Educational Leadership & Policy
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
LECL Frequently Asked Questions
When do I need to submit my application?
Applications are received and reviewed on a rolling basis. Application materials including LECL and Graduate School of Education applications, application fees, transcripts, letters of recommendation, goal statements, etc. should be received by the deadlines noted below. A timely admission decision cannot be guaranteed for incomplete applications. However, because the program reviews applications continuously, students should apply as soon as possible even if they missed the original deadline.
Quarter Priority Application Deadlines
For Winter Term: 2nd Monday of November
For Spring Term: 2nd Monday of February
For Summer Term: 2nd Monday of May
For Fall Term: 4th Monday of May
Do I need to take the GRE?
No. The LECL program admission application does not require GRE scores.
How long is the program?
The LECL/ELP program requires a minimum of 45 credits, including professional studies core (16 credits), thematic specialization (20-22 credits), electives (7-9 credits), and culminating experience.
Students typically take 2-3 courses during each quarter, selecting courses from the professional core, the LECL core, and electives. Students are expected to establish linkages with community partners and begin their project or thesis research while taking courses. Following this timeline, a master's degree can be completed within a period of 18 months to two years.
How many students are accepted into the program each year? How competitive is the admission process?
Fall term of the 2008-2009 academic year, the ELP Department welcomed 25 new LECL students. A high percentage of students are admitted to the program.
What do I need to submit with my application? Do I submit my application to the Educational Leadership and Policy (ELP) Department?
To apply to the LECL program, you must submit the LECL program application including the goal statement and a current resume, a Graduate School of Education/University application (gse_university_gradapp.pdf), $50.00 application fee, and one official transcript from each university or college you have attended. Additionally, you must submit two letters reference from individuals who can speak to your potential. See the LECL program application for more instructions on the formatting of the letters. The letters should be mailed directly to the Educational Leadership and Policy Office at:
Portland State University
Graduate School of Education
ELP Department
P.O. Box 751
Portland, OR 97207
All application materials listed above should be sent to:
Portland State University
Graduate School of Education
ELP Department
P.O. Box 751
Portland, OR 97207
What if I just want to try out some classes in the program? What is quick entry and how do I become a quick entry student?
Quick entry is a great option for students interested in exploring the program before formally applying or for students who are late in applying to the LECL program for specific term. As a Quick Entry student, you are not formally admitted to the University, but you may enroll in as many as eight credits in Fall, Winter, and Spring, and up to 21 credits in Summer. Up to 15 credits are transferable to a graduate program. Certain courses that require a prerequisite or formal University admission are not available to Quick Entry students. Student services such as financial aid, career counseling, and transfer evaluation are not available to Quick Entry students.
Becoming a Quick Entry student is fast and easy. Go to the online Quick Entry Form and choose "First time user account creation." The online process takes only a few minutes to complete, and generates a student record and ID number so you may begin the registration process as soon as possible. Make sure to have your credit card available when enrolling online; a non-refundable $10 processing fee applies and is charged to your credit card as part of the form completion process.
Alternately, download and print a Quick Entry form. Submit the paper form, along with the non-refundable $10 processing fee, to the Office of Admissions, Registration, and Records. As soon as the form is processed -- usually within 24 hours of submission -- they will mail you the information you need to register for classes.
How much does the LECL program cost?
The cost of the program depends on your residency status as well as the number of credits you decide to take each term. See the Portland State Tuition Estimator at http://www.bao.pdx.edu/tuition_estimator/ to determine the cost of your tuition for the given academic year.
Is there financial aid or scholarships available for the LECL program?
Your eligibility for financial aid is determined by the Portland State Financial Aid Office. Please visit http://www.pdx.edu/finaid/ or contact them at (503)725-3461 or Toll-free: (800)547-8887 for information about financial aid eligibility, types of financial aid available, instructions and deadlines for completing your FAFSA and other financial aid related questions.
In terms of scholarships, Portland State offers a number of scholarships to graduate students. Please see http://www.sa.pdx.edu/scholarships/ to search for general Portland State scholarships, as well as the Graduate School of Education's scholarship page at http://www.pdx.edu/education/. Each scholarship has its own specific application instructions and deadlines.
What is a graduate assistantship and how do I apply?
