Content
Overview
In an effort to build the teaching profession and provide new opportunities for prospective graduate students, the Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education offers a full-time Master of Arts (M.A.) degree program that will lead to initial teaching certification in Elementary Education, English Education, Mathematics Education, Science Education, Secondary Social Sciences Education, Business, Marketing, and Informational Technology Education, or World Language Education. All programs are campus-based programs.
Cohort-based. Graduate students proceed together with peers and world-class faculty creating a community of educators in residential programs.
Graduate Degree and Certification. Upon successful completion, students will graduate with a master’s degree, be fully certified to teach in Nebraska, be eligible for certification in other states, and be employable for the following school year.
Who Should Apply? These programs are designed for qualified graduate students who have earned a bachelor’s degree outside the field of education and who can commit to an intensive and accelerated pathway to a career in the teaching profession. These programs are not suited for educators who currently have teaching certification in any subject area or former educators seeking to renew certification. For certification renewal, please visit the teaching certification page.
Practicum + Student Teaching. Students will be placed in theLincoln Public Schools or Omaha Public Schools for teaching internships in the classroom. Collaborative relations with public schools offer students' field experiences in diverse classrooms, purposefully designed to help connect coursework theory and methods to classroom practice. Students will gradually build proficiency in teaching, adding responsibilities and skills throughout a nine-month period and be prepared to assume 16 weeks of full-time student teaching in Spring.
Inquiry. Inquiry infuses all aspects of this graduate program. Students will begin to focus on a curriculum inquiry project that requires the development of classroom research about a problem of practice in teaching and learning, a research project that will form the capstone experience of the program.
Residency. Students will be attending class on the UNL campus and gaining practical experience in K-12 schools in and near the Lincoln/Omaha area. During the academic year, the program schedulewill follow the school calendar. Students must live within a reasonable traveling distance to the UNLcampus and local cooperating schools. Please note that the funding available for our Master of Artsin Science Teaching Program requires applicants to be US citizens.
As a land-grant institution, we understand that our primary mission at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is to provide outstanding education and teacher preparation so that we can better serve the state and the citizens of Nebraska. Our central commitment in this program is to prepare outstanding English educators who are passionate about engaging all students in intellectual work that draws them into the debates, ideas, and conversations that animate the discipline of English. To be a part of this program is to be part of a tradition of excellence, commitment to educational equity, and engagement with critical scholarship around teaching and learning.
Who Should Apply? The Master of Arts leading to initial teaching certification in English Education offers a pathway to the field of middle and secondary-level teaching for those with a degree in English (or 42 credits in English) but not a teaching credential.
We are looking for applicants who:
- Are equally passionate about studying English as well as teaching English to secondary students
- Are open to professional, intellectual, and personal growth.
- Are open to expanding their understandings of literacy and learning, and willing to extend those new understandings to the design and enactment of curriculum in English classrooms.
- Are committed to collaborating not only with the English education community of professors, supervisors, and alumni at UNL, but are also committed to collaborating with our community of colleagues within public schools in and around Lincoln.
- Are eager to engage in critical conversations regarding race, class, gender, and power as related to teaching, learning, and schooling.
- Approach teaching as a multi-faceted profession that includes connecting with communities, ongoing professional learning, meaningful collaboration with other teachers, and a commitment to justice.
Applicants should meet the following criteria:
- Have graduated from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in English(or 42 hours in English).
- Have a strong academic background that qualifies them for admission to the TLTE Master ofArts program, including an undergraduate cumulative GPA minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
- Have experience working with adolescents in formal or informal settings.
- Can passionately commit to participating in the cohort-based, full-time academic teachereducation program.
Initial Certification Only
This program is not suited for educators who currently have teaching certification in any subject area or former educators seeking to renew certification. For certification renewal, please contact Dr. Sara Skretta.
Typical Sequence for Required Coursework and Practical Experience
(48 credits)
Spring Semester - 12 credits
TEAC 439/839 - YA Literature
TEAC 851N - Learning and Teaching Principles and Practices in Secondary English
TEAC 861 - Education for a Pluralistic Society: Foundation and Issues
TEAC 841 - Content Area Reading
Summer Sessions - 9 credits
TEAC 800 - Inquiry into Teaching and Learning
TEAC 813M Teaching ELLs in the Content Areas
SPED 801B - Accommodating Exceptional Learners in the Secondary Classroom
Fall Semester - 10 credits
TEAC 852N - Curriculum Principles and Practices in Secondary English
TEAC 894N - Professional Practicum begins with and follows the public school calendar: Lincoln Public Schools
EDPS 851 - Psychology of Adolescence
TEAC 889 - Masters Seminar
Spring Semester - 9 credits
TEAC 897N - Student Teaching begins in January and continues until the end of the public school calendar
TEAC 803B - Student Teaching Capstone Seminar
Summer Sessions - 8 credits
TEAC 801 - Seminar in Curriculum Inquiry
TEAC 889 - Masters Seminar Continued
**Elective in English (highly recommended ENGL 854: Advanced Writing Projects)
Graduate August
Program Values
As members of the National Council for Teachers of English, we adhere to and advance the following beliefs:
- Students learn through meaningful experiences that honor and build on as well as expandtheir interests, cultural and linguistic knowledge, and life experience.
