Degrees & Majors

The Applied Behavior Analysis program gives students the opportunity to work in a clinical and community environment to help people with disabilities. It teaches mastery of basic behavior-analytic skills, such as measurement, experimental design, and various principles and procedures of behavioral change to help students become better therapists, teachers and clinical practitioners. Program highlights include collaborations with faculty members, opportunities for practicum internship placements and a cohort model that fosters lasting professional relationships. You will also learn client-centered responsibilities, such as problem identification, methods of intervention and implementation, management and supervision. This program also gives you important foundational knowledge, including the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) Professional and Ethical Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts. Additional program highlights are detailed in the sections below. Exam pass-rate data are not published for sequences with fewer than six first-time candidates in a single year or for sequences within their first four years of operation. To access current pass rates, current and potential students may visit BACB's University Pass Rates page. The Association for Behavior Analysis International has verified the program course sequence toward the coursework requirements for eligibility to take the Board Certified Behavior Analyst ® examination. Applicants will need to meet additional requirements before they can be deemed eligible to take the examination.  There is also a non-degree version of this program for students who have already obtained a master's degree and are interested in taking coursework toward certification as a behavior analyst. Please view more details on this program below. Education programs leading to professional licensure or certification (nursing, education, social work, counseling, accounting, allied health professions, etc.) may require additional approval from separate licensing boards, depending on the state. Students who live or plan to live outside Georgia and are considering a professional program should contact the appropriate board in their state of residency prior to beginning a course of study. To help students find the best-known contact information for the appropriate state licensing board and for a list of Georgia State program contacts, visit the Student Consumer Information website.

GSU is no longer offering a Career and Technical Specializations Education program. Interested candidates may click here to find a provider with an approved program for this area. The career and technical specializations certificate prepares people with practical and theoretical knowledge and skills to be successful in career and technical education classrooms and laboratories. Our certificate program, approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission for teacher certification, begins during the summer semester. Applications are accepted through the first week of summer classes or until the program is full. Students spend three weeks in the summer on Georgia State's campus, followed by a synchronous online class one night a week in the fall and spring. Students also participate in a student teaching practicum in which a Georgia State educator mentors them at their school of employment.

The clinical rehabilitation counseling program is an on-campus learning experience that prepares students to help people with cognitive, physical, sensory, psychiatric and other disabilities from all cultures, races and backgrounds. Rehabilitation counselors assist people with disabilities to become more independent, increase their access to education and employment and ensure they are respected members of society. This program was accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs through October 31st, 2027. Education programs leading to professional licensure or certification (nursing, education, social work, counseling, accounting, allied health professions, etc.) may require additional approval from separate licensing boards, depending on the state. Students who live or plan to live outside Georgia and are considering a professional program should contact the appropriate board in their state of residency prior to beginning a course of study. To help students find the best-known contact information for the appropriate state licensing board and for a list of Georgia State program contacts, visit the Student Consumer Information website.

The Comprehensive Intervention Model (CIM) is a well-coordinated, Response to Intervention seamless design for providing intervention services to struggling readers. The CIM is a systemic model for reversing the reading failures of struggling readers through layered interventions, including differentiated classroom instruction and supplemental interventions in small groups or one-to-one. The goal is two-fold. In kindergarten through third grade, the goal is to increase the overall literacy achievement by the end of the third grade and to reduce the number of children identified with learning disabilities within 1.5% or less of the general population. In fourth through sixth grade, interventions focus on research-based strategies for reading and writing in the content areas.

The Corporate Learning Professional Certificate is a 12-credit-hour program of study. The content is the same as some of the courses taught in the M.S. Instructional Design and Technology program. The online program is for individuals interested in working in a wide variety of education, training and development areas such as those found in business, industry, government agencies, the military and nonprofit organizations. This certificate is designed to meet the challenges created by the growing demand for instructional design, eLearning development and alignment of learning results with business results and programs in corporate learning organizations. The program emphasizes the competencies required to design, develop, facilitate and evaluate learning and development programs. The goal of the certificate program is to help students meet the qualifications to advance in their field related to education and training, and open up additional avenues for the students to pursue a career in instructional design or human performance technology. Through a combination of classroom and practical activities, this program provides participants with the opportunity to design, develop, manage and evaluate corporate learning solutions that make effective use of best practices and industry standards of development. Ample opportunities are provided for applying the competencies learned in the classroom to job-related situations.

Our counselor education and practice degree is for you if you are interested in educating, training and supervising future clinical mental health, rehabilitation or school counselors. This program is also for those interested in research, social justice and advocacy in the counseling profession. Move forward towards obtaining a doctorate degree to better enhance your career choices. Our Ph.D. degree is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). This program allows future students to generate their own research, critically enhance their counseling competencies and learn new skills in teaching and supervision. Upon completion, students teach and supervise in university settings, work in community agencies as clinicians and administrators and become directors of practice and research institutes. Program Performance Data 2018-2019 Students also have the capability to continue specializing and developing areas of expertise in:

• Multicultural counseling
• Play therapy with children and adolescents
• Trauma and stress
• LGBTQ issues in counseling and counselor education
• Disability, health and chronic illness
• Suicide and crisis
• Program evaluation
• Quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methodologies

The Ed.D. program in curriculum and instruction prepares master teachers to become instructional leaders and curriculum specialists who wish to develop expertise in advocacy for equity in teaching and learning, curriculum theory, and development and pedagogical leadership. Our Ed.D. program consists of a rigorous, collaborative, interdisciplinary program that promotes an understanding of the complex dynamics among theory, research and practice. Our graduates are empowered scholar-educators who advocate for social justice and educational equity at the classroom, school, district and state levels. Grounded in educational research, our interdisciplinary courses offer students the opportunity to conceptualize, theorize, dialogue, problem-pose, problem-solve, create and evaluate a wide range of educational theories, practices and policies related to curriculum and instruction. Concentrations include art education, early childhood and elementary education, language and literacy education, mathematics education, middle-level education, foreign language education, music education, science education and social studies education. Education programs leading to professional licensure or certification (nursing, education, social work, counseling, accounting, allied health professions, etc.) may require additional approval from separate licensing boards, depending on the state. Students who live or plan to live outside Georgia and are considering a professional program should contact the appropriate board in their state of residency prior to beginning a course of study. To help students find the best-known contact information for the appropriate state licensing board and for a list of Georgia State program contacts, visit the Student Consumer Information website.

Our early childhood and elementary education program will prepare you to be researchers and teacher educators in areas such as applied research, curriculum development, teacher education, literacy/digital literacy, multicultural education, science education, math education and more. Our doctorate degree prepares you to move into various roles and content areas in the early childhood and elementary education fields. You will learn to be active scholars informed in the historical, political, developmental and theoretical paradigms that shape education in today’s rapidly changing world. Through coursework, research and teaching apprenticeships and individual mentoring, you can become inquisitive researchers and reflective teacher educators equipped to affect the lives of children, their families and the larger society.

The education of students with exceptionalities degree will teach you to become a leader in the field of special education. The experience you bring from your work in the special education field will enable you to learn how to teach others. We will help you enhance the skills you'll need to succeed in university positions as teachers of those wishing to teach special education and/or to provide leadership in a variety of community, state or national service agencies.