Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction

(MEd)

Director: Dr. Claudia Eliason

 

Location: McKay Education Building, Room 235

 

Telephone: 801-626-6278

The mission of the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction (MEd) program is to extend the professional knowledge, skills and attitudes of educators in schools, business, industry, and higher education through advancing the theoretical and practical applications of curriculum and instruction. The program is approved by the Utah State Board of Education using national NASDTEC standards and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

The MEd program with the organizing theme of Teacher as Reflective Practitioner is practice-oriented, and the purposes, processes, outcomes, and evaluation are explicated by a model represented by the acronym TREC: Teachers Reflecting, Engaging, Collaborating. These components, reflecting, engaging, and collaborating, serve as a framework for organizing course work and program development. The goals of the curriculum reflect an emphasis on preparing master educators:

• who are reflective of their own practices and their impact on students;
• who engage students through a variety of strategies to ensure growth in knowledge and learning processes that they might become independent life-time learners;
• who collaborate with peers and students in learning communities;
• who engage in research to improve educational practices and those of peers.

In cooperation with the university, the program provides avenues for continuing professional development and continual learning for university faculty as well as students, and encourages the university values of teaching, scholarship and service.

Admission Requirements

The MEd program is selective, with a limited number of openings available for qualified students. Admission deadlines are July 1 for Fall Semester, November 1 for Spring Semester, and March 1 for Summer Semester. For additional information contact the Master of Education office, (801) 626-6278.

The following are required:

1. Admission to Weber State University and application for the MEd Program.
2. Payment of the MEd program application fee.
3. Verification of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
4. Equivalent of one year's full-time professional teaching experience.
5. Official transcripts from all institutions.
6. Completed MEd recommendation forms (3).
7. Minimum GPA of 3.25 on the last 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of approved undergraduate/graduate course work.
   or
   Minimum GPA of 3.00 to 3.24 on the last 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) and a minimum score of either 40 on the Miller's Analogies Test (MAT) or 480 each on the Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
8. Oral interview with the Program Director.
9. Writing proficiency assessment.

Additional Requirements for International Students

• TOEFL score of 550.
• Oral language proficiency assessment.
• Weber State University-accepted Bachelor's degree.
• Courses evaluated into the equivalent of American credits and letter grades.
• If the overall GPA is lower than 3.25, and the evaluated transcript cannot be calculated for the last 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of course work, the Graduate Record Examination must be taken with a minimum score of 480 each on the Quantitative and Analytical portions.

Course Requirements for MEd

The 36 hour program of study consists of a 21-hour professional core requirement and 15 hours of graduate committee-approved professional education electives and/or courses in the student's discipline. A portion of the core requirement is the completion of a Master's project, an application of knowledge and skills.

Professional Education Core Requirements (21 credit hours)

° Foundations

• MED 6000 Fundamentals of Graduate Study (2)
• MED 6010 Advanced Educational Foundations (2)
• MED 6020 Diversity in Education (2)
• MED 6030 Advanced Educational Psychology (2)

° Methodology

• MED 6050 Curriculum Design, Evaluation & Assessment (3)
• MED 6060 Instructional Strategies (2)

° Scholarship

• MED 6080 Conducting Educational Research (3)
• MED 6085 Developing a Project Proposal (1)
• MED 6090 Master's Project (3)
• MED 6091 Graduate Synthesis (1)

Electives (15 credit hours)

Electives must be graduate level (i.e. 6000 level credit), and may be selected from offerings in professional education, discipline areas, or specialized courses leading to endorsements in Reading, Special Education, Gifted and Talented, ESL, or ESL/Bilingual. At the present time Weber State offers graduate level content courses in English, HPHP, Math, History, Science, and Foreign Language. The graduate office has listings of approved elective courses and endorsement requirements.

Weber State University 2006-2007 Catalog