- The professional integrity of teachers.
- Teachers continually refine their professional knowledge and combine it with their knowledgeof each student to make wise decisions about assessment and instruction.
- The transformative power of language.
- Literacy education supports all students in the use of language to interact, imagine, reflect,think critically, and create knowledge in order to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.
(Taken from ncte.org/mission/bedrockbeliefs; see also ncte.org/mission/corevalues)
All graduates in Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education are expected to demonstrate competence in the following areas articulated in the department’s “Cognitive Map:”
- Knowing Theories of Learning and Relationship Roles in Teaching Practice
- Developing Curricular Vision
- Teaching English
- Teaching Diverse Learners
- Becoming Agents of Change and Reform
- Knowing Teaching in Terms of Its Foundational Dimensions
- Assessing Practices and Professional Judgment
- Structuring Learning Environments
- Growing Professional Knowledge
Requirements for English Endorsement
In order to become certified and "endorsed" to teach English grade 6-12 in the State of Nebraska, you must complete sufficient English coursework. We require applicants to have earned at least 42 credit hours of English at the level of 199 or above with grades of 3.0 [B] or above. Any academic deficiencies must be remedied prior to program start date.
To evaluate your 42 English credits and to see if you have any academic deficiencies, please complete the Prerequisite Courses Form.
Low English GPA. If you feel that your GPA in your English courses does not reflect your knowledge and abilities and is well below 3.0, the Graduate Faculty Admissions Committee will consider scores from the following PRAXIS II examinations:
- Praxis II: English Exam (0041)
- Praxis II: English Language, Literature, and Composition Essays (0042)
These exams are NOT required for admission, but strong scores can offer further evidence of your disciplinary knowledge in English that is not represented in your academic record. Be sure to indicate in your application that you are taking these exams.
Application Requirements
- Complete the ‘Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education (MA)’ application, includingtranscripts and fees, prior to the department application deadline.
- Resumé/CV
- Personal Statement*
- Three Recommenders**
- Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0
- Complete the ‘Teacher Certification (Initial) – Secondary English -or- English LanguageArts 6-12’ application, including transcripts and fees, prior to the department application deadline.
- Successfully complete a Background Check***
- Completed Prerequisite Courses Form (‘Other Upload’)
The Initial Certification application will require you to upload material from your MA application again, as the MA & Initial Certification are considered two separate programs by the Office of Graduate Studies and can be completed separately of each other.
International Applicants
- TOEFL score of at least iBT 79; all subscores must be at least in the Intermediate/Fair range.If the IELTS is taken in place of the TOEFL, all subscores must be a minimum of 6.5.Applicants taking the TOEFL or the IELTS may be asked to take part in an online interview.
- The equivalent of at least one year of full-time teaching experience is required for consideration.
Personal Statement and Recommenders
The Graduate Admissions Committee will review for the following evidence:
- Academic strengths and readiness to do graduate study
- Professional and academic goals and whether these align with the goals of the Department
In addition to the minimum requirements listed above, transcripts and resume, the Graduate Admissions Committee closely examines your letters of recommendation and your personal statement.
*Personal Statement. The Graduate Admissions Committee looks closely at the applicant's goals in the personal statement essay for further evidence of your meeting the admissions criteria. A well-written essay is crucial to admissions decisions. This personal statement is a concise statement in which you address clearly why you want to pursue this graduate program at the University ofNebraska-Lincoln. In this essay you should address clearly:
- Your academic and/or professional goals and how this graduate program will enable you to meet these goals.
- Your academic strengths, with specific attention to your background in higher education and how this qualifies you for graduate study at a major university.
- Any professional experience, knowledge, and skills you possess and how these further qualify you for graduate study at a major university. This statement should be between 700-1000 words.
**Recommenders. The application requires three letters of recommendation. The Graduate Admissions Committee considers letters an important part of any application. You should solicit Recommenders that can directly address your readiness and qualification to do graduate study in Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education. Letters should come from those who are familiar with your academic and professional work, such as former professors, employers or administrators. Do not include letters from friends, family members, or your own high school teachers. Each of these will be disregarded in the review and detract from your application.
Within your MA application, you will input the contact information of your Recommenders. After submitting their information, your Recommender will be sent an email, with a link where they can upload your letter of recommendation.
***The Nebraska Department of Education and Nebraska school districts require that College of Education and Human Sciences students who plan to pursue a degree in an education-related field, athletic training majors, and any other UNL students who enroll in CEHS courses that involve practicum experiences in the schools are required to undergo a formal screening process related to criminal history through One Source. Consequently, a background check is a pre-requisite for application to our programs.
Only completed application files will be considered for admission. It is the applicant's responsibility to be certain that all materials are submitted and received prior to the deadline dates.
Apply at go.unl.edu/gradapp.
Faculty Contact
Dr. Lauren Gatti, Ph.D.
250 Carolyn Pope Edwards Hall
Dr. Lauren Gatti earned her BA in English and Education from Lawrence University, her MA in English from Loyola University of Chicago, and her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Before starting her doctorate, she taught high school English in and around Chicago for eleven years. She teaches pedagogy-content courses in English Education and graduate courses in Teacher Education.
Program Contact
Joelle Tangen, Graduate Project Associate
230E Carolyn Pope Edwards Hall