Nov 23, 2024  
2023-2024 Graduate Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Professional Studies, M.Ed.


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Mission

The mission of the M.Ed. in Professional Studies is to prepare students as reflective and responsive professionals who develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions critical to understanding and contributing to their respective individual concentration areas of study.

Program Overview

The online M.Ed. in Professional Studies is a 30- credit hour graduate program designed to prepare graduates with the practical knowledge and intellectual capabilities to meet emerging needs of diverse professional work environments. The online delivery format enables students the flexibility to earn an advanced degree while remaining at a distant location.

A Professional Studies degree provides students with the opportunity to design their personal path to learning. Expert faculty advisors assist students in building a curriculum based on their academic interests and career or professional goals. The degree allows students to customize their learning across multiple disciplines allowing them to meet the demands of emerging fields and changing educational landscapes and industries. When designing a learning pathway, students can choose online courses from the following areas of study:

  • Literacy

  • Special Education

  • Digital Media and Learning

Student who would like to take classes on campus or in a hybrid format (part online and part on-campus), can choose from the following areas:

  • Business Administration - Project Management

  • Business Administration - Human Resources Management

  • Fitness and Wellness

For more information, visit the program website.

Program Outcomes

  1. Reflective Practice: Students/candidates will engage in reflective practice and by doing so will demonstrate their commitment to continuous selfimprovement related to their profession.

  2. Technology Integration: Students/candidates will model and apply technology standards (ISTE, NETS) as they design, implement and assess experiences in the workplace.

  3. Culturally Responsive Practice: Students/candidates will research, discuss, and engage in culturally responsive practices.

  4. Communication: Students/candidates will use effective and appropriate verbal, nonverbal, written, and media communication techniques in their profession.

  5. Educational Research: Students/candidates will demonstrate competence in educational research by explaining and applying the knowledge, skills, and techniques of research (a research project) - and by engaging in the reflective cycle of planning, implementing, assessing, disseminating, and making informed decisions based on data as applicable.

Admission Criteria

This degree requires a bachelor’s degree that can be either a teaching or a non-teaching field.

  • Submit admissions application to the Office of Admissions. Apply online at https://www.fairmontstate.edu/apply
  • Pay $50 application fee
  • Submit official college transcripts to the Office of Admissions
  • Minimum 2.75 undergraduate GPA

Graduation Requirements:

Completion of nine (9) credit hours of graduate courses (3 core courses) and a 21-credit hour professional plan of study based on students’ academic interests and professional goals. Maintain a 3.0 or better GPA.

Program of Study


Customized Degree Plan


In consultation with a faculty advisor, students will design an individualized plan of study for the remaining 21-credit hours. Students may create a plan predominantly from one academic field (e.g., Special Education), or a combination of courses across disciplines (e.g., Literacy, Digital Media, Special Education).

Below are examples of courses available in these different areas and students can design different pathways or combinations of courses to suit their interest or needs.

Contact Information:


Valerie Morphew, Ed.D.
Professor of Education; Professional Studies Program Coordinator
Director, Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation
Phone: (304) 367-4664
Email: Valerie.Morphew@fairmontstate.edu

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