Overview

Program Description

The Master of Science in Education (MSEd.) is a 30 credit graduate program designed with flexibility in mind. It allows initially certified adolescence educators the opportunity to tailor the program to their interests. At its core, the MSEd. aims to deepen teachers' knowledge of subject content, of the theory and practice of teaching and learning, and of the diverse contexts of education. In a two-semester course, students develop skills in research-based inquiry focused on the classroom. This graduate program enables students to complete the curriculum requirement for professional certification in New York State.

Curriculum Requirements

Professional Education (6 Credits)
Select 6 credits6
Diversity Education (3 Credits)
Select 3 credits3
Research Requirement (6 Credits)
SED701Inquiry into Teaching, Learning, and School: Part I 3
SED702Inquiry into Teaching, Learning, and School: Part II Every Semester 3
Graduate Courses in Discipline (15 Credits)
Select 15 credits15
Total Credits30

Program Requirements

File a “plan of study” during the first semester after matriculation.

Complete prescribed course work and other requirements within five years after matriculation.

Remedy any deficiencies in the candidate’s undergraduate preparation in the subject area by early advisement with the Secondary Education advisor.

Maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better, with no more than two grades below B-.

Some programs also require successful performance on a comprehensive examination and/or another culminating project.

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the Master of Science in Education must meet the following criteria:

  1. A 3.0 or better GPA in all undergraduate course work
  2. A 3.0 or better GPA in an appropriate undergraduate major
  3. Evidence of a valid 7-12 NYS teaching certificate. 
  4. Applicants specializing in English must have completed 36 semester hours of English, exclusive of freshman composition. Additionally, students must submit a 10-15 page academic writing sample with their application.
  5. Applicants specializing in Mathematics must have completed a minimum of 21 semester hours beyond Calculus II for a total of at least 36 semester hours in Mathematics.
  6. Three academic or professional recommendations are required. At least two of your recommendations should be from professors with whom you have taken courses.
  7. Applicants who graduated from college more than 5 years ago should make every effort to obtain such references and/or equivalent professional references (e.g. job supervisor). We will not accept references from friends or family members. 
  8. Write an admissions essay responding to the following:
    1. Reflect on a time when your idea or belief was questioned or challenged.  Or, conversely, reflect on a time when your idea or belief was validated. What happened? In what way(s) could this time be considered a learning experience?
  9. Submit one official transcript of all college course work.

Prospective students, who may have questions about the application process or the programs offered, may contact our Director of Graduate Admissions at (845) 257-3285 or gradadmissions@newpaltz.edu.

Application Deadlines

March 1 Fall
October 1 Spring
 

Late applications will be considered; however, enrollment is not guaranteed.

Program Learning Objectives

Adolescence Education Biology (MSEd) 

Candidates who successfully complete all required components of the Adolescence Biology program at SUNY New Paltz will: 

  • Content Knowledge: Enhance content area through synthesizing scientific conceptual understandings with pedagogical practice and implementation. 
  • Planning: Be able to plan lessons in science that are NYSP-12SLS standards-based, are clear and organized, rely upon a variety of appropriate pedagogical practices, include appropriate technologies, and differentiate instruction that provides opportunities to promote appreciation of diversity, tolerance, and inclusion in safe, democratic, and equitable learning environments. 
  • Assessment and P-12 Learning: Be able to choose, design, and implement authentic and appropriate formative and summative assessments to evaluate student learning, consider assessment data when making instructional decisions, and identify effective or problematic teaching moments as they are occurring in order to facilitate student growth in specified content, cognitive skills, and/or social skills. 
  • Pedagogical Practice: Demonstrate the ability to maximize student learning by incorporating content with pedagogical knowledge, utilizing appropriate and effective technology, and implementing a variety of developmentally and contextually appropriate evidence-based instructional strategies to make learning meaningful and relevant for students while teaching. 
  • Dispositions: Exhibit the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to practice an ethically informed and self-reflective philosophy, participate effectively in institutional change, and develop respectful relationships with students, families, communities and colleagues. 

  • Critical Thinking and Reasoning:  Clearly articulate an issue or problem; identify, analyze, and evaluate ideas, data, and arguments as they engage in planning, assessing, and teaching; and acknowledge limitations such as perspective and bias as they develop well-reasoned arguments to form judgements and/or draw conclusions that support pedagogical decisions. 

  • Information Literacy:  Locate appropriate resources effectively using appropriate tools; evaluate information with an awareness of authority, validity, and bias; and demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination as they relate to the field of education. 

