Education (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.   

Program Overview

The School of Education offers a range of professional and academic graduate degree programs that focus on preparing students for careers in education, research, policy formation and implementation, as well as program oversight. Job opportunities are found in schools, school districts, universities, public and private agencies, business and industry, and many other areas.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate studies must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. For detailed information on how to submit official transcripts, test scores, and other materials, please refer to the information provided by the Graduate School. These documents are stored electronically and schools have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

To be admitted to the Certificate, MA, MAT, MEd, EdS, or PhD programs, a student must complete Graduate School application procedures by deadlines established by the Graduate School. Applicants will be expected to provide appropriate documentation upon request for admission into the various degree programs. Documents include a statement of purpose, a resume or CV, all undergraduate and graduate transcripts, GRE (for most programs), and three letters of recommendation. An applicant whose native language is not English and/or who has been educated outside of the U.S. in a country or province where English is not the only official language must demonstrate proof of English proficiency by submitting a TOEFL iBT, an IELTS, a  PTE, a Duolingo, or a Michigan English Language score before the application is evaluated for admission. Please refer to the Graduate School’s Admission site for a list of the required scores. Regardless of test scores submitted, official scores are those reported directly to LSU by the respective testing service at the request of the student. The application deadline for fall enrollment is April 15 for on-campus programs with the exception of the Counseling Education Program which has a deadline of February 1, and the P-12 Educational Leadership Program which has a deadline of March 1. In order to be considered for fall admission, applications with supporting information must be complete by April 15. Some programs also accept applications to start in spring or summer semesters, please check with specific program coordinators.  Complete applications not available for review by these dates will be considered for the following semester as long as that program is admitted for the following semester. Minimum requirements for admission into all degree programs are a score of 153 on the verbal and 144 on the quantitative sections of the GRE, and an undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 for the last 60 hours of coursework. Lower GRE scores may be considered contingent on an excellent GPA. The GRE is optional for students applying to master’s programs, with the exception of Counselor Education, which still requires the GRE for admission

After completed application materials are received from the Graduate School, faculty panels in each degree program review and make admission recommendations to the SOE Graduate Advisor. Upon approval of the School, students are notified of acceptance by the Graduate School. Many programs may be completed part-time. Please refer to program coordinators for specific program requirements. 

Financial Assistance

Graduate assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis. Doctoral student stipends for academic-year appointments start at $23,000. The deadline for submission of applications for graduate assistantship is February 1.

Graduate Minor in Writing Pedagogy

The graduate minor in Writing Pedagogy is designed to deepen understanding of the teaching of writing pedagogy as well as extend personal practice as writers. Students interested in the graduate minor should meet with their advisor/major professor to design a Program of Study and fill out (as appropriate) a Med, Educational Specialist or PhD Program of Study Form, to be kept on file with the advisor. 

Courses must be clearly delineated as to which hours count as major coursework and which as minor coursework. Graduate students minoring in writing pedagogy must complete 12 hours of coursework including

• EDCI 7129 Writing Seminar: From Idea to Manuscript (3)   
• EDCI 7311 Topics in Language Arts Education (3)   

In addition, students must take one of the following:

Elementary education majors 

• EDCI 7314 Teaching Written Composition from PK through Grade 6 (3)  

Secondary education majors

• EDCI 7142 Studies in the Teaching of Composition in Secondary Schools (3)  

If appropriate and with approval of a student’s advisor/major professor, the final 3 hours may be taken specific to writing within the English Department. Of these courses, no more than three may be taken with the same professor.

For further information, please contact the School of Education at 225-578-6867 or gradsoe@lsu.edu.

Graduate Faculty

(Check current faculty listings by department here)

This school was cited by the Louisiana Board of Regents’ PhD Review Summary as a school that had “attracted a high quality faculty at both the senior and junior level, had a good sense of purpose for their programs, and a good sense of themselves as an academic community.”

Keena Arbuthnot (M) • Educational research
Jacqueline Bach (M) • English education, curriculum theory
Estanislado Barrera (M) • Reading and literacy education
Jennifer Baumgartner (M) • Early childhood education, child development
Alica Benton (3P) • Early childhood education, reading and literacy education
Joy Blanchard (M) • Higher education
Pamela Blanchard (M) • Science education
Earl H. Cheek Jr. (EM) • Reading education
Yu April Chen (M) • Higher education
Laura Hensley Choate (M) • College counseling, counselor education, counseling women
Ashley B. Clayton (M) • Higher education
Imre Csasar (3P) • Counselor education
Jennifer Curry (M) • School counseling 
Emily Dare (M) • Science education 
Cynthia DiCarlo (M) • Early childhood education
Denise Egea (EM) • Foreign language education, curriculum studies
Joshua Ellis (M) • Science education
Eugene Geist (M) • Elementary education, Early childhood education
Gary G. Gintner (M) • Diagnosis and treatment planning, substance abuse, stress reduction
Petra Hendry (EM) • Curriculum theory studies, Social studies
Eugene Kennedy (M) • Educational research
David Kirshner (M) • Mathematics education
Elecia Lathon (3P) • Elementary and secondary education
Carlos G. Lee (3P) • Educational administration, management theory, policy evaluation
Henderson Lewis, Jr. (6A) • Educational leadership
S. Kim MacGregor (M) • Educational research, instructional innovation
F. Neil Mathews (EM) • Gifted education
Roland Mitchell (M) • Higher education, pedagogy, diversity
Paul Mooney (M) • Special education
Margaret Piccoli (3P) • World languages, ESL
Laura Piestrzynski (6A) • Early and elementary literacy education
Yufeng “Jennifer” Qian (3P) • Educational technology
Mary “Molly” Quinn (M) • Curriculum studies and theory, urban and community education
Tom Ricks (M) • Mathematics education
Kimberley Skinner (M) • Literacy education, curriculum studies
Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell (M) • Literacy, urban education
Kerri Tobin (M) • Social studies education

Programs

• Educational Technology Graduate Certificate
• Instructional Coaching Graduate Certificate
• Urban and Community Education Graduate Certificate

• Curriculum and Instruction Certification, Ed.S.
• Education Leadership Certification, Ed.S.

• Education, M.A.

• Counseling, M.Ed.
• Curriculum & Instruction, M.Ed.
• Educational Leadership, M.Ed.
• Gifted Education, M.Ed.
• Special Education, M.Ed.

• Elementary Education Grades 1-5, M.A.T.
• Secondary Education Grades 6-12, M.A.T.

• Curriculum & Instruction, Ph.D.
• Educational Leadership & Research, Ph.D.