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, 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 schedule will follow the school calendar. Students must live within a reasonable traveling distance to the UNL campus and local cooperating schools. Please note that the funding available for our Master of Artsin Science Teaching Program requires applicants to be US citizens.
Typical Sequence for Required Coursework and Practical Experience
(45 credits)
TEAC 862 Democratic Education
SPED 801B Accommodating Exceptional Learners in the Sec. Ed. Classroom
EDPS 851 Psych of Adolescence
TEAC 851W Secondary SS Methods I
TEAC 852W Secondary SS Methods II
TEAC 894W Practicum in SS
TEAC 897W SS student teaching
TEAC 861 Education in a Pluralistic Society
TEAC 800 Inquiry into Teaching and Learning
TEAC 801 Curriculum Inquiry
TEAC 889 Master’s Seminar
TEAC 803B Student Teaching Seminar
TEAC 813M Teaching Multilingual Learners in the Content Areas
TEAC 859 Designing Learner Centered Experiences
*Students may choose one elective of their choice.
Requirements for Social Sciences Endorsement
STATE OF NEBRASKA ACADEMIC COURSEWORK REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADES 6-12 SOCIAL SCIENCES EDUCATION ENDORSEMENT
In order to become certified and "endorsed" to teach social sciences educations grades 6-12 in the State of Nebraska, you must complete sufficient social sciences coursework. Any academic deficiencies must be remedied before graduate coursework. To see if you have any academic deficiencies, please complete the State Required Content Courses Form.
Application Requirements
- Complete the ‘Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education (MA)’ application, including transcripts 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) – Social Science 6-12’ application, including transcripts and fees, prior to the department application deadline.
- Successfully complete a Background Check***
- Completed State Required Content 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 forconsideration.
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 inthe 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. Mardi Schmeichel, Ph.D.
174 Carolyn Pope Edwards Hall
Program Contact
Joelle Tangen, Graduate Project Associate
230E Carolyn Pope Edwards Hall