Teacher Education (MEd, Graduate Certificate, Post-Master’s Certificate, Teacher Licensure) — The Program
The Teacher Education MEd Program is housed in the Graduate College of Education (GCE), in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Students may specialize in elementary education, middle/secondary education, or physical education. Within these specialties, the following tracks and certificates are available:
Elementary Education:
- MEd Track without Licensure
- MEd Track with Initial Licensure
- MEd Track with Professional Licensure
- Post-Master’s Certificate with
- Professional Licensure
Middle/Secondary Education:
- MEd Track without Licensure
- MEd Track with Initial Licensure Graduate Certificate with Initial Licensure
- MEd Track with Professional Licensure Post-Master’s Certificate with Professional Licensure
Disciplinary areas in which Professional Licensure may be sought (subject to final Department of Education approval) include: Middle School Humanities, Middle School Math/Science, Middle School General Science; Secondary School Biology, Chemistry, English, History, Latin and Classical Humanities, Mathematics, Physics, Political Science/Political Philosophy, and Spanish.
Physical Education:
- MEd Track with Professional Licensure
Note: A “bridge program” for post-baccalaureate students seeking licensure in physical education is available at the undergraduate level.
Program Leading to a Degree Without Licensure
The Graduate College of Education has designed this track for teachers who are already licensed and are interested in earning a master’s degree in teacher education or for students preparing for a broad range of education-related professions outside classroom teaching, such as community-based education, museum education, educational research, educational policy analysis, educational advocacy, or philanthropy. With assistance from a faculty advisor, students design a sequence of education-related courses to support their specific interests.
Programs Leading to Licensure
The Graduate College of Education’s licensure programs have been approved by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Massachusetts State Department of Education. In all its licensure programs, the Graduate College of Education seeks to train thoughtful and responsive educators who demonstrate a command of the best pedagogical methods and practices for educators, as well as of the academic discipline they teach.
UMass Boston’s MEd Track with Initial Licensure (36 credits) is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Education and offers two areas of specialization: elementary and middle /secondary education. Both middle and secondary school areas offer further subspecialties in terms of subject-matter concentrations. While the Initial Licensure Track consists primarily of courses in pedagogy, completion of the program is conditional on meeting a field-of-knowledge requirement, normally through presentation of an undergraduate major in the field to be taught. In addition to coursework, the track requires 75 hours of monitored pre-practicum and a semester-long practicum with accompanying portfolio. A 24-credit Graduate Certificate with Initial Licensure is also available at the middle/secondary level, consisting of 18 credits of coursework and the practicum.
Candidates for Professional Licensure at UMass Boston are trained to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to become thoughtful and responsive educators in command of an advanced body of knowledge in their subject area. Recognizing that the role of the professional educator is to transmit complex ideas and knowledge in developmentally appropriate contexts, the Graduate College of Education has structured its requirements so that our graduates will have the ability to convey a deep understanding of their specific field of knowledge to their students.
A teacher holding an initial license in Massachusetts may obtain professional licensure in the Graduate College of Education either through the 36-credit MEd Track with Professional Licensure or—if he/she already holds an advanced degree— through the 18-credit Post-Master’s Certificate with Professional Licensure. In both programs, half of the credits (18 and 9, respectively) must be taken at the graduate level in the relevant academic discipline.
Please note: The Initial License is good for five years of employment. At the end of that time, the additional work required for Professional Licensure must be completed. The Professional License must be renewed every five years. Recertification will require “professional development points” and the payment of a recertification fee. Official policies regarding the recertification of educational personnel are published in a booklet available from the Department of Education, 350 Main Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5023 or at www.doe.mass.edu.
Student Performance on the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure: During the 2002-2003 academic year, the University of Massachusetts Boston teacher education summary pass rate (relative to other Massachusetts college and university teacher-training programs) was 88% (III quartile). On Basic Skills, the pass rate was 91% (IV quartile); in Academic Areas, 94% (III); in Teaching Special Populations, 100%.