Prospective Graduate Students

You’ll grow professionally and personally in our nationally-ranked graduate programs.

Our on campus graduate programs rank in the top 13% by the U.S. News and World Report 2021 Best Education Schools.

Our online graduate programs rank in the top 9% and offer the same robust and rigorous academics as our on-campus programs.

Develop your leadership and scholarship with teaching and research opportunities that abound at a research-intensive university. Are you considering graduate school? If you are searching for nationally recognized professional degree programs, you’ll find them with the College of Education.

We offer the following graduate degrees:

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION (M.S.Ed.)

This degree program is designed for teachers seeking advanced academic qualifications, for those attempting to meet the requirements for initial licensure in school services personnel and in administration and supervision, and for those wishing to undertake a degree program at the beginning graduate level.

The college offers both thesis and non-thesis options for the MS in Education degree. Both programs require a minimum of 15 graduate-level credit hours in education at Purdue. The non-thesis options stipulates a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate courses, with most programs specifying 33 or more hours. Students desiring to pursue a Ph.D. degree are strongly encouraged to select a thesis-option master’s program.

M.S.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction Plan of Study | M.S.Ed. Educational Studies Plan of Study

EDUCATIONAL SPECIALIST (Ed.S.)

The Ed.S. program plus the District Level Administrator license involves 39 credit hours of graduate coursework. Applicants for the Ed.S. degree in Educational Studies with a concentration in Educational Leadership are expected to have earned a master’s degree in educational leadership and/or hold a principal’s license.

Ed.S. Educational Studies Plan of Study | Ed.S. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.)

The doctoral program is research-oriented and requires a dissertation. The program typically consists of a minimum of 45 to 50 credit hours of graduate courses, plus 10-15 hours of dissertation research work. The doctoral plan of study reflects a total of 60 hours of graduate credits beyond a completed master’s degree.

The primary area of study will include both foundational and specialized education courses. All doctoral programs must include advanced graduate courses in statistics and one advanced course in basic research methodology, as well as courses in the student’s chosen area of specialization.

If you are interested in getting a Ph.D., contact faculty members in your fields of interest.

Ph.D. Curriculum & Instruction Plan of Study | Ph.D. Educational Studies Plan of Study

See our graduate degree programs to find your area of interests.

For information about our graduate degrees and programs contact the Office of Graduate Studies.
Email: education-gradoffice@purdue.edu
Phone: 765-494-2345