The College of Education Graduate Programs
Lander University offers graduate degree programs leading to the Master of Education degree in Teaching and Learning, the Master of Education degree in Montessori Education, and the Master in the Art of Teaching in Special Education. In addition, graduate work is offered for non-degree seeking students, including courses which provide public school teachers with opportunities to meet recertification requirements. While the graduate programs are administered by the College of Education, they involve faculty from across the University.
Lander University also offers a graduate degree program leading to the Master of Arts in Teaching - Visual Art K-12 (MAT).
Students are encouraged to apply for admission online by going to http://www.lander.edu/apply. Requests for graduate application forms may also be addressed to the Office of Admissions, Lander University, Greenwood, South Carolina 29649, 888-4-Lander, or email admissions@lander.edu.
Immunization: All students taking courses on the Lander campus will be required to meet immunization standards as specified in the Admissions section of this catalog.
Students enrolled in Lander University Graduate education programs are assessed using these learner outcomes and preferred dispositions and must embrace and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and preferred dispositions set forth in the InTASC (Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium) standards (https://ccsso.org/resource-library/intasc-model-core-teaching-standards-and-learning-progressions-teachers-10).
Graduate Education Programs for Non-Degree Students
Some students pursue graduate study at Lander University for reasons of professional development and personal interest or certification additions or renewals. These students may enroll as non-degree seeking students.
Special Graduate Education Workshops
Groups of teachers in local schools or districts frequently identify a unique problem that can be solved most efficiently through an individually designed special graduate workshop. The workshop activities may lead to one, two, or three credit hour credit or may result in certificate renewal points if the cooperating school district has an approved in-service program. Graduate faculty members at Lander University are available to work with school district personnel to design a workshop program that meets the specific needs of the host school district. These courses are offered for professional development and count toward recertification but not toward the M.Ed. degree.
Transient Students
Students pursuing a graduate degree at another institution may complete several graduate courses at Lander University to be applied as transfer credit in accordance with the regulations and policies of that institution.
Program Process and Probation
Degree-seeking graduate students at Lander University must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of at least a 3.0 (B). Students must retake courses to replace insufficient grades (less than a C) at the next available opportunity and must achieve at least a B. Students may not retake a course more than two times. All work for a master’s degree at Lander University must be completed within a period of six years.
Initial academic progress is assessed after the completion of 12 credit hours and monitored at the end of each semester thereafter. Graduate students are placed on academic probation if the student's graduate cumulative GPA falls below a 3.0 after the completion of at least 12 credit hours. Graduate courses may be passed for degree credit with a grade as low as C, but the student’s average on all courses attempted for graduate credit must be at least a 3.0.
If a student is placed on academic probation, they will be contacted by email at the end of the term that their cumulative GPA drops below a 3.0. In the case of the conversion of an incomplete grade that causes a cumulative GPA to drop below 3.0, a degree-seeking student will be placed on academic probation at the end of the semester in which the grade is posted. Students placed on academic probation should meet with their academic advisor during the semester they receive notification of their probation to ensure the expectations for removal of the probationary status are understood.
Students are allowed one calendar year in probation to raise their cumulative GPA to at least a 3.0. Students who fail to meet the GPA requirement after one year of probation are suspended from graduate study. Upon suspension from degree candidacy, students must wait a period of one calendar year following the term of suspension to be reinstated or enroll in courses as non-degree seeking. Appeals for academic suspension must be submitted prior to the start of the term following the suspension. The academic suspension appeals process is outlined in the catalog.