Coastal Carolina University and Horry County Schools have entered into a partnership to assist district employees to complete selected masters degrees in education offered at the University. Degrees included in the partnership are the Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Early Childhood Education, the Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Elementary Education and the Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Secondary Education. The Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Secondary Education offers content specializations in English, mathematics, music, science, and social studies. The partnership program is tailored to the instructional needs of district educational leaders.

Some courses are offered at reduced tuition and on a rotating schedule. Courses are offered either through traditional, face-to-face instruction or online. Each degree program requires the completion of a special Capstone Experience where participants research a current challenge within their area of education. Participants will prepare a paper and presentation related to their findings describing how the problem they have researched may be addressed with new knowledge and skills obtained through the program.

Please note that not all courses offered as arranged courses for Horry County teachers apply to graduate programs at the University. Courses offered as professional development courses, identified with the EDPD course prefix, do not apply to degree programs.  Additionally, except for those courses specifically identified in the University catalog or program advisement sheets as being required in degree programs, any course to be considered for degree completion must be approved by the student’s advisor.  This approval should be received before the course is taken.

Also, please note that not all courses required for a degree at Coastal are included in the discounted course partnership. Most courses that are offered are a part of the Core and Speciality Area Coursework for degrees, or are offered due to critical certification needs in HCS.

Points to Remember:

1. Registration:  Teachers may not register for any course included in the program until after they have paid the established course fee to Horry County Schools.  Students who have not paid for the course will be dropped from the course registration.  Questions regarding the registration process through Horry County Schools should be directed to Wanda Williamson at 488-6950.  Questions regarding registration specific to Coastal Carolina University should be addressed to Gwen Turner at 349-2011.
2. Vouchers:  Vouchers issued by Coastal’s College of Education are not applicable to the courses that are a part of this program.  In most cases, these vouchers can be used to pay Coastal for courses. Educators wishing to use a voucher to pay for a CCU course go through financial aid, not HCS/CCU partnership site.
3. Cost:  In an effort to ensure that the program is equitable and as self-supporting as possible, beginning with Summer I, 2008 courses, the fee for each course in the program will be $450.00 per course.
4. Minimum Enrollment: A minimum of thirteen HCS educators need to be enrolled in an individual partnership course in order for that course to "make". If the minimum is not met:
   • The course will not be offered at the reduced rate to HCS employees. In this case, all educators who have paid $450 to HCS for the course will receive refunds.
   • CCU may cancel the course
   • If the course is not cancelled, educators choosing to stay in the course would be required to pay the full tuition cost plus fees directly to Coastal.
5. Out-of-State Students:  Fees for out-of-state students traditionally are set at a higher level than fees for in-state students.  Teachers who are out-of-state students will be assessed an additional $75.00 per course by Horry County Schools beyond the rate of the current Coastal Carolina University graduate tuition fee rate noted in item #3 above.
6. Dropping Courses:  Students must officially drop a contract course just as they would a regular Coastal Carolina graduate course. This may be done through the Office of the Registrar.

Individuals who have not previously taken a graduate course at Coastal Carolina University must be admitted to graduate study at the University before beginning the program. A non-refundable application fee of $45.00 is required. Click here for the Non-degree Graduate Admission Form. Download and complete the form and send it to the Office of Graduate Studies, Coastal Carolina University, PO Box 261954, Conway, SC 29528-6054. A maximum of 12 credit hours may be taken before admission to degree candidacy is expected.

Questions regarding admission to graduate study at Coastal Carolina University may be addressed to graduate@coastal.edu. Questions concerning a specific graduate program offered in the Spadoni College of Education, e.g., (application of prior credits earned, admission requirements, etc.), should be addressed to the coordinator of the program (www.coastal.edu/graduate).