Urban Teachers – Teacher Preparation in Secondary English Language Arts

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. Please contact Program Advisor Deborah Kelt with any program questions.

Direct admissions questions to Stephen Flynn.

You will earn:

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

Coursework

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 English & Reading
EDC 380T Writing Process and Pedagogy
EDC 385G Second Language Acquisition
EDC 390T Literature for Young Adults
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

Additional Requirement: Background Check

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.

Certification Recommendation

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.

Faculty