Physical Education, Master of Arts in Education

Offered by Department of Kinesiology and Sport Sciences

Program Information and Admission Requirements

Admission to degree work is contingent on

1. Evaluation of the candidate's undergraduate transcript.
2. Applicants are to submit a one (1) page personal statement as to why they would like to pursue a master's in Physical Education pedagogy/special populations.
3. Develop a 2-minute video of themselves discussing their teaching philosophy and how to integrate technology into Physical Education. Please submit a link/QR code to the video as part of your personal statement. 

Graduation Requirements

In addition to their coursework, students must successfully complete a comprehensive examination prior to graduation or may choose to complete a Thesis.

Comprehensive examinations are to be taken on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney unless an off campus site and a waiver for the on campus requirement are approved by a majority vote of the KSS graduate faculty. Comprehensive examinations will be offered the last week of March, June, and October. The comprehensive written examination will consist of at least three questions.

• one question relating to research techniques
• one question relating to content from their graduate coursework
• one question relating to the student's area of focus/emphasis

Scoring of the comprehensive written exam will be scored as

• Pass - no further examination is required
• Conditional Pass with an oral examination required - Following the oral exam the student can then be granted a Pass or No Pass with remediation required. Students earning a No Pass must then take another written comprehensive examination within a time period specified by the examination committee.
• No Pass - the committee will then recommend to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Academic Outreach that the candidate be reexamined after a specified interval. Means for improvement shall be recommended to the candidate by the committee.

After a student takes a second comprehensive examination, the student will be given the same scoring as above, except in any situation in which the student receives a score of No Pass the committee will then recommend to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Academic Outreach that the candidate be refused graduation.

Comprehensive Examination Committee

The comprehensive exam committee will consist of two graduate faculty members of the student's choosing within their field of study, with the Graduate Program Chair (or another graduate faculty member if the Graduate Program Chair is on the exam committee) serving as a third member if arbitration of grading is needed.

Thesis: In lieu of a comprehensive exam, a student may elect to complete a Thesis. A 6 hour thesis project (KSS 896) is to be completed under the direction of a thesis advisor. At the time a student elects to write a thesis, the advisor and the Chair of the KSS Graduate Program Committee shall obtain approval from the Dean of Graduate Studies and Academic Outreach on the composition of the committee by submitting a "Proposed Supervisory Committee" form. This committee will approve a thesis proposal and guide the student in the writing of the thesis. The committee will also examine the student in the required oral examination at the completion of the project. The time and place of the examination will be determined by the Chair of the Committee.

Thesis and Thesis Committee

A completed thesis must be submitted for the approval of the thesis committee within two years from the completion of the course work. This time requirement may be waived at the discretion of the majority of the Department's Graduate Committee. The thesis committee shall consist of a minimum of three members:

• The candidate's thesis professor who will serve as chair,
• A member representing the candidate's major discipline (generally from the degree granting institution),
• A third member representing a related field selected at large from the University of Nebraska Graduate Faculty. This member cannot be a member of the candidate's department.

This program is offered online only.

All students are required to complete an exit survey during the semester of graduation or program completion.

Pedagogy Emphasis

This program is designed for persons interested in the art and science of teaching physical education content to students enrolled in elementary to post secondary institutions.

Special Populations Emphasis

This program is designed for persons interested in the physical activity of individuals with disabilities, particularly school-age students, and leads to the endorsement in Adapted Physical Education issued by the Nebraska Department of Education.

¹

See advisor for approved topic.