Adolescence Education Chemistry (MSEd) 

Candidates who successfully complete all required components of the Adolescence Chemistry program at SUNY New Paltz will: 

  • Content Knowledge: Enhance content area through synthesizing scientific conceptual understandings with pedagogical practice and implementation. 
  • Planning: Be able to plan lessons in science that are NYSP-12SLS standards-based, are clear and organized, rely upon a variety of appropriate pedagogical practices, include appropriate technologies, and differentiate instruction that provides opportunities to promote appreciation of diversity, tolerance, and inclusion in safe, democratic, and equitable learning environments. 
  • Assessment and P-12 Learning: Be able to choose, design, and implement authentic and appropriate formative and summative assessments to evaluate student learning, consider assessment data when making instructional decisions, and identify effective or problematic teaching moments as they are occurring in order to facilitate student growth in specified content, cognitive skills, and/or social skills. 
  • Pedagogical Practice: Demonstrate the ability to maximize student learning by incorporating content with pedagogical knowledge, utilizing appropriate and effective technology, and implementing a variety of developmentally and contextually appropriate evidence-based instructional strategies to make learning meaningful and relevant for students while teaching. 
  • Dispositions: Exhibit the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to practice an ethically informed and self-reflective philosophy, participate effectively in institutional change, and develop respectful relationships with students, families, communities and colleagues. 

  • Critical Thinking and Reasoning:  Clearly articulate an issue or problem; identify, analyze, and evaluate ideas, data, and arguments as they engage in planning, assessing, and teaching; and acknowledge limitations such as perspective and bias as they develop well-reasoned arguments to form judgements and/or draw conclusions that support pedagogical decisions. 

  • Information Literacy:  Locate appropriate resources effectively using appropriate tools; evaluate information with an awareness of authority, validity, and bias; and demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination as they relate to the field of education. 

Adolescence Education Earth Science (MSEd) 

Candidates who successfully complete all required components of the Adolescence Earth Science program at SUNY New Paltz will: 

  • Content Knowledge: Enhance content area through synthesizing scientific conceptual understandings with pedagogical practice and implementation. 
  • Planning: Be able to plan lessons in science that are NYSP-12SLS standards-based, are clear and organized, rely upon a variety of appropriate pedagogical practices, include appropriate technologies, and differentiate instruction that provides opportunities to promote appreciation of diversity, tolerance, and inclusion in safe, democratic, and equitable learning environments. 
  • Assessment and P-12 Learning: Be able to choose, design, and implement authentic and appropriate formative and summative assessments to evaluate student learning, consider assessment data when making instructional decisions, and identify effective or problematic teaching moments as they are occurring in order to facilitate student growth in specified content, cognitive skills, and/or social skills. 
  • Pedagogical Practice: Demonstrate the ability to maximize student learning by incorporating content with pedagogical knowledge, utilizing appropriate and effective technology, and implementing a variety of developmentally and contextually appropriate evidence-based instructional strategies to make learning meaningful and relevant for students while teaching. 
  • Dispositions: Exhibit the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to practice an ethically informed and self-reflective philosophy, participate effectively in institutional change, and develop respectful relationships with students, families, communities and colleagues. 

  • Critical Thinking and Reasoning:  Clearly articulate an issue or problem; identify, analyze, and evaluate ideas, data, and arguments as they engage in planning, assessing, and teaching; and acknowledge limitations such as perspective and bias as they develop well-reasoned arguments to form judgements and/or draw conclusions that support pedagogical decisions. 

  • Information Literacy:  Locate appropriate resources effectively using appropriate tools; evaluate information with an awareness of authority, validity, and bias; and demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination as they relate to the field of education. 

Adolescence Education English (MSEd) 

Candidates who successfully complete all required components of the Adolescence Education English program at SUNY New Paltz will: 

  • Content Knowledge: Enhance content area mastery by completing 15 hours of masters-level coursework in English and develop a portfolio that evidences outstanding performance in coursework and professional practice. 

  • Critical Inquiry and Intellectual Development: Inquire and reflect critically on sociological, historical, and other aspects of educational practice and policy; engage in data-informed decision-making processes; demonstrate the ability to employ evidence-based practices; and continually develop disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge and skills oriented towards high-quality teaching and learning standards. 

  • Professional Skills and Disposition: Develop respectful relationships with students, families, communities and colleagues; practice an ethically informed philosophy; and participate effectively in institutional change. 

  • Culturally Responsive Practice and Social Justice: Understand and apply practices that promote respect, inclusion and equity in teaching, learning, and student development based on social identity markers including, but not limited to, race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, language, religion, culture, national origin, epistemology, and family life. 

