Graduate Programs

The ºÚÁÏÍø Master of Science in Science Education program is designed for science educators. Classes are offered in-person because our students find it valuable to learn together and build lasting connections with their peers and faculty. Because nearly all our students are full-time educators, classes are offered in the evenings. Our M.S. students develop a deeper understanding of science and how people learn in ways that support their current practices both in and beyond the classroom.

Through coursework and other program opportunities, you will deepen your understanding of:

  • Approaches for equitable and effective science teaching.
  • How science learning works.
  • Current issues that impact our educational systems.
  • Higher-level scientific content in biology, chemistry, physics, earth science and more.
  • Science as a discipline.
VIDEO: ºÚÁÏÍø Masters in Science Education Program

Degree Options

We offer two degree options: 

Students completing the TK-12 Science Education option will be prepared to assume positions of greater science leadership at their schools or districts, or go on to further graduate study in Science Education.

The option in Informal Science Education is designed for museum, aquaria, outdoor, and environmental educators who want to further their educational studies with a focus on learning and teaching science in non-classroom settings.

Graduate Advisor

Dr. Sara Dozier
Sara.Dozier@csulb.edu
562.985.5921
Office: HSCI-218

Application Process and Deadlines

Applicants should visit to complete their application.

You will need to upload these required documents:

  1. Science Education M.S. Program Application (Required): Complete and upload to Cal State Apply. More details can be found on the Cal State Apply Documents section.
  2. Essay (Required): Educational Philosophy Statement (500-750 words). Please write an essay that describes your philosophy of science education and how you enact it in your own practice. More details can be found on the Cal State Apply Documents section.
  3. Teaching Credential (Optional): If you hold a valid teaching credential or certificate, you may upload it.
  4. Unofficial transcripts (Optional): Please upload your unofficial transcripts for all other institutions where courses relevant to science education were taken.
  5. International Applicants: Please upload the unofficial transcript from the institution where you earned your degree.
  6. Two (2) Letters of Recommendation are due on or before the deadline:
    1. At least one of the letters must be from an administrator or supervisor at a school or other education-related workplace (e.g., museum, aquarium) where you are or were employed.
    2. Once you have saved an electronic recommendation via Cal State Apply, an email request will automatically be sent to the recommender on your behalf. Please advise your recommender to look for this email in their inbox, as well as their spam or junk-mail folder, as emails do occasionally get filtered out.

We will begin reviewing candidates and making acceptance decisions after May 1. We will accept applications until June 1, assuming there's space.

There is a non-refundable fee for admission to the University. Remember that the departmental application is separate from the University application. You must be accepted by both the University and the Science Education Department before being eligible as a Classified Graduate Student.

University Requirements for Admission into ºÚÁÏÍø can be found under "Graduate Degree Information" in the .

International students must additionally apply through the University's Center for International Education - please consult their webpage for criteria and assistance. 

Department Admission Requirements

In addition to the University requirements for admission as a graduate student, the department requires:

  • A California Multiple Subject credential, Single Subject Science Teaching credential, or other instructional experience deemed equivalent by the Graduate Studies Committee. In the case of informal science educators, this must be evidenced by letters from employers provided on institutional letterhead.
  • A GPA of at least 3.0 for the last 60 units of study completed.

Students missing any admission criteria may only be admitted after receiving the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee.

Review by the Graduate Studies Committee

The Graduate Studies Committee will review all completed applications and recommend either accepting you as a Classified or Conditionally Classified graduate student, or denying admission. If you are accepted you should contact the Departmental Graduate Advisor before your first semester for advisement and orientation.

The Science Education Department will recommend you for admission as a Classified graduate student if you have met all prerequisites and also been accepted by the Graduate Studies Committee.

If you fail to meet the criteria for Classified admission to the department you may be considered by the Graduate Studies Committee for admission as a Conditionally Classified graduate student. The Graduate Studies Committee will determine what deficiencies each applicant has and specify what you must do to make up those deficiencies. You must make up all such deficiencies before attaining Classified status.

You must also receive a positive recommendation following an interview with graduate faculty.

The M.S. in science education requires 30 units of coursework and a culminating activity, described below.

