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Curriculum and Instruction M.Ed.

Total Semester Credit Hours = 30

The Curriculum and Instruction M.Ed. allows educators to advance their understanding of teaching and learning. Students who complete this degree often move to curriculum and instruction positions in their school district or remain in the classroom to serve as highly effective teachers and lead teachers. The Curriculum and Instruction M.Ed. provides an option for candidates seeking initial teacher certification who have a minimum of an earned baccalaureate degree. Being admitted into the post-baccalaureate initial teacher preparation program and successfully completing Texas Education Agency and SBEC requirements for initial teacher certification requires additional activities and fees.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the Master of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, the individual must:

  1. Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
  2. Complete the online Graduate Admissions Application.
  3. Submit official transcripts from all institutions attended.
  4. Have an appropriate GPA as set by Texas Administrative Code by the Texas Education Agency.
  5. Students who have a GPA below 3.25 may be admissible with a combination of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and GPA. Send official scores on GRE (obtained within the last five years) directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions. See website for additional information. 
  6. A student seeking a specialization in STEM Education, Instructional Coaching, Educational Technology or in a single content area must be a certified teacher with at least two years of teaching experience.
  7. Only for applicants also seeking to obtain initial teacher certification, additional admission requirements are required to enter the educator preparation program. These requirements are:
    1. Provide evidence of satisfactory scores on one of the acceptable basic skills tests such as the Texas Success Initiative, GRE, Accuplacer, and others. See the School of Education website for specific information regarding appropriate tests and scores and waiver for students who hold a bachelor's degree.
    2. Have a minimum number of hours in the content area where applicant is seeking certification.
    3. Pass the content area in the Pre-Admission Content Test (PACT) or indicate mastery of 85% on a content TExES practice exam if applicant has achieved 12-15 hours in the content area.
    4. Complete the admission screening survey. 
  8. Upon admission, post-baccalaureate initial teacher certification students must:
    1. Sign and submit an acknowledgement of admission and departmental agreements.
    2. Complete background check documents.
    3. Pay the Graduate Program fee of $250 which will be added to the first tuition bill. This program fee is used for supervision during field work and is a one-time fee that will not be added to the tuition beyond the first semester.

NOTE: In accordance with Texas Administrative Code, all applicants must be fully admitted prior to taking any coursework in the area in which they are seeking certification. Therefore, no provisional admission is allowed.

Degree Requirements

Core Courses (18 credits-required)

EDUC 5301Statistics and Research Methods for the Learning Sciences
EDUC 5302Developing an Educational Research Proposal
EDUC 5303Applied Learning Theories
EDUC 5351Assessment in Educational Settings
EDUC 5352Curriculum Foundations
EDUC 5356Diversity in Educational Settings

NOTES:  

*Individuals seeking initial teacher certification will take courses specifically designed for the post-baccalaureate initial teacher certification program in place of EDUC 5301, EDUC 5302 and EDUC 5352. 

**Students whose specialization is a single content area may substitute EDUC 5301 and EDUC 5302 for two content area courses. 

Specialization Area (12 hrs.)

12 hrs. of specialization course work in STEM Education, Instructional Coaching, Educational Technology, post-baccalaureate initial teacher certification, or in a single content area. Students admitted to the Curriculum and Instruction M.Ed. who complete 12 hours of specialization coursework in Instructional Coaching will be eligible to receive a certificate in Instructional Coaching along with their degree, with advisor approval. The Instructional Coaching certificate will be documented with both a certificate and a milestone on the student’s transcript. Students should contact the graduate advisor for courses that meet the requirements of the specialization. 

Single content area students may substitute two of the core courses for two content area courses to complete 18 hours in the content area and be eligible to teach dual credit courses.

Additional Requirements for Post-Baccalaureate Initial Teacher Certification

  1. Students must complete 30 hours of observation.
  2. Students must have a full time, full-year internship OR 16 weeks of full-day clinical teaching.
  3. Students must pay additional fees to cover the cost of their supervision in the internship or clinical teaching experience.
  4. Students must pass the appropriate PPR TExES (certification exam).