Admission Requirements
The applicant must:
- Complete the online graduate admission application
- Have earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education license in Early Childhood Education PreK-2, Elementary 1-6 or English 5-12.
- Have a minimum undergraduate quality point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.
- Provide two letters of recommendation submitted on the Framingham State University Letter of Recommendation form and sent directly to the University’s Graduate Admissions office by the recommender. One letter must be from an employer or supervisor, and the other must be from a faculty member who has taught the candidate at the collegiate level if the candidate attended classes in the last five years;
- Submit a typed, 300-word personal statement discussing their motivation for seeking a master’s degree in view of prior formal education, current job responsibilities, and career plans.
Program Requirements
This program requires the successful completion of ten (10) courses, a digital literacy portfolio, and an oral comprehensive examination. The professional portfolio, completed as part of the degree program and based upon the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Professional Standards for Licensure, must be completed and submitted to the advisor of the Literacy and Language program two (2) weeks prior to the oral comprehensive exam date.
Candidates seeking the Initial License as a Specialist Teacher: Reading will need a 150-hour supervised practicum. The practicum is taken only after successful completion of the Master of Education with a concentration in Literacy and Language program and submission of a passing score on the Reading Specialist 08 MTEL.
One (1) month prior to the practicum semester, candidates must submit an application to the program advisor. Students must locate their own practicum (fall and spring only) site, which must be approved by the University. The LTRC 988 (summer) practicum course is in collaboration with a local school district.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires teachers seeking the Initial Licensure as a Specialist Teacher: Reading to have at least a Massachusetts Initial Teaching License (Early Childhood PreK-2, Elementary 1-6 or English 5-12) and at least one year of experience under that license.
- EDUC 991 Philosophy of Education and Teaching Practice
- EDUC 998 Language Developments and Communication
- EDUC 970 Research and Evaluation*
*Candidates for Initial Licensure as a Specialist Teacher: Reading must complete a Literacy and Language research project.
- LTRC 900 Research and Practice in Reading
- LTRC 901 Integrating the Language Arts (suggested first course in concentration)
- LTRC 902 Reading and Writing in the Content Areas
- LTRC 903 Assessment for Learning Styles and Strategies
- LTRC 910 Leadership and Consultation in the Language Arts
- LTRC 926 Teaching the Writing the Process
The above 10-course program in Literacy and Language enables candidates holding an Initial License in Elementary, Early Childhood, English, or Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities to meet the requirements for Professional Licensure in Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education, English, or Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities. The additional supervised practicum (below) is not required for candidates seeking a Professional License in these four fields.
EFFECTIVE AS OF THE 2023-2024 GRADUATE CATALOG
Meet Your Coordinator
Laura Hudock, Ph.D.
Required Practicum for students seeking Initial Licensure as a Specialist Teacher: Reading
- LTRC 952 Practicum in Literacy and Language with Seminar
or - LTRC 988 Practicum in Reading Enrichment with Seminar
Per the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), candidates seeking Initial Licensure as a Specialist Teacher: Reading must obtain the Sheltered English Instruction (SEI) endorsement in one of the following ways:
- Complete an undergraduate program that includes an approved Sheltered English Immersion course.
- Complete the DESE-approved Sheltered English Immersion course through a school district.
- Complete the DESE-approved Framingham State University course, TESL 910 Sheltered English Immersion.
- Complete a DESE-approved Sheltered English Immersion course through another licensure program.
- Earn a passing score on the Sheltered English Immersion 056 Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL).