The M.S.Ed. in literacy education prepares experienced teachers to be socially responsible practitioner scholars and to work and learn within multicultural and multilingual contexts to foster literacy and language development for all learners across the lifespan. Students who want to complete Illinois State Board of Education certification, endorsement, or approval in a literacy education field should refer to the section “Certification at the Graduate Level.”
Admission
The Department of Literacy Education seeks to select the best-qualified applicants for admission to its programs. When the number of applicants to any program exceeds its capacity, even qualified applicants may be denied admission and encouraged to reapply at a later date.
An applicant for admission must have a baccalaureate degree with a GPA of 3.00 or higher and provide at least two letters of recommendation from professors, employers, or supervisors that provide supportive evidence of an applicant’s professional qualifications. An applicant may submit MAT scores in lieu of GRE scores. Prospective students who fail to satisfy the GPA criterion may request special consideration of their applications. Such a request must be in writing, must include compensatory evidence related to the deficiency, and should accompany the application for admission to the Graduate School. Decisions regarding admission are made by departmental program committees on the basis of a total profile of an individual’s qualifications. Appeals of a decision made by the admissions committee may be made to the department’s Student Affairs Committee. Appeals to this committee must be in writing and must explain the basis for the appeal.
Student-at-Large, Study-Abroad, and Transfer Credit
Student-at-large, study-abroad, and transfer hours in combination may not exceed 15 semester hours for students pursuing the M.S.Ed. degree in literacy education.
Requirements
The M.S.Ed. in literacy education requires a minimum of 33 semester hours. Students can choose either the non-thesis or thesis option.
Non-Thesis Option
One graduate-level course in research approved by adviser (3)
Course work in major approved by adviser (21)
Additional course work approved by adviser (9)
Successful completion of a comprehensive examination
Thesis Option
Same as the non-thesis except that a minimum of 6 semester hours must be devoted to LTCY 699, Master’s Thesis.
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