  • Democratic Citizenship and Student Advocacy: Respect education as a human right and a foundation to active inclusion and participation in public life, and aspire to be agents of change in response to persistent barriers to equal educational opportunity. 

  • Technology: Demonstrate knowledge and skill with using appropriate educational technology to enhance learning in adolescence education. 

  • Critical Thinking and Reasoning:  Clearly articulate an issue or problem; identify, analyze, and evaluate ideas, data, and arguments as they engage in planning, assessing, and teaching; and acknowledge limitations such as perspective and bias as they develop well-reasoned arguments to form judgements and/or draw conclusions that support pedagogical decisions. 

  • Information Literacy:  Locate appropriate resources effectively using appropriate tools; evaluate information with an awareness of authority, validity, and bias; and demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination as they relate to the field of education. 

Adolescence Education Mathematics (MSEd) 

Candidates who successfully complete all required components of the Adolescence Math program at SUNY New Paltz will: 

  • Content Knowledge: Enhance content area through synthesizing scientific conceptual understandings with pedagogical practice and implementation. 
  • Planning: Be able to plan lessons in math that are NCTM standards-based, are clear and organized, rely upon a variety of appropriate pedagogical practices, include appropriate technologies, and differentiate instruction that provides opportunities to promote appreciation of diversity, tolerance, and inclusion in safe, democratic, and equitable learning environments. 
  • Assessment and P-12 Learning: Be able to choose, design, and implement authentic and appropriate formative and summative assessments to evaluate student learning, consider assessment data when making instructional decisions, and identify effective or problematic teaching moments as they are occurring in order to facilitate student growth in specified content, cognitive skills, and/or social skills. 
  • Pedagogical Practice: Demonstrate the ability to maximize student learning by incorporating content with pedagogical knowledge, utilizing appropriate and effective technology, and implementing a variety of developmentally and contextually appropriate evidence-based instructional strategies to make learning meaningful and relevant for students while teaching. 
  • Dispositions: Exhibit the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to practice an ethically informed and self-reflective philosophy, participate effectively in institutional change, and develop respectful relationships with students, families, communities and colleagues. 

  • Critical Thinking and Reasoning:  Clearly articulate an issue or problem; identify, analyze, and evaluate ideas, data, and arguments as they engage in planning, assessing, and teaching; and acknowledge limitations such as perspective and bias as they develop well-reasoned arguments to form judgements and/or draw conclusions that support pedagogical decisions. 

  • Information Literacy:  Locate appropriate resources effectively using appropriate tools; evaluate information with an awareness of authority, validity, and bias; and demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination as they relate to the field of education. 

Adolescence Education Social Studies (MSEd) 

Candidates who successfully complete all required components of the Adolescence Social Studies program at SUNY New Paltz will: 

  • Content Knowledge: Enhance content area mastery by completing 12-15 hours of masters-level coursework in social studies. 

  • Critical Inquiry and Intellectual Development: Inquire and reflect critically on sociological, historical, and other aspects of educational practice and policy, engage in data-informed decision-making processes, demonstrate the ability to employ evidence-based practices, and continually develop disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge and skills oriented towards high-quality teaching and learning standards. 

  • Professional Skills and Disposition: Develop respectful relationships with students, families, communities and colleagues, practice an ethically informed philosophy, and participate effectively in institutional change. 

  • Culturally Responsive Practice and Social Justice: Understand and apply practices that promote respect, inclusion and equity in teaching, learning, and student development based on social identity markers including, but not limited to, race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, language, religion, culture, national origin, epistemology, and family life. 

  • Democratic Citizenship and Student Advocacy: Respect education as a human right and a foundation to active inclusion and participation in public life, and aspire to be agents of change in response to persistent barriers to equal educational opportunity. 

  • Technology: Demonstrate knowledge and skill with using appropriate educational technology to enhance learning in adolescence education. 

  • Critical Thinking and Reasoning:  Clearly articulate an issue or problem; identify, analyze, and evaluate ideas, data, and arguments as they engage in planning, assessing, and teaching; and acknowledge limitations such as perspective and bias as they develop well-reasoned arguments to form judgements and/or draw conclusions that support pedagogical decisions. 

  • Information Literacy:  Locate appropriate resources effectively using appropriate tools; evaluate information with an awareness of authority, validity, and bias; and demonstrate an understanding of the ethical dimensions of information use, creation, and dissemination as they relate to the field of education.