The M.Ed. in Educational and Psychological Foundations may be taken by international students who are interested in earning a master's degree without the intent of earning professional licensure to practice. This may include educators prepared as K-12 teachers in foreign countries wishing to advance their training in this area or other graduate students interested in exploring education as a profession.

Upon completion of this degree, international students may apply to the School Psychology or School Counseling programs and, assuming successful completion of all requirements, may be offered admission to one of the these programs.

To fulfill the 33 credit hour degree requirements, 21 graduate credit hours from the following core classes must be completed:

A total of 12 elective credit hours must be taken from the following course options within specialty tracks. However, students wishing to earn the M.Ed. Educational and Psychological Foundations degree, without the intent of obtaining professional licensure, may select 12 credit hours from among most courses listed, as approved by their advisors.

Regardless of specialty or program track (professional licensure or not), all students seeking this degree will be regularly assessed across professional knowledge, skills and dispositions.

All international students are advised to designate a professional track at the onset of the M.Ed. degree requirements to ensure proper advising and planning. This is especially critical for students pursuing licensure as School Services Professionals; these professional programs are full-time, sequenced and combine coursework with field training opportunities.

Admission

In addition to meeting the requirements for admission to the Graduate School, applicants should provide an essay that includes a self-assessment of experiences and education that would qualify one for undertaking studies in the areas of educational and psychological foundations. Prerequisite courses of introductory psychology, statistics and child development must be met for students eventually pursuing either the School Psychology or School Counseling tracks (See program descriptions in Catalog). Applications for admission must be received by March 1st to be considered for the next academic year.

Exit Criteria for the M.Ed. in Educational and Psychological Foundations

Successful completion of this degree requires:

1. A 3.0 grade point average in all required and elective coursework and no more than one grade of C or C+.
2. Satisfactory performance on an end-of-degree comprehensive written examination (Checkpoint 2)
3. Satisfactory performance in field-based training experiences.
4. Submission of all Valparaiso University materials required for graduation according to published guidelines and deadlines.

To apply for the M.Ed. in Education and Psychological Foundations, click here.