Curriculum Studies
Coordinator
Master's Degree
About the Master's Degree Program
This program prepares teachers, administrators, and other formal and non-formal educators for leadership roles in curriculum reform and the design, development and evaluation of educational programs. It is also valuable for classroom teachers who use modes of curriculum inquiry to reflect on their practice.
The field of curriculum studies transcends disciplinary boundaries to better understand educative experience. Fundamental questions for curriculum studies include the following: What knowledge is of most worth? Who gets to decide? How can we align the planned, experienced and evaluated curriculum? Curriculum inquirers use such questions to further investigate the connections among curriculum theory and educational practice, with a focus on school programs and the contours of culture and society in which these programs are located. They work to create educational communities that enact vibrant and powerful professional development opportunities for their colleagues.
Master of Education Degree Requirements (M.Ed.)
The degree program must be planned with an adviser to ensure that degree certification requirements are satisfied.
(a minimum of 30 credits)
1. Foundations Courses (at least 6 credits)
- ED 502 Curriculum Foundations
- Any second foundations course in consultation with the adviser (ED 501-510 – However, it is assumed that students already would have had the equivalent of ED 503 in previous study.)
2. Concentration courses (a minimum of 15 credits)
- ED 651 Policy, Reform, and Change
- ED 596 Curriculum Development Project
- ED 598 Advanced Seminar
- ED 650 Advanced Seminar in Curriculum Development and Design
- At least one course chosen under advisement in the area of curriculum that the student is focusing on (e.g., Mathematics, Reading, Science, Arts and Creativity, Social Studies, Instructional Technology, Counseling)
3. Electives (0 to 9 credits) to be chosen under consultation with adviser. Courses suggested as particularly appropriate for this concentration include:
- ED 502-510 Any and all beyond 502
- Additional courses in curriculum focus areas (e.g., ED 524 and above)
- ED 501 Urban Education
- ED 642 Program Evaluation
4. Culminating Activity (3 credits)
- ED 589 Independent Research, or ED 599 Master's Thesis in Education