Graduate Assistantships provide remission of the instructional fee portion of tuition and a salary on a regular periodic basis as compensation for the service provided each term of the appointment (see http://www.gsr.pdx.edu/forms/tuition_remission_policy.pdf for more information about tuition remission). There are three types of assistantships: teaching, research, and administrative. Graduate assistants must be a full-time graduate student, regularly admitted to a graduate degree program, and in good academic standing to begin an assistantship. Students are free to apply for assistantships in any department (academic or administrative), not only in the department to which they are admitted. Students wishing to apply for graduate assistantships must correspond directly with the department offering the assistantship.
Information about Educational Leadership and Policy (ELP) Department graduate assistantships can be found at http://www.pdx.edu/elp/. Only a few graduate assistantships are available through the ELP Department each year and the selection process is highly competitive. Look for ads on the website or on the LECL program listserv in May and June for upcoming openings. To join the LECL student listserv, go to https://www.lists.pdx.edu/lists/listinfo/leclstudents. For graduate assistant openings in other departments, as well as more information on tuition remission, stipend amounts, etc, please visit the Office of Graduate Studies website at http://www.gsr.pdx.edu/ogs_gradassists.php).
Can graduate credits taken at a previous institution transfer into the program?
Up to 15 graduate credits can transfer as electives towards LECL program requirements, upon Department/Program approval. You may also use the ELP Department/LECL Program petition for Course Substitution to request course waiver or substitution related to course previously taken at another institution.
What are community-based learning hours? What are my options for community-based learning?
Community-based learning provides meaningful opportunities for students to interface their classroom experiences with issues in the real world. Many ELP courses carry a requirement for 30 credit hours of community-based learning. Specific requirements for community-based learning are set by the instructor. Community-based learning can be carried out in a variety of organizations and educational settings across the metropolitan region. LECL students with an interest in school and community gardens often volunteer at the Learning Gardens Laboratory assisting with classes for middle school students or for special events. Other students volunteer in local non-formal and formal education organizations or for non-profit organizations. The LECL program includes 240 hours of community-based learning requirements. Students are advised to create a plan for their CBL hours that creates a variety of meaningful experiences that supports their future career goals.
What are my options for elective credit? Can I take elective courses outside of the department?
LECL students are encouraged to select 7 to 9 credit hours of electives courses that align with their interests and support their future careers. Students can select 3 to 4 courses the PSU Bulletin to form a concentration. Past concentrations created by LECL students include permaculture and community gardens, food systems and agriculture, social justice, indigenous cultures and knowledge systems, research methods, environmental education, and feminism and ecology. LECL students also often participate in the sustainability certificate program (http://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/) in conjunction with their degree requirements.
Other LECL graduate level elective courses in the ELP Department include:
ELP 501 Theory and Practice of Sustainability (1-4)
ELP 510 International Trends and Issues in Education (1)
ELP 510 Education and Sustainability: K-12 (4)
ELP 510 Interfacing Nonformal and Formal Education (4)
ELP 510 School and Community Gardens (4)
ELP 510 Ecology and Social Justice (4)
ELP 510 Global Indigenous Culture: Journey into Biocultural Diversities (4)
ELP 510: Permaculture and Whole Systems Design I (4)
ELP 510: Permaculture and Whole Systems Design II (4)
ELP 510: Urban Education Farm: Food Policy, Curriculum Design, and Action! (1-4)
ELP 510: LECL Naturalist Training (2)
ELP 510 Ecological Education in K-8 Schools (4)
ELP 519 Sustainability Education (4)
ELP 506 Self-Directed Learning Credit (Independent Study)
ELP 509 Practicum
Students may also work with ELP faculty to design a self-directed learning experience, ELP 506. Most students engage in independent study after they have completed at least 20 credits of course work. At this point, the student may identify specific learning needs and interests that are outside of ELP course offerings. Students typically engage in research, program evaluation, practicum, internship, special project or reading and conference on a specific topic(s). For more information, contact your faculty advisor or instructor.
What are some examples of Thesis and Culminating Project Topics of past LECL students?
