Program Overview

Program Overview

The Secondary Education program at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College is designed to engage students in rich coursework focused on critical perspectives and goals connected to using education to create a more equitable society. Graduates of the program hold teaching positions in the United States and around the world, typically in the jobs they want, in the places they prefer.

Program Facts

• Program Director: Rebecca Peterson
• Admissions Coordinator: Shawn Blomker
• Admission Term: Fall (2-year program)
• Credit Hours:
  • 30 hours for those seeking licensure in Music
  • 33 hours for those seeking licensure in Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Languages
  • 36 hours for those seeking licensure in English

Key Application Dates

• Priority Decision 1: January 3
• Priority Decision 2: February 3
• Rolling Decision: After February 3

Program Curriculum

The Secondary Education degree offers two tracks, allowing students to complete the second year of the master's degree in either a traditional student teaching model or a job-embedded approach. Students interested in the job-embedded option must secure a teaching placement in a Tennessee public middle or high school that meets Peabodys criteria prior to advancing to the second year of the program.

Coursework

Core Courses

All Secondary Education students are required to take the following six hours of core courses:

• EDUC 6300 Advanced Social and Philosophical Aspects of Education
• EDUC 6310 Classroom Ecology

Subject-Specific Learning and Pedagogy

The M.Ed. in Secondary Education includes an in-depth experience in subject-specific courses. The total number of credit hours for subject-specific learning and pedagogy will be determined by the licensure sought.

English

• 16-18 hours
  • ENED 6340 Reading and Learning with Print and New Media or ENED 6330 Social and Philosophical Foundations of Adolescent Literacies
  • ENED 6350 Adolescent Readers
  • ENED 6360 Literature, Pop Culture, and New Media
  • ENED 6370 Teaching Literature and Media to Adolescents
  • ENED 6380 Teaching Writing and Media Composition
  • ENED 7973 Seminar in Teaching Secondary English

Mathematics

• 12 hours
  • MTED 6370 Advanced Teaching of Mathematics in Secondary Schools
  • MTED 6380 Computers, Teaching, and Mathematical Visualization
  • MTED 7330 Introduction to Mathematical Literacies
  • MTED 7973 Seminar in Teaching Secondary Mathematics

Science

• 12 hours
  • SCED 6370 Advanced Teaching of Science in Secondary Schools
  • SCED 7330 Introduction to Literacies in Science
  • SCED 7400 Modeling in the Secondary Science Classroom
  • SCED 7973 Seminar in Teaching Secondary Science

Social Studies

• 12 hours
  • SSED 6240 Human Geography
  • SSED 6370 Advanced Teaching of Social Studies in Secondary Schools
  • SSED 7330 Intro to Literacies in Social Studies
  • SSED 7973 Seminar in Teaching Secondary Social Studies

Field-Based Practicum Work

All students complete eight hours of field-based work.

• EDUC 7972 Internship in Teaching: Secondary

Licensure Requirements

All students are required to complete four to six hours of coursework to meet the requirements for teacher licensure.

• EDUC 6510 Principles of English Language Learner Education or EDUC 6520 Foundations of English Language Learner Education
• SPED 7000 Education and Psychology of Exceptional Learners

Elective Courses

Depending on the specific licensure, students may need to complete up to five additional credit hours of coursework to complete their degree. Elective courses may be taken across Peabody College, as well as in other disciplines offered across Vanderbilt University, upon consultation with the faculty advisor.

Careers

Of job-seeking Secondary Education graduates, 96% were employed or attending graduate school within four months of graduation. Examples of careers for program graduates include:

• Eighth Grade Science Teacher, Jefferson Middle School, Champaign, Illinois
• English Teacher, Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos, California
• History Teacher, IB School Quito, Ecuador
• Science Teacher, Hume-Fogg High School, Nashville, Tennessee
• Teaching Assistant, Fulbright Western Hemisphere, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Teacher Pathway Scholarship

The Teacher Pathway scholarship guarantees a minimum 30% scholarship to all newly admitted students in initial licensure programs and advanced programs, and a minimum 20% scholarship for teacher leadership programs. Eligible programs include:

• Initial Licensure Programs (30% minimum scholarship)
  • Secondary Education
  • Elementary Education
  • Multilingual Education
  • Integrated Early Childhood Education
  • Special Education
• Advanced Programs (30% minimum scholarship)
  • Human Development Counseling (School Counseling track only)
  • Reading Education
• Teacher Leadership Programs (20% minimum scholarship)
  • K-12 Educational Leadership and Policy (Ed.D)

Faculty

The faculty for the Secondary Education program includes:

• Andrew Hostetler, Professor of the Practice, Department of Teaching and Learning
• Melanie Hundley, Professor of the Practice, English Education, Department of Teaching and Learning
• Heather Johnson, Program Director, Secondary Education; Program Director, K-12 World Languages; Professor of the Practice of Science Education, Department of Teaching and Learning
• Nicole M. Joseph, Associate Professor, Mathematics Education, Department of Teaching and Learning
• Emily Pendergrass, Program Director, Reading Education, Department of Teaching and Learning; Professor of the Practice, Department of Teaching and Learning; Professor of the Practice of Literacy
• Rebecca Peterson, Lecturer, Department of Teaching and Learning; Program Coordinator, K-12 World Languages
• Meghan Riling, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Mathematics, Department of Teaching and Learning
• Blaine Smith, Associate Professor of the Practice, Department of Teaching and Learning
• Jessica Watkins, Assistant Professor of Science Education, Department of Teaching and Learning