Master of Science in Teacher Education

Educational Studies Concentration, Literacy Education Specialization

Literacy Education Faculty

The University of Tennessee Reading Center is home to faculty and students who are affiliated with Literacy Education. Prospective students as well as admitted students are invited to contact faculty members to discuss their particular program needs.

Advisement

It is the student’s responsibility to establish and maintain communication with a Literacy Education faculty member when admitted to the graduate program.

Masters in Teacher Education Committee

The student selects a chairperson (may be the advisor but need not be) and a minimum of two additional faculty members to serve as a committee after admission. The chairperson must be a member of the Literacy Education faculty. The committee plans the student’s coursework, supervises progress, recommends admission to candidacy, directs the student’s research and coordinates the final examination.

Literacy Specialist Licensure

If the student is not already certified as a reading specialist, the course of study may be designed to obtain the state of Tennessee PreK-12 Reading Specialist Licensure by selecting courses required for licensure under both the Concentration and Related categories.

At the time of licensure recommendation, teachers must have completed 3 years of teaching experience and successfully complete the PRAXIS #0300. The state recognizes the year-long internship as one of the 3 years required for license.

Requirements

Both thesis and non-thesis options are available for this specialization. The thesis option requires a minimum of 30 hours, satisfactory completion of a written thesis and oral defense of thesis; 2/3 or total hours of MS coursework must be 500-level or above (22 credit hours).

The non-thesis option requires a minimum of 33 hours, satisfactory completion of written comprehensive examination, and as in the thesis option, 2/3 or total hours of coursework must be 500-level or above (24 credit hours).

A maximum of 6 semester hours may be transferred from another graduate degree-granting institution, but only with the approval of the committee. Additional hours may be transferred from institutions within the UT system.