building or district level. Candidates may complete the requirements for certification while pursuing this degree. Those who already have certification may pursue a wide variety of educational goals.
To be accepted into the program, candidates must have a minimum GPA of 3.25, three letters of reference, and a personal interview (which may be waived because of geographic constraints).
Candidates must earn a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate credit within an approved program of study beyond a master's degree At least 18 semester hours of this program must be 5000 and 6000 level courses. A minimum of 6 semester hours must be 6000 level courses. The program concludes with a formal research component consisting of a research prospectus and thesis.
Research Component
The final component of the Education Specialist degree is a research component:
| Research Courses | Hours |
| LIS 5910 Action Research in School Libraries (2 sh) or EDFL 5900 Introduction to Research (3 sh) | 2-3 |
| LIS 6960 Research Problems | 2 |
| LIS 6990 Thesis | 2 |
| Minimum Total Semester Hours: | 30 |
Certification: Candidates who wish to receive school library media certification as a part of the Education Specialist degree must take the courses listed below. These courses are designed to meet the requirements established by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for library media certification.
Required Graduate Courses
| Course Name | Hours |
| LIS 5100 Foundations of Librarianship | 2 |
| LIS 5240 Library Media Administration | 3 |
| LIS 5250 Developing & Managing Collections | 3 |
| LIS 5260 Library Systems & Information Technology | 3 |
| LIS 5270 Organizing Information | 3 |
| LIS 5322 Reference Sources & Services | 3 |
| LIS 5340 Children's, Adolescent, & Young Adult Literature | 3 |
LIS 5750 Using Online Resources |
3 |
| LIS 5770 Curriculum and the Media Center | 3 |
| LIS 5820 Practicum I | 2 |
| LIS 5910 Action Research in School Libraries | 2 |
| LIS 6730 Seminar | 2 |
Candidates will write a thesis and in their final semester complete a professional development plan.
Minimum total semester hours: 30
Notes: 1) Students who have not had a Basic Reading Techniques for Secondary Teachers course may take EDFL 5208 Content Area Literacy. It is required for K-12 school library media certification. 2) Those who have worked as school librarians in school libraries for three years will substitute a 2-credit-hour practicum for a 1-credit-hour practicum experience. They will work with their practicum advisor to complete the assessments associated with the practicum.
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