Urban Teachers – Teacher Preparation in Secondary English Language Arts

Master of Education

You will gain research-based and practical knowledge of teaching through extensive field experience and coursework during this two-year program that is designed to develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support teaching and learning in linguistically and culturally diverse urban settings. Graduates of the program will be prepared to teach middle and high school students in grades 7-12.

This program merges the existing Master’s in Language and Literacy Studies and meets the requirements for being recommended for teacher certification by the Texas Education Agency. To learn more, please contact Deborah Kelt, the program advisor. 

You will earn:

  • A master’s degree (M.Ed.)
  • English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement

Program Details

Semester Start: Fall

Deadline to Apply: December 1

GRE Required? No

Location: On Campus

Schedule: Full time

Length of Program: 24 months, 42 hours 

Total minimum hours: 42 hours (including 6 hours of certification coursework)

Basic Course Requirements (30 hours)   

  • EDC 385G  Learning and Teaching in Urban Contexts
  • EDC 382S  Teaching Secondary School Subjects: English & Reading
  • EDC 380T  Writing Process and Pedagogy
  • EDC 385G  Second Language Acquisition
  • EDC 390T Literature for Young Adults
  • EDC 382S Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language: Secondary
  • EDC 698P Student Teaching Internship
  • EDC 385G Literacy and Social Change
  • SED 380 Inclusion, Disability, & Diversity in Secondary School Setting

Research Requirements (3 hours)  

  • EDC 380R Educational Research and Design

Electives Requirements Outside the Department  (minimum: 6 hours)

Two electives (upper-division undergraduate or graduate courses) must be taken outside of Curriculum and Instruction (course numbers may not begin with “EDC”). We recommend exploring options in the following departments: 

  • English
  • Rhetoric and Writing
  • Educational Psychology
  • Special Education
  • Educational Leadership and Policy
  • African and African Diaspora Studies
  • Mexican American Studies
  • Asian American Studies

This program requires fieldwork in area schools, and to undertake that fieldwork, school districts require that university students each pass a criminal background check. If a student does not pass the criminal background check, she or he will be unable to complete the required work of the program, and any offer of admission will be canceled.

Once you successfully complete all of the steps to become a teacher, including passing the relevant exams approved by the Texas Education Agency, you may be recommended for certification to the TEA by our certification officer. Be sure to reference the Certification Checklist on the Field Experiences wiki for additional information.

Photo of faculty member Deborah C Kelt
Associate Professor of Practice

Brings her experience in literacy education to UT with a specialization in preparing secondary teachers to work in urban schools.

Photo of faculty member Grace MyHyun Kim
Associate Professor

Studies literacy, language, and multicultural education, especially involving new media and globalization.

Photo of faculty member Allison  Skerrett
Professor

Focuses on secondary English and literacy education in urban contexts, including among transnational youth.

Please see the Graduate School Catalog.