Science Education Core Courses

We offer two options for our MS in Science Education program, TK-12 and Informal Science Education. The course of study for both options includes six Science Education core courses (18 units):

  • SCED 550 - Current Issues and Research in Science Education (3 units)
  • SCED 551 - Science Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Models (3 units)
  • SCED 552 - Nature of Science (3 units)
  • SCED 560 - Science Education Research Methods (3 units)
  • SCED 697 - Directed Research (3 units)
  • SCED 698 - Thesis/Project (3 units)

Informal Science Education Option

Students enrolled in the Informal Science Education option need to take 12 additional units:

  • SCED 553 - Science Learning in Informal Settings (3 units)
  • SCED 563 - Advanced Practices in Informal Education (3 units)

And two of the following courses:

  • SCED 500 - Life Science Applications for K-8 Teachers (3 units)
  • SCED 501 - Earth Sciences Applications for K-8 Teachers (3 units)
  • SCED 502 - Physical Science Applications for K-8 Teachers (3 units)
  • Or other graduate level science courses chosen in consultation with an advisor.

TK-12 Science Education Option

Students enrolled in the TK-12 Science Education option need to take an additional 12 units of elective coursework. These may be graduate science courses, science education courses, or units completed during your credential if they satisfy the university requirements.

Please contact the Graduate Advisor for more information about transferring units from your credential coursework.

Culminating Activity

All students must complete a culminating activity. The two culminating activity options are a Project or Thesis. A Committee consisting of three members will oversee your progress toward completing a project or thesis.

At least two of the committee members must be full time faculty from the Science Education Department. The third member must be approved by your advisor and the Graduate Studies Committee. Each member of your Committee must ultimately deem the work satisfactory before you can be awarded the M.S. degree.

The Project option offers a great deal of flexibility and student choice. Students have engaged in a wide variety of work for the project option, including action inquiry, curriculum development, evaluation, and more! The Thesis option requires a five-chapter written product that is published by the library as a permanent record of your work.

Your advisor will help you decide whether the Project or Thesis option is right for you.

The Master's degree program offered by the Science Education Department is designed for the practicing professionals, with options for elementary and secondary teachers and educators from informal science learning centers. Students graduating from our program will have:

  • deepened their science content knowledge.
  • increased their confidence in their content knowledge and teaching abilities.
  • synthesized, evaluated, and applied key ideas in the discipline and practice of science education.
  • critically read and applied scholarly literature in science education.
  • designed and carried out education research.
  • developed science education professional leadership skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

That depends on you! Like all master's programs, our M.S. is 30 units. If you earned your teaching credential in the past few years and take two classes per semester, you may be able to finish in as few as 3 semesters. Many students finish in 4-6 semesters, completing the program in 2-3 years.

The program is flexible, and we will help you find a pace that works with the rest of your life.

Tuition costs change frequently and the best place to check is with Tuition and Fees from Enrollment Services.

However, one helpful piece of information is that the university charges one fee for graduate students taking 0-6 units in a semester (regardless of the number of units), and a different fee for students taking more than 6 units (regardless of the number of units).

We recommend people working full time while enrolled in the program not take more than 6 units at a time. Full time students could take 9 or more units per semester.

Possibly!

Recent changes to university policy permit students to transfer 9-12 units from a post-baccalaureate teaching credential into an M.S. program. Units must have been completed in the 7 years prior to your completion of the M.S. program.

If you are interested in this possibility, speak with the Graduate Advisor.

Yes, we have designed the program with full time teachers in mind. Most courses are offered in the early evenings.

You must meet University and Department admissions requirements.

Generally no, this is an on-campus program.

In theory, you could complete much of your culminating project or thesis from off campus, with the agreement of your advisor.

Occasionally, a course may be offered as a hybrid or have off-campus meetings. However, most of the program is completed on campus.

We limit enrollment to no more than 15 students per year. We want to be sure the student to faculty ratio does not become too large for us to provide you with quality advising, and that the program is small enough that you feel you're a member of a cohort.

No, we are not currently requiring students to have taken the GRE.

Yes. You need to apply (and be accepted by) both the University and Science Education Department.

However, you will not need to provide the University with a new set of transcripts. In addition, the University will calculate your GPA in a manner that includes the most recent courses you have taken at the university.

Please contact the Graduate Advisor for more information about the application process for ºÚÁÏÍø alums.

If a graduate student is not ready to graduate, then they are required to change the expected graduation date with Enrollment Services. You should submit a Request to Change Graduation Term form found on Forms - Enrollment Services.

Recent Changes to Program

  • Beginning in Fall 2025, a Project option was officially added to the Culminating Activity requirements for both the TK-12 and Informal Science Education options. Now, students can choose to complete either a culminating Project or Thesis. We also added more flexibility in the coursework for our TK-12 Science Education option, requiring 12 elective units, rather than a more restricted set of course options.
  • Beginning in Fall 2023, the Master of Science in Science Education program will be making a minor change to two of the degree options. The options in Elementary and Middle School Science Education and Secondary Science Education will be combined to form the Option in TK-12 Science Education. This is a small change that streamlines the program and expands course choices for graduate students, compared to the current options in elementary/middle and secondary science education.