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Professional Leadership, EdS - Librarianship Option

Education Specialist Degree in Librarianship

The University of Central Missouri is producing advanced library leaders with our Specialist in Education Librarianship degree. You’ll hone your teaching, research, leadership and technology skills to prepare for an exciting career and boost your earning potential. No matter your career aspirations or research interests in the library field, our Library Science and Information Services faculty will help you personalize our graduate program curriculum to meet your needs.

Completing UCM’s Education Specialist degree in Librarianship program will help you improve your librarianship qualifications while you achieve Missouri’s certification requirements in school librarianship. Whether you wish to pursue librarianship as a profession in a school setting, corporate training, military education or a research institution in Missouri or across the country, UCM’s Ed.S. degree in Librarianship can take you there.

Online Education Specialist degree in Librarianship

Earn your Education Specialist in Librarianship degree online with no on-campus obligations. UCM’s program offers 100% online, asynchronous courses, giving you the flexibility to complete your Ed.S. on your own time and at the pace that suits you best. Most students choose to pursue this program on a part-time schedule.

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94% job placement for graduates

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Recognized by the AASL

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Earn school librarianship certification

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Personalized librarianship curriculum

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Prep for librarianship as a profession

What you will study

As you earn your Education Specialist in Librarianship degree from UCM, you’ll complete core classes, electives and a capstone experience for graduation. More than half of your classes will be electives you choose with faculty guidance, making our graduate program a highly personalized learning experience. Some topics you will study during your Education Specialist degree in Librarianship include:

  • Library program advocacy
  • Trends in children’s and young adult literature
  • Instruction in multiple literacies

UCM’s Ed.S. in Librarianship degree program curriculum is designed to help you achieve specific qualifications to benefit your career and take you one step closer to your dream job.

 

Optional Pathway to an EdD in Education


UCM partners with Murray State University to offer graduate students a bridge to a doctorate in Education. Our students have the option to complete the Ed.D. at Murray State to gain additional  librarianship qualifications that allow them to pursue careers in higher education and research. Please see this page to learn more about the EdS to EdD cooperative bridge program with Murray State.

 

Unique learning opportunities in librarianship

Pursuing librarianship as a profession requires intensive study and hands-on training. UCM’s Education Specialist degree in Librarianship features real-word learning, including internship and research opportunities. Students in this graduate program can complete one or both of these experiential learning opportunities.

  • Internships: Gain in-person experience and work alongside those who have chosen librarianship as a profession in, for example, a local school. UCM helps you locate internship opportunities that align with your career goals and academic interests.
  • Evidence-based learning: In the EdS program, students will not only hone your research skills but also allow you to contribute to the field and bolster your librarianship qualifications. EdS students choose between a research project or a thesis for their capstone. Both allow students to explore a topic of their choice more deeply and gather evidence to evaluate its effectiveness. Recent research projects include Recent theses by graduate students include “Coding and the Role of the School Librarian,” “Graphic Novels and the Classroom” and “School Librarian Collaborations to Improve Reading.” A research project is a great option for candidates interested in improving their practice or becoming leaders in their field. The thesis option is a popular choice among graduate students planning on pursuing a doctorate in education or a career in higher education.

 

What can you do with a Librarianship degree from UCM?

UCM’s Education Specialist degree in Librarianship helps you develop the highly marketable skills in leadership, teaching and technology you need to pursue librarianship as a profession. Our graduates with librarianship qualifications move on to fulfilling careers as library directors, researchers, corporate educators and librarians in K–20 classrooms and military settings. You can also pursue jobs as library directors and library branch managers.

Careers for graduates with an Education Specialist degree in Librarianship

Use the interactive tool below to learn more about careers, job outlooks, earning potential and more with librarianship qualifications.

 

 
 


 

Financial assistance options for your Librarianship degree

UCM provides financial support and guidance to all of our students. We offer several ways to help you offset the cost of your Education Specialist degree in Librarianship, including scholarships and federal financial aid.

You can also apply for external scholarships offered by private sources, community organizations and professional societies. The Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL), for example, offers financial awards for students pursuing a degree in Librarianship.

In addition to private and university-wide financial awards, you may also qualify for scholarships such as: 

  • Suzanne Foster Scholarship in Library Science
  • Beatrice Ricks Library Scholarship
  • Dr. Aileen Helmick Memorial Scholarship in Library Science

Learn more about program-specific scholarships by using the UCM Scholarship Finder.

 

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Explore programs related to librarianship.
 

If you’re interested in advancing your career with additional specialized skills and experience in librarianship, consider this UCM graduate degree:

 

Accreditations and Accolades

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UCM is the longest continuously CAEP accredited public institution in Missouri

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Nationally recognized by the American Association of School Librarians

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2018 Most Affordable Online Colleges for Library Science Degrees

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