Degree Options For Science Education

What Science Education Degrees Does Kent State Offer?

Curriculum & Instruction Masters Degree with a Science Education Emphasis
The M.Ed. degree requires 32 semester hours of coursework, while the M.A. requires a minimum of 26 semester hours of course work, plus a thesis for which 6 semester hours credits are granted.
Graduates with this degree have taught at the college level, teach at the K-12 level with their advanced degree, and pursued doctoral degrees in education. 

The Ph.D. degree requires 60 semester hours of coursework beyond a master's degree or 90 hours of coursework beyond a bachelor's degree. This coursework includes 30 hours of dissertation hours. Graduates with this degree have pursued professorial positions in university settings, returned to K-12 classrooms, taken science curriculum specialist positions, among others.

What Courses Are Offered?

During your master's or doctoral program, you can plan to take several science education offerings that are relevant to classroom practice and grounded in educational theory. These courses are all offered in the evening or in the summers so that working professionals can enroll. Some of these courses include the following:

C&I 61140 Culture & Multiculturalism in Science Education (3) (FALL 2016)

C&I 61141 Nature of Science in Science Education (3)  (SPRING 2017)

C&I 61133 Issues and Trends in Science Education (3) (FALL 2017)

C&I 61134 Research Trends in Science Education (3) (SPRING 2018)

C&I 61142 History of Science Education (3)  (SUMMER 2016)

C&I 67240 Introduction to Environmental Education (3)  (SUMMER 2017)

What Kinds of Experiences Will I Get at Kent State?

For our master's program, we encourage students to: 

  • Join science education and curriculum & instruction professional organizations
  • Present research at state, national and international conferences
  • Work with successful science professional development programs
  • Write and submit manuscripts to practitioner journals (e.g. Science Scope, Science Teacher

For our doctoral program, we encourage students to:

  • Join science education and curriculum & instruction professional organizations
  • Partner with science education faculty in an early research experience
  • Conduct pre-dissertation research
  • Present research at state, national and international conferences
  • Review conference proposals and manuscripts for science education associations
  • Teach science education courses at the undergraduate level
  • Partner with science education faculty members in grant-writing
  • Work with successful science professional development programs
  • Write and submit manuscripts for publication
  • Supervise student teachers

What Kind of Support Can I Expect?

Graduate Assistantships for graduate students (primarily at the doctoral level) are available on a competitive basis. Most Assistantships require 20 hours of work per week during the academic year. Work includes teaching undergraduate courses, supervising student teachers and other undergraduate students in field experiences, assisting in the administration and work of various centers and programs in C&I, and working with individual faculty. 
During the academic year, Graduate Assistants receive a nine-month stipend and waver of all tuition and out-of-state course fees. 
Other financial aid is available to qualified graduate students through the Office of Student Financial Aid.

How Can I Apply?

If you’d like more information about our programs, please contact Dr. Lisa Borgerding by email (ldonnell@kent.edu) or phone (330-672-0614).

You can apply on paper, or apply online here.