The Educational Specialist Degree (Ed.S.) in Educational Leadership is a post master's degree designed to prepare individuals for senior leadership positions. The degree requires a minimum of 30 hours of coursework (excluding Comprehensive Exam and Professional Paper credits) beyond the master's degree, taken from 500 and 600 level EDLD courses. Upon completion of coursework, or in the final semester of coursework, Ed.S. candidates are required to complete the Comprehensive Exam (EDLD 594). The Comprehensive Exam will consist of 4 take-home questions, which the student must answer in essay format with a maximum of 4 double spaced pages with size 12 font per question. Completed Comprehensive Exams must be returned to the department office one week prior to the end of the semester. Per Graduate School policy D3.400, one retake of the Comprehensive Exam is permitted. <br><br>Upon successful completion of comprehensive exams, a professional paper will be required for graduation. The topic of the paper must be approved by the student's advisor, and should include action research or a thorough literature review. Students should consult their program advisor for guidance on the Professional Paper. Approval may be required for research. Ed.S. candidates should complete 6 credits of EDLD 599 (Professional Paper), consisting of field level research or literature review conducted by the student.