MESA Online: Degree Requirements

Overall: 32 credits
Required Research Methods Core: 8 credits
Elective MESA Courses: 24 credits
All Elective courses should be approved by program advisor.

If you have any questions, contact Everett Smith, PhD, program coordinator, at evsmith@uic.edu.

Program Coordinator Heading link

Research Methods Core (8 hours) Heading link

  • ED/EPSY 503: Essentials of Quantitative Inquiry in Education – 4 hours
  • EPSY 509: Research Design in Education – 4 hours

Additional Elective Core courses (24 hours from listed courses) Heading link

Measurement:

  • EPSY 546: Educational Measurement
  • EPSY 550: Rating Scale and Questionnaire Design and Analysis
  • EPSY 551: Item Response Theory
  • EPSY 562: Large-Scale Testing

Evaluation:

  • EPSY 564: Evaluation I: Principles and Methods
  • EPSY 565: Evaluation II: Theory and Practice

Statistics:

  • EPSY 543: Advanced Analysis of Variance in Educational Research
  • EPSY 547: Multiple Regression in Educational Research
  • EPSY 583: Multivariate Analysis of Educational Data
  • EPSY 584: Hierarchical Linear Models
  • EPSY 587: Structural Equation Modeling

Assessment:

  • EPSY 561: Assessment for Measurement Professionals

Qualitative Methods:

  • EPSY 540: Applied Qualitative Research Methods
  • EPSY 575: Mixed Methods Approaches to Social Science Research

Required Course for Students taking the Thesis Option (5 hours minimum) Heading link

  • EPSY 598: Thesis Research

Those students selecting the Thesis option will either substitute EPSY 598 for a course or take EPSY 598 as an additional course.

Advising Specifics Heading link

Limits on Transfer of Credits

The specific number of credit hours accepted for transfer is determined on an individual basis. No transfer is automatic.

Maximum Allowed Transfer Credit—No more than 25 percent of the hours required for a master’s degree requiring 32-47 hours of credit, or more than 50 percent of the hours required for a master’s degree requiring 48 or more hours of credit, can be transferred from another institution or another college at UIC.  Transfer credit is considered only for courses in which the student received a grade of A or B.  Credit earned more than six calendar years before admission to the Graduate College is not usually accepted for transfer. Nondegree Credit  Nondegree students who are admitted as degree candidates may, by petition, transfer up to 12 semester hours of graduate-level courses in which grades of A or B were earned.  This does not count towards the limits of transfer credit listed above.

Transfer Credit

Consideration is given to the transfer of credit in three categories.

Previous graduate work for which a degree was not awarded. Graduate work completed elsewhere after admission to UIC and for which a degree was not awarded.  Students considering taking graduate work elsewhere during a leave of absence should consult their advisor and director of graduate studies about such plans and the courses that may be considered for transfer. Graduate work completed in the senior year at UIC that was not applied to the baccalaureate.

To be considered for transfer, graduate work must have been completed in an accredited institution approved by one of the regional accreditation associations or by the agencies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and must meet quality and content of courses offered at UIC.