"Planning for Justice: Inclusion of Participatory Research in the Planning Process"
~ Jonathan M. Pierce
"Designing Schools as Ecosystems: Evaluation of Whole Schools for Whole Students"
~ Michelle Mathis
"Sustaining the Mountain, Sustaining Ourselves: A critical investigation of how to bring about sustainability to the ski culture and industry"
~ Tommy McKoy
"An Ethnographic Study of Women's Leadership in Environmental Activism in a High School Setting"
~ Kathleen Fullerton
"Grandfather Buzzard: The Biocultural Recovery of Condors in the Pacific Northwest"
~ David Moen
"R.E.S.O.U.R.C.E. (Reclaiming Everyone's Soil: Opportunity to Understand Relational Cycles of Ecology"
~ Laura Devorak
"Food Security in Nicaragua"
~ Randi Taylor-Habib
"A Survey of Oregon School Gardens"
~ Haley Smith
"Watershed Governance Principles and Practices in Portland, Oregon"
~ Jamie Walker
"Creating Caring Citizens: An Ethnographic Study of the Open Meadow CRUE Program in Portland, Oregon"
~ Ari Alberg
"Solo Sol: A Permaculture Model of Online Education for Sustainability"
~ Jess Work
"Building Community Food Systems through Assessment, Projects, and Policy: A Case Study of the Lents Food Group in Southeast Portland, Oregon"
~ Megan Fehrman
"Watershed Education through Bioregionalism, Mapping, and a Narrative of the Colombia River"
~ Jason Schmidt
"Teaching Sensory Awareness to Middle Schoolers: A Study in Developing the Relationship between Students and their Local Outdoor Environment"
~ Mindy Dornblaser (with Dawn Williams)
"Critical Evaluation of Inclusive Business Prosperity in North and Northeast Portland"
~ Sarah LoGoudice
"The Nature of Human Perception of Wolves"
~ Laura Nobel
"Children of the Soil: Exploring Dr. Montessori's Vision of Edkinder for Contributions to the Ecoliteracy Movement"
~ Michelle Calascibeta
"The Consumer and the Egg: Negotiating EcoLabels"
~ Michele Knaus
"Planting Seeds in the World Garden: Tending the Inner and Outer Foodsheds"
~ Marcia Thomas
"Green Path to Health and Healing"
~ Judy BlueHorse Skelton
"Education for Action: Integrating Children, the Community, and the Environment"
~ Bill Ireland
"The Perceptual Implications of Place: An Ethnographic Analysis of Emerging Community and Culture"
~ Yveline Wilnau
"Restoring our relationship with the Rain: Towards a Sustainable Water Culture in the Pacific Northwest through Rainwater Harvesting"
~ Adam LeBrun
"Coming to know (in) this Place Called Home: Teaching and Learning Sustainability at Portland Community College"
~ Karen Wolfgang
"Bringing back the Mapik: An Autoethnographic Exploration of the Qom Children's Schooling in Rosario, Argentina"
~ Tuba Rodriguez
"Horses, Mediterranean Ancient Sites, and the Berlin Wall: Perspectives on Language, Culture, Ecology, and Identity"
~ Daphne Goumas
"The Promise of Garden-Based Education in an age of Ecological Regeneration and Public Participation: An Autoethnographic Inquiry"
~ Matt Bibeau
"Promoting Office Sustainability through the Implementation of the Natural Step Framework"
~ Kerrie McKee
"A Sustainable Mt. Tabor: Harnessing the Power of Community"
~ Scott Yelton
"HOME: A Narrative"
~ Ann Peacock
"Portland Community College Rock Creek Organic Learning Garden: Opportunities for Transformative Learning, Healing and Hope for the Future"
~ Karen Cox
"Bridging Ecology, Culture and Learning: A Chicana Ethnography"
~ Michelle Aldama-Shaw
"Facilitating Year-Round Garden-Based Educational Opportunities: Crop Rotation Planning at the Learning Gardens Laboratory"
~ Bob Hatton
"Sustainability My Campus: An Autoethnography of my Experiences in Sustainability at PSU"
~ Sion Zivetz
"A Case Study: Clackamas County Sustainability Training Module, Based on the Natural Step Framework"
~Juliene Price
"Taking Farm to School Outside the Cafeteria Walls: Community Education and Ecotrust's Community Partner Program"
~Nell Tessman
What types of jobs do students get after graduating from the LECL program?
LECL graduates apply for and work in a wide variety of jobs after they graduate from PSU. LECL graduates work in non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, and non-formal education organizations (e.g., museums, botanical garden, and nature centers). Some also work in the private sector and others open their own businesses.
