Literacy Studies Concentration, English as a Second Language Specialization
The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences has the distinction of having a nationally-ranked Teacher Education program, and is NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) accredited.Consequently, prospective applicants for a specialization in ESL Education, follow both NCATE and TESOL standards for its students.Prospective applicants for the PhD in Education, who wish to focus on ESL Education as a specialization, are expected to have the following credentials:
- A master’s degree in English, ESL,TESOL, Linguistics, or a World Language
- A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3
- A minimum of 3 years of full-time formal classroom teaching experience
(preferably with a linguistically and culturally-diverse population) - Superior proficiency in English for international students
Admission Procedures
Admission Criteria
The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required for all prospective students, with a minimum score of 1100 (taken within the past 5 years).
All prospective students are encouraged to apply as early as possible, and preferably one year in advance to ensure sufficient time for the processing of all application materials. International students should begin this process even earlier, if at all possible.
Literacy Studies – ESL Specialization Course Work
To view the course of study
Please follow this link to the UT Catalog.
- Select the appropriate catalog from the dropdown menu on the right.
- Select the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.
- Scroll to TPTE and select “Display Programs for this Department.”
- Click on the appropriate program to see the credit requirements and admission procedures for each program.
Faculty Contacts
Clara Lee Brown, Associate Professor
cbrown26@utk.edu, 865-974-4146