Admission Criteria

Applications for admission to the Master of Arts (M.A.) program in Bilingual Education Program in the Department of Teaching, Literacy, and Leadership are made to the Graduate Admissions Office. Students who do not fully meet admission requirements may be required to complete prerequisite courses concurrently with completion of the master’s program requirements. Admission is based on a comprehensive review of multiple criteria, including the following:

1. New York State certification (initial or professional) in one of the following areas: early childhood education, childhood education, middle childhood education, a special subject or career and technical education.
2. An overall GPA of 2.75 or higher in all course work.
3. Two letters of reference addressing the applicant’s potential to succeed in the teaching profession and in graduate course work.
4. Interview with the director of the Bilingual Program.
5. Demonstration of proficiency in English and another language or a proficiency examination satisfactory to the department and consistent with the New York State certification guidelines. Students who fail to achieve a satisfactory score on the language proficiency examination are retested after remediation and are required to achieve a satisfactory score prior to completion of the program.

The department understands that any single criterion may not reliably predict a student’s potential for success in the program. Candidates may wish to apply even if they do not meet one of the criteria but feel that other aspects of their experience might compensate.

Program Requirements - Semester Hours: 31

Field Experiences

A minimum of 50 clock-hours of supervised field experience is required. Students are placed in the settings specific to the foci of their base teaching certificates. All field experiences are incorporated into the course curricula and supervised by the University faculty. Placements are arranged by the Office of Field Placement. Departmental policy is to place prospective teachers in districts other than those in which they currently reside or in schools that they attended.

Supervised field experiences in designated schools are required in each of the following courses:

• CT 265 - Methods and Materials in Bicultural Education Semester Hours: 3

• 15 clock hours

• LYST 213 - Introduction to Bilingual and Biliteracy Instruction for Children and Adolescents Semester Hours: 3

• 10 clock hours

• ELED 225 - Teaching English as a Second Language Semester Hours: 3

• 25 clock hours

Graduation Requirements

1. Completion of all course work for the Master of Arts program in Bilingual Education with an overall GPA of 3.0.
2. Completion of the 31 s.h. course requirements in the M.A. in Bilingual Education program with no fewer than 25 s.h. in residence.
3. An electronic portfolio illustrating the student’s education course work and professional accomplishments.
4. All course work offered in satisfaction of the degree requirements must have been completed within a five-year period.

Footnotes

Teacher Certification Requirements

Upon successful completion of a school-based program, students will be eligible to apply for the University’s recommendation for New York state certification. The state requires applicants to have passing scores on each of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE): the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST), the Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W), and the appropriate Content Specialty Tests (CSTs). The state will not issue certification to individuals not receiving passing scores on all New York examinations.

In addition to fulfilling the required courses of study, the Commissioner’s Regulations mandate that all prospective teachers, pupil personnel and education leaders receive instructions regarding:
    1.     Identification of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.
    2.     Fire and Arson Prevention.
    3.     School Violence Prevention and Intervention.
    4.     Prevention of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Abuse.
    5.     Highway and School Safety/Prevention of Child Abduction.

New York State legislation also requires all persons seeking certification as special education teachers or school administrators working in special education to have training in the area of children with autism. All of these requirements must be completed before the conferral of the degree and recommendation for certification. Candidates for certification in New York state must also demonstrate satisfactory performance on the requisite state assessment. No degrees will be conferred without the completion of all of these requirements. Please contact the Office of Certification and Educational Support Services for information regarding fingerprinting, examinations and seminars.