Education (Educating Multilingual Learners), MA
Program description
The MA in education with a concentration in educating multilingual learners prepares students to educate bilingual and multilingual learners in a variety of settings, including preK–12 schools, colleges, universities and organizations that serve and advocate for linguistically diverse populations.
Program courses are designed and led by full-time faculty. The program advances a contextualized view of multilingualism, highlights language learning processes and related pedagogies, and promotes educators' self-reflection about their potential as advocates for their students.
Students take both a practicum and a capstone course. The practicum provides students an opportunity to apply theoretical and practical information presented through coursework in schools and other learning environments that serve multilingual learners. This is a structured practical experience supervised by a faculty member with whom the student works closely. For the capstone, students identify a specific topic or problem of practice and lead a research-driven project or in-depth review of the literature.
While the program is an excellent choice for teachers seeking to improve their preparation for bilingual and multilingual learners, it does not lead to teacher certification. There is no requirement that students entering the program hold a teaching certificate or seek to obtain one.
This program is not designed to address specific requirements of any single state endorsement but may address many components for state endorsements, depending on the state's requirements.
Note: Individuals who wish to build a career in the field of English language teaching should consider the Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages offered through The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.