Program Overview

Master's in Physics for Educators (MPED)

The Master of Science in Physics for Educators program is designed to meet the time constraints and content needs of middle school, high school, and community college educators. This program helps teachers improve course offerings, assessment tools, and approaches to lessons with strategies they will use immediately in their current classrooms.

Value Proposition

The program is an excellent choice for earning the advanced degree necessary for professional licensure in Massachusetts. It delivers on-target information in a timely and efficient manner, making advanced physics topics easily accessible to educators and the students they teach.

Curriculum

The curriculum includes a blend of physics and classroom technique coursework, with topics such as:

• Modern physics
• Methods in physics
• Physics for citizens and leaders A self-designed major project in a STEM area is also part of this program, allowing teachers to solve a problem or design a better solution to something in their own classrooms.

Similar Majors

Similar programs include:

• Master's in Mathematics for Educators (MME)
• Master's in Physics

Research

The culminating self-designed major project helps merge the theory and practice of this degree program with research in the field. The project is composed of three parts: proposal, implementation, and assessment. Recent MPED research projects include:

• Reorganizing and restructuring an entire teaching portfolio
• Building a recurring project for students involving windmills
• Developing modules for a smart learning system
• Creating a comic book physics textbook

Faculty

The program is supported by expert faculty, including:

• Izabela Stroe, Associate Professor of Teaching, Physics
• Germano Iannacchione, Professor, Physics

Facilities

The program provides access to state-of-the-art labs, including:

• IPG Photonics Laboratory
• Atomic Force Microscopy Laboratory
• Soft Matter Laboratory
• Center for Computational Nanoscience Students will have the opportunity to work closely with expert faculty and use the latest equipment and instruments, such as fiber optical tweezers and atomic force microscopy.