The Growing Confusion among Master's Programs in Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This national survey was conducted to examine institutions that offer graduate programs in education and to determine trends regarding master's degree programs. Three sources of information were utilized: (1) "Peterson's Guide to Graduate Programs in Business, Education, Health, and Law (Moore, 1979, 1989); (2) university catalogues from the 1980s; and (3) a survey questionnaire mailed to 664 U.S.institutions that offer such graduate programs. Results indicate, first, that the Master of Education (M.Ed.) is, by a narrow margin, the single most common master's degree title offered in schools of education. However, 45 percent of the institutions in the study offer the more traditional Master of Science (M.S.) or Master of Arts (M.A.) rather than the M.Ed. Second, previously obscure titles are becoming more prevalent such as the Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.), Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.), and Master of Science in Teaching (M.S.T.). Third, research and statistics requirements are not significantly different for M.Ed. versus M.S./M.A. programs. The report concludes with a call for a national dialogue to strengthen the education profession by reducing the confusion that currently exists in its master's programs. (Author/LL)