UMass Boston

Learning, Teaching & Educational Transformation MEd

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Prepare to work in teacher-leadership, community-based education, professional development, curriculum writing, or educational research.

UMass Boston’s Learning, Teaching & Educational Transformation (LTET) master’s degree gives students a foundation in curriculum development, research, writing, and using education to create change. The program develops critical skills to pursue diverse inquiries and practical projects through the lenses of collaborative action and social justice.

This MEd is designed for individuals who are already licensed to teach in Massachusetts or are not seeking a teaching license. It’s for graduate students who are interested in working in a broad range of education-related professions inside and outside of the classroom, such as teacher-leadership, curriculum and professional development, adult- and community-based education, educational research, policy analysis, non-profit organizations, and educational advocacy.

Students work with a faculty advisor to design a sequence of education-related courses to support their specific interests. The 33-credit program offers a range of courses including curriculum and instruction, educational research, reflective practice, social justice, and urban education. Students may choose electives from outside the College of Education & Human Development, including courses in the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Science & Mathematics.

This program can be completed in one year full-time (including summer sessions) or in 2-3 years part-time. Students with a Massachusetts Initial Educator License may seek a Professional Educator License through this degree program in conjunction with other required professional activities.

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Plan Your Education

How to Apply

Applicants must meet general graduate admission requirements in addition to the following program-specific requirements:

  • Minimum Cumulative GPA: 2.0
  • Letters of Recommendation: 2
  • Statement of Purpose: Show the graduate admissions committee why you wish to pursue graduate study, as well as your specific interests and goals. UMass Boston's College of Education and Human Development is committed to anti-racism and social justice; comment on these principles in relation to your qualifications and desires to pursue studies related to teaching, learning, and educational transformation.

Deadlines & Cost

Deadlines: November 1 (priority) and December 1 (final) for spring admissions

Application Fee: The nonrefundable application fee is $75. UMass Boston alumni and current students that plan to complete degree requirements prior to graduate enrollment can submit the application without paying the application fee.

Cost: For additional information regarding tuition and fees, please visit the Bursar’s Office or send an email to Bursar@umb.edu. Please refer to Graduate Student Financial Aid for more information on financial aid.

Curriculum

Course Requirements

Core Courses (12 Credits)

Complete one core course in each of the four following areas (select one from each list or a substitute after consultation with student's advisor)

  • Curriculum Organization & Innovation
    • EDC G 630 - Inclusion, K-12 3 Credit(s)
    • EDC G 642 - Organization of School Curriculum 3 Credit(s)
    • EDC G 648 - New Literacies & Emerging Technologies 3 Credit(s)
    • EDC G 660 - Using Data to Plan Curriculum & Instruction 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 601 - Critical Thinking 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 602 - Creative Thinking 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 630 - Criticism and Creativity in Literature and the Arts 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 640 - Environment, Science and Society 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 645 - Biology and Society 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 650 - Mathematics Thinking Skills 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 652 - Children and Science 3 Credit(s)
    • BWPEDU 510 - Writing in Content Areas (Middle & HS) 3 Credit(s)
    • ABA 653 - Skill Acquisition (for ABA students only) 3 Credit(s)
  • Research & Writing for Reflective Practice
    • EDC G 621 - Teaching Writing K-12 3 Credit(s)
    • EDC G 689 - Teacher Research 3 Credit(s)
    • EDC G 690 - Teacher Research: Professional Licensure 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 6ll - Seminar in Critical Thinking 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 692 - Processes of Research and Engagement 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 693 - Action Research 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 694 - Synthesis of Theory & Practice 3 Credit(s)
    • BWPEDU 501 - The Teacher as Writer 3 Credit(s)
    • BWPEDU 530 - Teaching & Writing Poetry: K-12 3 Credit(s)
    • ABA 654 - Research Methods (for ABA students only) 3 Credit(s)
  • Mediation, Dialogue & Collaboration
    • CONRES 621 - Negotiations 3 Credit(s)
    • CONRES 623 - Introductory Theory 3 Credit(s)
    • CONRES 624 - Cross-Cultural Conflict 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 616 - Dialogue Processes 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 618 - Creative Thinking, Collaboration & Org. Change 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 670 - Thinking, Learning, and Computers 3 Credit(s)
    • ABA 655 - Organizational Behavior Management (for ABA students only)3 Credit(s)
  • Urban & Social Justice Education
    • EDC G 606 - Socio-Cultural Foundations of Education 3 Credit(s)
    • CRCRTH 627 - Issues & Controversies in Antiracist and Multicultural Education 3 Credit(s)
    • APLING 665 - Interdisciplinary Curriculum Development: Contemporary Perspectives on Immigration 3 Credit(s)
    • COUNSL 653 - Cultural Diversity in Counseling 3 Credit(s)

Electives (21 Credits)

Complete seven elective courses in area of concentration (selected after consultation with student's advisor)

Graduation Criteria

Complete a minimum of 33 credits from at least eleven courses including four curriculum core courses and seven elective courses.

Concentration: Students may select a concentration after consulting with their advisor.
Capstone: Completion of a comprehensive examination or written paper with oral presentation. Students, after consultation with their advisors, choose which option to take.

  • Comprehensive examination
    This option is a take-home essay examination. Students are given 30 days to complete the assigned questions and return them for evaluation by faculty committee. Students complete this during their final semester in the program.

  • Written paper with oral presentation
    This option is an opportunity for students to integrate into their professional lives the ideas and theory, skills and strategies, experiences and collaborations from their studies and associated activities. Students are invited to combine an essay with "exhibits" from their work during the program. The exhibits can take a variety of forms, such as original curriculum materials, a professional development workshop series, a video case study, a practitioner's portfolio, an implemented teacher inquiry project, other excerpts from coursework, or a proposal for action research. The essays are expected to locate the exhibits in relation to what others have written and done in the relevant area as well as to integrate students' reflections on their own professional practice, changes while studying in the program, and future directions. The forms and length of the essays will depend on the particular nature of the projects. For example, if the exhibit were a 2-4 page action research proposal, an extended essay (20-40 pages) that reviews and critiques literatures appropriate to the research questions would be expected to accompany it; a shorter essay (10-20 pages) would be appropriate to accompany a video case study.

    Students wishing to pursue the option of a written paper with oral presentation for their capstone project are advised to enroll in a course designed for intensive research and writing appropriate to the forms of the project (e.g., EDCG 689, 690; CRCRTH 692, 694). The course instructor and one other faculty member then serve as advisors for the project, but this arrangement and the form of the capstone project must be established before the start of the semester in which it is undertaken. Oral presentations before the advisors and peers are arranged toward the end of that semester.

Minimum grade: At least a 3.0 cumulative GPA
Statute of Limitations:: Five years

Contact

Graduate Program Director Christopher Martell
christopher.martell [at] umb.edu

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