Program Overview

Master of Arts in Education Program

The Master of Arts in Education (MAEd) program at Virginia Wesleyan University is designed to prepare reflective, engaged teachers of good character who will adhere to the highest standards of professionalism. The program provides coursework and field experiences leading to initial Virginia teacher licensure.

Program Overview

The MAEd program is a unique, field-based course of study that combines theories of learning and pedagogy with meaningful field experiences. The program is designed to help teacher candidates develop a thorough understanding of the issues surrounding teaching and learning. Central to this innovative program is a 2-semester internship in school settings that begins in the fall semester and culminates with a 10-12-week student teaching experience in the spring.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the MAEd program, a student must fulfill the following requirements:

• Successfully complete a bachelor's degree in the endorsement area in which they hope to teach
• Achieve a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 2.8
• Submit passing scores on the Praxis Subject test
• Complete and submit the online MAEd program application

Course Requirements

The MAEd program requires the completion of the following courses:

• EDUC 510: Current Issues in Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment (3 credits)
• EDUC 511: Practicum in Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment (1 credit)
• EDUC 520: Foundations of the Teaching Profession (3 credits)
• EDUC 530: Cognition and Child and Adolescent Development (3 credits)
• EDUC 535: Characteristics of and Adaptations for Exceptional Student Populations (3 credits)
• EDUC 540: Classroom and Behavior Management (3 credits)
• EDUC 550: Content Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum (3 credits)
• EDUC 610: Methods, Media, & Materials for Secondary Education (3 credits)
• EDUC 611: Internship in Secondary Education (1 credit)
• EDUC 620: Research Methods in Education (3 credits)
• EDUC 621: Collaboration with Families, Communities, & School Personnel (2 credits)
• EDUC 625: Creating a Culture of Evidence-based Learning (2 credits)
• EDUC 690: Internship in Supervised Teaching (8 credits)
• EDUC 691: Internship Seminar (2 credits)

Field Experiences

The field experiences within the VWU Teacher Education Program are purposeful, unique, and provide teaching candidates with multiple opportunities to build their teaching skills and confidence in teaching. Both the undergraduate-level and graduate-level teacher education programs offered at VWU involve a semester-long culminating internship where teaching candidates are placed with a seasoned teacher in a classroom.

Gateways

The graduate-level education program at VWU allows aspiring teachers to complete a bachelor's and master's degree in only five years. There are three important gateways during the academic journey:

1. Program Admission: After graduating with their bachelor's degree in a content area matching the endorsement area in which they would like to teach, aspiring teachers must apply and successfully complete all requirements for program admission.
2. Recommendation for Student Teaching: The supervised internship serves as the culminating student-teaching experience for all licensure-track teaching candidates.
3. Recommendation for Virginia Teaching Certification: Candidates taking part in the licensure-track supervised internship will complete an impact study, a teaching portfolio, and their teaching will be observed multiple times by multiple instructional experts.

Endorsement Areas

The MAEd program offers endorsement areas in:

• Secondary Endorsement Areas (6-12): Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Mathematics, English, History and Social Sciences
• PreK-12 Endorsement Areas: French, German, Spanish, Latin, Vocal/Choral Music, Theatre Arts, Visual Arts

Program Mission

The mission of the Teacher Education Program at Virginia Wesleyan University is to prepare reflective, engaged teachers of good character who will adhere to the highest standards of professionalism, and who are willing to advance the cause of education and cultivate and inspire a love of learning in their students and the communities in which they teach.