Education

Web site: www.umass.edu/education/

Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Department

Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services Department

Educational Policy, Research and Administration Department

Inservice Professional Development

Licensure Programs for Educational Personnel

Admissions

Applications

The School of Education is dedicated to enhancing the practice of education through research that informs both the preparation of educational professionals and the develop-ment of public policy that affects education. Our approach is shaped by our fundamental commitment to social justice and diversity and by our belief in the essential importance of national and international perspectives as we approach the improvement of education.

The School of Education is a National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) approved comprehensive professional school. It is organized into three major departments: the Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Department, the Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services Department, and the Educational Policy, Research and Administration Department. The School offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Education (M.Ed.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Counseling Psychology. It also awards a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (C.A.G.S.). Although graduate students are admitted to and administratively attached to specific departments, they are encouraged to develop, under faculty supervision, programs of study that draw upon the resources of the entire University. Graduate programs in the School of Education provide opportunities for advanced study and research in education and foster the development of innovative responses to challenges in the field of education.

Programs of study are designed to meet certification guidelines, licensing requirements, professional association recommendations, School and University requirements, and individual student's goals.

Current information on courses of study is available from the departments and on the School of Education web page: http://www. umass.edu/education.

All certification programs are approved by the campus Teacher Education Coordinating Council and the Massachusetts Department of Education. For further information on certification opportunities, contact the Certification Office, 125 Furcolo Hall.

Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Department

The Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Department is committed to the preparation and ongoing professional and intellectual development of teachers and educational specialists in Pre K-12 schools. It focuses on teacher education, curriculum frameworks, organizational improvement, and issues of equity facing students, teachers, and schools today.

The department offers doctoral areas of study which integrate course work, clinical experience, and research in the areas of:

Child and Family Studies

Language, Literacy, and Culture

Mathematics and Science Education

Teacher Education and School Improvement

The department also offers graduate areas of study in:

Bilingual/E.S.L./Multicultural Practitioner

Child Study and Early Education

Elementary Teacher Education

Reading and Writing

Secondary Teacher Education

Technology Education

The department is committed to providing instruction, conducting research, and offering service that supports its commitment to preparing teachers, examining curriculum frameworks and school organizational patterns, and developing educators who through their leadership contribute to equity and excellence in education in the commonwealth and throughout the nation.

Pending state approval, individuals may seek certification on an individual basis.

There are related programs in Art, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Classical Humanities, Music, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Through the department's academic programs, graduate students may also pursue state-approved teacher certification in the following areas:

Agricultural/Vocational Education

Bilingual Education

Biology

Chemistry

Early Childhood Education

Earth Sciences

Elementary Education

English

English as a Second Language

General Science

History

Mathematics

Physics

Social Studies

Teacher of Reading

Programs leading to teaching certification are also offered through the Master of Arts degree in the Art Department, and the Master of Arts in Teaching in Foreign Languages and Classics.

Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services Department

The Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services Department mission is to facilitate the cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial development of school children, youth, and young adults through research, service focused on public policy, and development of model graduate training programs for school-based professionals. The department emphasizes an interactionist perspective on development as being influenced by both individual and systemic factors within a cultural context. Department faculty have a particular concern for how social justice issues affect children's development.

The department supports graduate programs in the areas of School and Counseling Psychology, Social Justice Education, Special Education, and School Counseling.

Through the department's academic programs, graduate students may also pursue state-approved pupil personnel service certification in the following areas:

Teacher of Special Education

Administrator of Special Education

School Guidance Counselor

School Guidance Director

School Psychologist.

Educational Policy, Research and Administration Department

The Educational Policy, Research and Administration Department promotes the social foundations and perspectives needed to enrich educational practice; prepares leaders in educational policy and administration; and advances educational research and evaluation methodologies that provide the basis for effective decision making and knowledge generation. Graduate programs prepare students for educational policy-making, planning, administration, college or university faculty, and research positions. Integral to these programs is preparation to work in local, national, and international contexts.

The department supports graduate degree programs in the areas of Educational Policy and Leadership, Research and Evaluation Methods, Educational Administration, International Education, Higher Education, and Policy Studies in Education.

Through the department's academic programs, graduate students may also pursue state-approved educational administrator certification in the following areas:

Principal

Supervisor/Director

Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent.

Inservice Professional Development

In response to the 1993 Masschusetts Education Reform Act, the School of Education undertook the coordination of the University's
K-12 professional development programs. These programs provide access to graduate work for K-12 educators. Programs and courses are delivered in field-based, after-school, summer school, and distance-learning formats.

Licensure Programs for Educational Personnel

Graduate students may pursue coursework that qualifies them for licensure in Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Middle and Secondary Education in English, History, Social Studies, Mathematics and the Sciences; English as a Second Language; Reading Specialist, Transitional Bilingual Education; Special Education; School Guidance Counseling;

School Psychology; Administrator of Special Education; Supervisor/Director; Principal; and Superintendent.

The Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure is required for educational certification/licensure in Massachusetts. The Uni-versity's policy regarding the MTEL requires that graduate candidates for certification must pass the Communications and Literacy Skills test in their first semester of study. All candidates must pass the Subject Test required for their licensure field (if a test has been developed for that license before enrolling in the practicum).

Information on licensure programs and the MTEL is available from the Teacher Education Office, 125 Furcolo Hall, tel. (413) 545-2701.

Admissions

Admission for graduate study in the School of Education is contingent upon meeting University Graduate School requirements as well as those of the academic area of study to which the candidate applies. Candidates apply for admission to the Graduate School, using Graduate School application forms. To make certain that the application is reviewed by the appropriate admissions committee, applicants must indicate degree or certificate (Ed.D., Ph.D., Ed.D./M.Ed., C.A.G.S., or M.Ed.) and the academic area of study (under subfield or special interest) to which they are applying. Initial inquiries and requests for detailed information about programs may be addressed to the Office for Academic Affairs, School of Education.

Applications

Ordinarily, applications are accepted for fall semester admission. Some programs of study also admit students for the spring semester. Additional general information on the School of Education's graduate degree programs can be obtained by the visiting Web site www.umass.edu/education/ or by writing to the Office of Academic Affairs, School of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003. Specific information on graduate degree and certification programs may be obtained by writing to the Department Offices: Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies Department (Furcolo Hall), Student Development and Pupil Personnel Services Department (Hills South), and Educational Policy, Research and Administration Department (Hills South).