Purpose of the Degree

The M.S.E. in Curriculum and Instruction is designed to prepare Curriculum Directors, Special Education Directors, and Gifted, Talented and Creative Directors. Students in this master’s degree program focus on areas of learning that include:

• Enhancing leadership skills, dispositions, and practices
• Evaluating and improving processes of curriculum development
• Enriching instructional best practices
• Developing tools for individuals to serve as professional curriculum specialists
• Enhancing professional growth by emphasizing critical and analytical skills, communication and collaboration skills, and strong organizational and management skills

Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission into the Master of Science in Education degree program in Curriculum and Instruction must meet the admission requirements of Graduate Admissions and the specific program requirements.

Unconditional Admission Status:

• Hold a valid teaching license.
• Achieved a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale).
• Have one year of teaching experience.
• Have a written commitment from a practicing program director who is in your area of licensure and who will function as your mentor during the program.
• No felony record
• Candidates will be required to submit a provided self-disposition document and, verification for teacher effectiveness and leadership abilities.
• Applicants who qualify for an interview appear before the interview committee, which then decides whether the applicant meets program requirements and expectations. If an applicant is approved for admission to the program, the committee sets any conditions of admission.

Unconditional Admission Status for Gifted, Talented & Creative Director program:

• Hold a valid Gifted Talented Creative teaching license.
• Achieved a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale).
• Have one year of Gifted Talented Creative teaching experience.
• Have a written commitment from a practicing program director who is in your area of licensure and who will function as your mentor during the program.
• No felony record

Conditional Admission Status: Students who do not meet the requirements for unconditional admission may be granted conditional admission as follows:

• Hold a valid teaching license.
• Achieved a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 (on a 4.00 scale) or a 3.00 GPA on the last 60 hours. Any courses attempted, including any repeated courses, are considered in computing the GPA.
• Have two years of teaching experience.
• Have a written commitment from a practicing program director who is in your area of licensure and who will function as your mentor during the program.
• No felony record
• Candidates will be required to submit a provided self-disposition document and, verification for teacher effectiveness and leadership abilities.
• Applicants who qualify for an interview appear before the interview committee, which then decides whether the applicant meets program requirements and expectations. If an applicant is approved for admission to the program, the committee sets any conditions of admission.
• Signed site mentor form that meets the qualifications set by the degree program.

Students who fail to remove conditional status upon completing 12 semester hours of graduate work in the program will be dropped from the degree program.

Additional Requirements

• A-State will be using Blackboard as the web delivery platform. This platform allows synchronous and asynchronous interactions, streaming video and electronic discussion boards. Students will also interact via e-mail, telephone, and fax.
• A high-speed internet connection (Ethernet, cable, DSL, public wireless hotspot, satellite, etc) will be necessary. Dial-up will not work. Computers must have specific minimum requirements. For example, they must have a Windows XP or later operating system; any processor of 1.2GHZ or faster; minimum RAM of 512MB for XP or 1GB for Vista; minimum of 20GB available free disk space; minimum display resolution of 1024x768.
• Comprehensive Examination: All students completing the Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership are required to take and pass the comprehensive exam with an 80% or better. To be eligible to take the comprehensive exam, students must have earned an overall graduate grade point average of 3.00 and have earned a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.00 on all coursework completed in the Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership.