Specialist Degrees, Specific Requirements
Specialist in Education degrees (Ed.S.) are awarded for concentrated study and investigation beyond the master's degree. Programs are designed on an individual basis and are sharply focused on a particular academic goal.
A student entering a specialist degree program who possesses a master’s degree must earn a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate credit. A student entering a specialist degree program who possesses only a baccalaureate degree must earn a minimum of 60 semester hours of graduate credit. Schools or programs may have requirements that exceed the minimum standards established by the university.
Specialist Admission
Specialist degree program applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university and have a grade point average of 3.00 or better, on a 4.00 point scale, from the most recent degree earned or current degree in progress. If a master’s degree is in progress, a minimum of 18 credit hours must be completed for the GPA of the master’s degree to be used, otherwise the GPA from the bachelor’s degree will be used. Applicants admitted based on the requirement to complete a degree in progress must still provide an official transcript within the first semester of enrollment at UNC showing their degree conferred and a GPA of at least 3.0. If the transcript showing degree conferred reports a cumulative GPA less than 3.0, requirements defined by the program will be added to the student’s admission, just as they are for any admit with a GPA below 3.0.
Specialist degree applicants must take the following steps to be considered for admissions:
- Complete the online applications and pay the non-refundable application fee.
- Request one official transcript from any accredited college or university where a bachelor’s degree or higher was earned or is in progress (if you have earned multiple degrees, bachelor’s level or higher, an official transcript is required from each college or university where a degree was conferred). If you received a degree from UNC, you do not need to request a transcript from UNC. The Graduate School & International Admissions Office reserves the right to request that applicants provide official transcripts from other colleges or universities as needed. Applicants who have earned or are directly pursuing a higher degree from an accredited institution without receiving a bachelor’s degree (e.g., PharmD) may be eligible to apply to the Graduate School without the conferral of a bachelor’s degree. If an applicant intends to use Veteran’s Education Benefits, an official transcript from all colleges or universities attended will be required in order to maintain compliance with Veteran’s Affairs policies.
- Official transcripts from U.S. institutions should be sent via mail directly from the educational institution in an unopened, sealed envelope or through an electronically secure digital program from the issuing institution.
Mailed transcripts should be sent to:
Graduate School and International Admissions
University of Northern Colorado
Campus Box 135
501 20th Street
Greeley, CO 80639
Electronic transcripts from U.S. institutions should be sent directly from the educational institution to: grad.applicationmaterials@unco.edu.
The Graduate School and International Admissions does not accept email, scanned, or PDF transcripts directly from applicants. All official transcripts, submitted as part of the application process, are retained by UNC and not returned to applicants or admitted students.
- Your program may require other items such as letters of recommendations, GRE scores. Please check www.unco.edu/graduate-school/degrees-and-programs/ for specific program requirements.