About This Program

The Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Literacy Studies (MEd in C&I--Literacy Studies) is a fully online, 30 credit hour, non-thesis degree designed for teachers who want to refresh their teaching credentials with advanced coursework in literacy studies. Students in the program have the option to pursue the Reading Specialist or English as a Second Language professional certificate. 

Our MEd in C&I–Literacy Studies is one of the top in Texas. Since our program was established in 1998, 100% of of our students who take the Texas Education Agency's Reading Specialist exam pass within their first two attempts -- giving our graduates the expertise they need to address the literacy-learning needs of all students.

Note, however, that the M.Ed. in C&I--Literacy Studies is a master's degree program only and does confer initial teacher certification in Texas.

Competencies

1. Professional Dispositions: students will be able to display positive professional dispositions during courses and practicum settings.
2. Understanding and Engaging in Research: The candidate is able to identify problems and employ one or more research methodologies to develop solutions or understandings.
3. Planning, Instruction, and Assessment: The candidate is able to design clear, well-organized, sequential, engaging, and flexible learning experiences that reflect best practices, align with standards and related content, are appropriate for diverse learners, and address all required accommodations and modifications.

 
 

Admissions Criteria

Admission to Master of Education (MEd) in Curriculum and Instruction is competitive. Some qualified students may not be admitted if demand exceeds the program’s capacity to serve all applicants. All students must meet university, college, department, and Texas Administrative Code qualifications in order to participate in educator preparation programs. Out-of-state students will not qualify for Texas educator certification. Therefore, students should review their state's requirements to determine if completion of a program at UTA will lead to certification in their state.

Unconditional Admission

Requires:

1. Proof of two or more years of relevant experience.
2. Undergraduate transcripts with at least a 3.0 GPA during the last 60 hours or at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. The higher of these GPAs will be used for admission purposes. A 3.0 GPA on the last 9 hours of graduate coursework may be considered in place of the undergraduate GPA. 
3. Two professional letters of reference. Letters from supervisors are strongly encouraged. Applicants for the M.Ed. in Special Education submit a personal statement of interest. Applicants for M.Ed. in Special Education who are not certification seeking submit only a personal statement of interest rather than letters of reference. 

Program areas have additional requirements including documents for TEA reporting, including: 1) a written response to the given prompt (fulfills “other screening instrument” as required by The Texas Education Agency), and 2) completion of Attestation and FERPA forms. In addition, some programs require access to an approved Pre K-12 setting. The overall grade point average (GPA) of each incoming class admitted between September 1 and August 31 of each year by an educator preparation program (EPP) may not be less than 3.0 on a four-point scale or the equivalent. Certification programs have additional TAC requirements for GPA (used by the program in addition to, not in lieu of, the requirements stated above).

Probationary Admission

1. Applicants who have less than 2 years of relevant experience and have a GPA of at least 3.0 and two letters of reference, may be granted probationary admission. The faculty admissions committee may require additional documents (e.g., GRE scores) for consideration. MEd in Special Education program applicants may also be admitted on a probationary status with less than 2 years of relevant work experience, and a personal statement of interest.
2. Students granted probationary admission must maintain a 3.0 (B or better) GPA in the first 9 credit hours of graduate coursework in the College of Education program to be converted from probationary to unconditional admission.

Program areas have additional requirements including documents for TEA reporting, including: 1) a written response to the given prompt (fulfills “other screening instrument” as required by The Texas Education Agency), and 2) completion of Attestation and FERPA forms. In addition, some programs require access to an approved Pre K-12 setting. The overall grade point average (GPA) of each incoming class admitted between September 1 and August 31 of each year by an educator preparation program (EPP) may not be less than 3.0 on a four-point scale or the equivalent. Certification programs have additional TAC requirements for GPA (used by the program in addition to, not in lieu of, the requirements stated above).

Deferred Admission

An applicant’s admission may be deferred when a file is not complete or when denying admission is not appropriate. 

Denied Admission

An applicant may be denied admission if the conditions for unconditional or probationary admission are not met. In addition, if a student was suspended or expelled from the University of Texas at Arlington or any other university or program for reasons other than academic, that student may be denied admission or readmission to an educator preparation program in the UTA College of Education.

Criminal History Acknowledgement

As required by Texas HB1508, applicants need to be aware of the following.

1. In order to receive educator certification in Texas, you must pass a criminal history background check.If you have been convicted of an offense that is considered not appropriate for an educator, you could be ineligible to earn this certification from the state of Texas.
2. You have a right to request a preliminary criminal history evaluation letter from the Texas Education Agency prior to admission into this program. The Texas Education Agency currently charges a non-refundable $50 fee for this criminal history evaluation.

Curriculum

MEd Foundations
LIST 5316	LITERACY THEORY TO PRACTICE - PRACTICUM I	3
LIST 5317	LITERACY LEADERSHIP AND COACHING: PRACTICUM III	3
LIST 5325	UNDERSTANDING LITERACY RESEARCH	3
LIST 5326	PRE-ADOLECENT & ADOLESCENT LITERACY	3
LIST 5345	CONTENT AREA READING AND WRITING	3
LIST 5346	TEACHING THE WRITING PROCESS	3
LIST 5350	LITERACY ASSESSMENT	3
LIST 5354	MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS	3
LIST 5361	EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES IN LANGUAGE AND LITERACY LEARNING-PRACTICUM II	3
LIST 5373	FOUNDATIONS OF LITERACY LEARNING IN EC-6 CLASSROOMS	3
Total Hours		30

Program Completion

Time to Degree

The degree must be completed within six years (time in military service excluded) from initial registration in the Office of Graduate Studies. Coursework that is more than six years old at the time of program completion cannot be used toward meeting degree the requirements. Coursework that is more than five years old cannot be used toward state certification requirements for licensure (further restrictions may apply, depending on program).

Professional Dispositions

Each student/candidate in the College of Education will be evaluated on professional dispositions by the faculty and staff. These dispositions are identified as essential for a highly-qualified professional. Instructors and program directors will work with students/candidates rated as “unacceptable” in one or more stated criteria. The student/candidate will have an opportunity to develop a plan to remediate any digressions. If digression(s) are not, or cannot be successfully remediated as in the case of an egregious digression, a determination will be made by committee on continuation or dismissal from the College of Education.

Educator Preparation Program Guidelines

For certification-eligible candidates, per 19 TAC 228.40, (d) an Educator Preparation Program (EPP) shall determine the readiness of each candidate to take the appropriate certification examination of content, pedagogy, and professional responsibilities, including professional ethics and standards of conduct. An EPP shall not grant test approval for a certification examination until a candidate has met all of the requirements for admission to the EPP and has been contingently or formally admitted into the EPP. An EPP may make test approval contingent on a candidate completing additional coursework and/or training to show that the candidate is prepared to pass the test if the candidate is seeking test approval from the EPP in an area where the standards and/or test changed since the candidate completed the EPP or if the candidate has returned to the EPP for test approval five or more years following the academic year of completion.

Out-of-State Students

Changes

Program requirements may change as state/TEA certification requirements change.

Advising Resources

Location:

Trimble Hall, Room 105

Email:

coedgrad@uta.edu

Phone:

817-272-2956

Web:

Advising Information and Appointments