Professional Studies

College of Education and Public Policy
260-481-6861 ~ ipfw.edu/cepp ~ Neff Hall 240

The College of Education and Public Policy is composed of three departments, Educational Studies, Professional Studies, and Public Policy. The vision of the members of the CEPP is to promote the greater public good through teaching, research, and service on a diverse array of public policy and public sector issues.

Graduate programs in Professional Studies are designed to prepare candidates to be master teachers, administrative leaders, or professional counselors. These programs have earned professional accreditation from the Indiana Department of Education and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

The mission of the Professional Studies department is to prepare professionals in teaching, counseling, and leadership who demonstrate the capacity and willingness to continuously improve schools and related entities so that they become more effective with their clients by:

becoming more caring, humane, and functional citizens in a global, multicultural, democratic society;
improving the human condition by creating positive learning environments;
becoming change agents by demonstrating reflective professional practice;
solving client problems through clear, creative analysis;
assessing client performance, creating and executing effective teaching, counseling and educational leadership, by utilizing a variety of methodologies reflecting current related research; and
utilizing interdisciplinary scholarship, demonstrating technological and critical literacies, and effective communicating with all stakeholders.

Conceptual Framework

Transformative scholar-practitioners are broadly defined as leaders in education and public policy who weave between research and practice, and theory and experience, constantly working within communities to foster learning and a just, democratic society. Graduates of our programs use their strong foundation of knowledge and content, methodologies, and exemplary practices as well as their habits of mind to critically reflect on those components. They advocate for public policies and practices that benefit the people they serve, the community, and their professions while striving to build a more just, inclusive, democratic community, and to expand and strengthen public voice and identity.

Specifically, the departments strive to prepare future leaders who thoroughly understand, consciously apply, and intentionally use democracy and community, habits of mind, and advocacy in their professional endeavors. We define those concepts as:

1. Democracy and Community

Transformative scholar-practitioners need to be a part of a dynamic, diverse professional community. They actively explore what it means to live and participate in a diverse, just, and global world. They use that knowledge to inform effective practice which demonstrates their respect for and valuing of our multicultural, multilingual, and multi-abled society. Through this they work towards developing communities that are cognizant of and compassionate toward democratic encounters over moral, cultural, social, political, and economic differences. Consequently, the departments support transformative scholar-practitioners who strive for and create democratic, just, inclusive communities.

2. Habits of Mind

Transformative scholar-practitioners develop more powerful cognition and action through their strong knowledge of content, methodologies, and exemplary practices. However, they realize that such knowledge alone is not sufficient. They practice critical thinking and reflection as they explore the reciprocal relationship between scholarship and practice. Within the context of a compassionate, caring community, transformative scholar-practitioners foster habits of mind such as investigating, inquiring, challenging, critiquing, questioning, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating. They view such habits of mind as necessary for engaging students, clients, community members, and the public in the process of teaching and learning. Consequently, the departments foster transformative scholar-practitioners who integrate critical habits of the mind in all aspects of their professional work.

3. Advocacy

Transformative scholar-practitioners develop and support the rights of students, clients, and community members as they advocate for the people they serve and the profession. They cultivate professional, public visions informed by historical and cultural perspectives. They strive to set the highest goals for themselves and the profession while inspiring their colleagues to do likewise. Transformative scholar-practitioners resolve professional and ethical challenges through the convergence of knowledge, theory, and practice. Consequently, the departments facilitate transformative scholar-practitioners’ development as professional and community advocates.

Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.)

Unconditional Admission You may be admitted unconditionally if you (1) have earned a bachelor’s degree, representing the equivalent of not less than four years of undergraduate work from an institution having regional or national accreditation, and (2) have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better (4.0=A) with all undergraduate courses taken before you received the bachelor’s degree.

Conditional Admission You may be considered for conditional admission if you meet either of the following criteria:

You hold a bachelor’s degree from an institution that is accredited at the state level but at neither regional or national levels.
Your undergraduate record does not qualify you for unconditional admission. If you earned less than a C grade in any undergraduate professional education course, you will be required to repeat that course and earn a grade of C or better to be considered for unconditional admission. If your cumulative undergraduate GPA is less than 3.0 (4.0=A), you may be admitted on the condition that your first 9 to 15 credits be completed with an average of 3.0 or better.

If you are granted conditional admission status, the college will advise you as to the criteria for achieving regular admission status.

Degree Requirements You must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 36 post-baccalaureate credits to earn the master’s degree in educational leadership or special education. The degree in Counselor Education requires 61 (Couple and Family Counseling) or 54 (School Counseling) credits.

Major Areas of Study

Counselor Education (Couple and Family Counseling: 61 credits or School Counseling: 54 credits)
Educational Leadership (36 credits)
Special Education (36 credits)

Admission Process

Applications are available from the college. Your application must be accompanied by (1) official transcripts of all previous college and university work; (2) three professional reference letters; (3) copies of teaching certificates you have earned; (4) a nonrefundable $55 application fee; and (5) a current résumé/current vitae. Additional admission requirements exist for the counselor education degrees. See the Counselor Education section for more details. You may be admitted unconditionally or conditionally.

Temporary Graduate Admission

Students wishing to take graduate courses but not (initially) planning to complete degree or certification requirements may choose to enroll as a temporary graduate student. Temporary graduate students may complete no more than 6 credits every five years.