Educational Specialist

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The Education Specialist, also referred to as Educational Specialist, Specialist in Education, or Ed.S., is a terminal academic degree in the U.S. that is designed for individuals who wish to develop additional skills or increase their knowledge beyond the master's degree level, but do not wish to pursue a degree at the doctoral level. Depending on the type of program offering the degree, a Master's degree may or may not be a prerequisite for entry. In school psychology programs, for instance, the Specialist degree is often designed to follow immediately after a bachelor's degree.

Most individuals who earn an Ed.S. degree seek to increase their skills for advanced certification requirements or other professional objectives. For example, experienced teachers, counselors, and (would-be) administrators may pursue an Ed.S. degree in order to meet state or professional requirements for career advancement. Major areas available with this degree include school counseling, school psychology, and others.

The Ed.S. degree is a focused degree program that is considered "beyond" the master's degree level (usually by about 30 to 45 semester hours, which is roughly equivalent to a second master's degree). But while master's degree holders can usually be confident of advancement and upward movement on the salary scale, the Ed.S. degree holder may find that managers are not aware of, or do not have a way of recognizing, this lesser-known degree. This is especially true outside of educational settings.

The Specialist in School Psychology (SSP) degree is similar to the Ed.S. in School Psychology. It is typically granted when the program is located in a department of psychology rather than education.

According to The American Council on Education “six-year specialist degrees (Ed.S., etc.) and other degrees that are intermediate between the master's and the doctor's degree may have hoods specially designed (1) intermediate in length between the master's and doctor's hood, (2) with a four-inch velvet border (also intermediate between the widths of the borders of master's and doctor's hoods), and (3) with color distributed in the usual fashion and according to the usual rules. Cap tassels should be uniformly black.”^[1]

Academic degrees v • d • e
Associate's degrees (U.S.)	AA, AAS, ABA, ABS, AOS, AS, AMusA (Australia), ASN
Foundation degrees (U.K.)	FdA, FdEd, FdEng, FdMus, FdBus, FdSc, FdTech
Bachelor's degrees	AB or BA, BAcy, BAdm, BAgrEc, BArch, BBA, BBus, BCom or BComm, BCS, BCL, STB, BD, BDent, BDS, B.Ed., BEc, BEng or BE, BSBME, BFA, BHSc, BGS,BHE, BHK, BID, BJ, BTh, BLibStud, BLIS, BMath, BMedSc or BMedSci, BMus, BSN, BPE, BPharm, BS or BSc or SB, BSc(Agr) or BSA, BSocSci, BSW, BTech, LLA, LLB, MB ChB or MB BS or BM BS or MB BChir or MB BCh BAO, MA (Cantab.), MA (Dubl.), MA (Hons), MA (Oxon.)
Master's degrees	AM, M.Ag MArch, MA, MAT, MALS or MLS, MS or MSc, MSt, DEA, MAcy, MALD, MApol, MPhil, MRes, MFA, MTech, MBA, MBI, MBT, MComm, MCA, MDes, MTh, MTS, MDiv, MEd, MMT, MPA, MPD, MPS, MSN, MProfStuds, MJ, MST, MSW, MPAff, MLIS, MLitt, MPH, MPM, MPP, MPT, MRE, MTheol/ThM/MTh, STM, LLM, MEng, MSci, MBio, MChem, MPhys, MMath, MMedSc or MMedSci, MMus, MESci, MGeol, MTCM, MSSc, BCL (Oxon), BPhil (Oxon), ThM
Licentiate degrees:	Lic Arts, LDS, JCL, STL, SSL, LSS, PhL
Specialist degrees	EdS, SSP, CAS
Engineer's degrees	AE, BE, BME, CE, CE, ChE, EE, CpE, ECS, EnvE, IE, MSE, ME, NavE, NuclE, Ocean E, SysE, Eng
First-professional degrees	BDent, BDS, LLB, MB ChB or MB BS, MArch, MFA, AuD, DC, DCM, DDS, DMD, JD, MD (US), DPT, ND, OD, DO (US only), DP, PodD, DPM, MDiv, MHL, DVM, PD, STB
Doctoral degrees	PhD, DPS, EdD, DEng, EngD, DEnv, DBA, DD, JCD, SSD, JUD, DSc, DLitt, DA, MD (out of US and Canada), DMA, DMus, DCL, ThD, PharmD, DrPH, DPT, DPhil, PsyD, DSW, JD, LLD, LHD, JSD, SJD, JuDr, STD, DMin