Master's Candidacy
To earn a master’s degree at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; fulfill all academic and residence requirements; and file an Intent to Graduate. For a general layout of master’s degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Master’s Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 49-57 (37-45 credit hours in Education course work and 12 graduate level credit hours in the content area)
- Degree Length: 4 semesters
- Students must achieve a grade of B- or better in order for courses to count toward the degree and certification requirements
- Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
Required Courses
- The first fall semester includes professional education courses in adolescent development and a foundations of education course, along with appropriate courses in the content area.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Educ 513B | Education, Childhood, Adolescence, and Society | 3 |
| Educ 5001 | The American School | 3 |
| or Educ 5530 | Sociology of Education |
| or Educ 5590 | Philosophies of Education |
| or Educ 5620 | Politics of Education |
| or Educ 5622 | The Political Economy of Urban Education |
| or Educ 5810 | History of Education in the United States |
- The second semester includes educational psychology courses with 30 clock hours of field and clinical classroom experience along with an adolescent reading intervention course and appropriate content area coursework.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Educ 5253 | Instructional Interventions in Reading for Adolescents and English Language Learners | 3 |
| Educ 6008 | Education and Psychology of Exceptional Children | 3 |
| Educ 6052 | Educational Psychology: A Focus on Teaching and Learning in School Settings | 3 |
| Educ 6053 | Early Field Experience | 1 |
- The third semester includes a field and clinical experience seminar requiring 50 clock hours of classroom experience, a 2-unit Curriculum and Instruction for Secondary Education course in addition to a lab associated with the chosen content area, a content reading course, and additional content area coursework to complete certification requirements, if necessary. If students are candidates for middle school certification (grades 5-9), they take two additional courses in Middle School Philosophy and Organization and Middle School Curriculum and Instruction.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Educ 5681 | Reading in the Content Areas | 3 |
| Educ 6000 | Curriculum and Instruction for Secondary Teachers | 2 |
| Educ 6843 | Field Experience Seminar | 3 |
| Educ 5007 | Instructional Techniques for Art K-12 | 3 |
| Educ 6001 | Curriculum and Instruction in Art K-12 | 2 |
| Educ 600D | Curriculum and Instruction in Dance K-12 | 2 |
| Educ 600E | Curriculum and Instruction in Secondary English | 2 |
| Educ 6451 | Teaching Writing in School Contexts | 3 |
| Educ 600L | Curriculum and Instruction in World Languages K-12 | 2 |
| Educ 6006 | Curriculum and Instruction in Secondary Mathematics | 2 |
| Educ 600S | Curriculum and Instruction in Secondary Science | 2 |
| Educ 60SS | Curriculum and Instruction in Secondary Social Science | 2 |
| Educ 6951 | Middle School Philosophy and Organization | 2 |
| Educ 6952 | Middle School Curriculum and Instruction | 3 |
- The final (fourth) semester consists of 16 weeks of student teaching (8 credit units) as well as a teaching-learning process course. Given the intensity of the academic requirements during this final semester of study, students must focus wholly on their culminating field experience and will not be able to accept outside employment.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| Educ 6821 | The Teaching-Learning Process in the Secondary School | 3 |
| Educ 694 | Student Teaching in Grades K-12 | 8 |
| Educ 692 | Student Teaching in the Secondary School | 8 |
| Educ 6922 | Student Teaching in Middle Schools | 8 |
Students may be certified in the following content areas:
- For grades 5 through 9: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science
- For grades 9 through 12: Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, English, Mathematics, Physics, and Social Science (including history, political science, economics, geography, and behavioral sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology)
- For grades K through 12: Art, Dance, and World Language (Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Russian, and Spanish)
Students must fulfill specific content area requirements through either undergraduate coursework and/or the 12 credit units of subject area graduate courses required for the Master of Arts in Teaching program. It is strongly suggested that students apply for a subject in which they have completed (or will complete) a bachelor's degree (or earned the equivalent to an undergraduate major).
After students successfully complete the program and the state-mandated certification assessments, they are eligible for initial teacher certification in Missouri for their selected subject area. States all have their own unique requirements for teacher certification, but many have reciprocity agreements to allow currently certified teachers to transfer their teaching credentials to a new state. Teachers may have to meet some additional state requirements, but for most states, transferring teacher certification is fairly straightforward.