Program Overview

Curriculum and Instruction, MS

The Department of Teaching and Learning offers a graduate program of study in curriculum and instruction, including choices of concentration in three Focus Areas: Subject Area, Instructional Level Area, and Cross-Curricular Area.

Overview

The Department also cooperates with the Department of Administrative Leadership in the Specialist Certificate Program with an emphasis in reading. Under the auspices of the PhD program in Urban Education, the Department offers doctoral specializations in Curriculum and Instruction and in Mathematics Education.

Admission Requirements

• Application deadlines vary by program.
• An applicant must meet Graduate School requirements to be considered for admission to the program.
• Applicants must also complete the reason statement in the application.
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university is required for admission.
• Applicants may be admitted with specific program-defined course deficiencies provided that the deficiencies amount to no more than 6 credits.
• A criminal background check is required for admission to any program leading to Department of Public Instruction licensure eligibility.

Credits and Courses

The minimum degree requirement is 30 credits, including:

• Required Core Courses:
  • CURRINS 705: Research in Schools and Communities (3 credits)
  • CURRINS 716: Teaching in Urban & Diverse Communities (1-4 credits)
• Electives: Select from the following, based on specialization (3 credits)
  • CURRINS 701: Curriculum Planning and Ideologies
  • CURRINS 715: Guiding Instructional Improvement
  • CURRINS 729: Qualitative Research and Field Studies in Educational Settings
  • CURRINS 742: UWM Writing Project
• Capstone: Select one of the following (3-6 credits)
  • CURRINS 742: UWM Writing Project
  • CURRINS 800: Master's Seminar in Curriculum and Instruction (3 credits)
  • CURRINS 890: Master's Research or Thesis (3-6 credits)
• Additional credits in a specialization approved by the student's major professor for a total of 30 credits

Specializations

• Cultures and Communities
• Early Childhood Education
• English Education: Creative Writing
• English Education: Literature and Cultural Theory
• English Education: Media, Cinema, and Digital Studies
• English Education: Rhetoric and Professional Writing
• Mathematics Education
• Mathematics Teacher Leadership
• Reading Education
• Science Education
• Urban Social Studies

Additional Requirements

• The student must have a major professor to advise and supervise the student's studies as specified in Graduate School regulations.
• Graduate students seeking initial teacher certification or added certification(s) can arrange their master's degree program so that a portion of the credits earned towards the master's degree can also serve as partial fulfillment of teacher certification requirements.

Curriculum and Instruction MS Learning Outcomes

Students graduating from the Curriculum and Instruction MS program will be able to:

• Identify, apply, and critique various theoretical frameworks related to curriculum, historical and socio-cultural factors impacting schools and communities, and research paradigms used in teaching and learning settings.
• Recognize and engage with pedagogical content knowledge in their subject area, which involves culturally, racially, and linguistically responsive/sustaining design decisions related to assessment, instruction, and curriculum.
• Bridge theory to practice in education settings.
• Demonstrate culturally, racially, and linguistically responsive/sustaining practices in research, pedagogy, and educational policy at the national, state, and local levels.