English Education, Licensure Concentration, M.A.

The Master of Arts in English Education (M.A.)

Director: Roger A. Ladd

The curriculum in the Master of Arts in English Education affirms the richness of language and literature produced by diverse groups. Thus, the program offers courses in language, literacy, literature, and pedagogy. Core courses and electives within a chosen emphasis expand students’ personal, intellectual, and professional horizons through classroom experiences and opportunities for travel.

Inservice teachers who are admitted with initial licensure will be recommended for the North Carolina M license in English upon successful completion of the Licensure Concentration of the program. The UNCP Graduate Program in English Education is approved by the Department of Public Instruction for Advanced Licensure in English and is one of the few programs in the state offering courses leading to add-on ESL licensure. Furthermore, program goals and objectives are aligned with National Board Certification standards.

College graduates with backgrounds in English or related fields who are admitted to the program seek advanced knowledge and skills in language, literacy, and literature for various personal and professional proposes, including preparation to teach in community colleges.

Through graduate course work, candidates for the Master of Arts in English Education acquire, extend, synthesize, apply, and reflect upon their knowledge, expertise, and experience in literature, literacy, and pedagogy.

The Master of Arts in English Education offers two Concentrations: the Licensure Concentration and the Thesis Concentration. The Licensure Concentration focuses on the needs of candidates who already hold initial teacher licensure and prepares those students for advanced licensure. The Thesis Concentration focuses on the needs of candidates who want to develop their teaching and research in a postsecondary context, with a balance of pedagogical and research interests.

The culminating product of the graduate experience in the Licensure Concentration is a Capstone Portfolio and Presentation, in which the candidate demonstrates a clearly articulated, coherent philosophy of teaching literacy and literature. This philosophy demonstrates the candidate’s proficiency in those areas that constitute program goals:

1. Teacher Leadership
2. Respectful Educational Environments
3. Content and Curriculum Expertise
4. Student Learning
5. Reflection

The culminating product of the graduate experience in the Thesis Concentration is the Six-Credit Thesis (ENG 6020  and ENG 6030 ), in which the candidate demonstrates sustained development of a major research project. This Thesis must then be successfully defended before a panel of graduate faculty.

Requirements for a Master of Arts in English Education:

Total: 36 Sem. Hrs.