Master of Art in Education

The online master’s degree in education prepares certified teachers and professionals working in education to advance their careers. As a student, you’ll choose courses based on two focal areas to meet your personal and professional goals. You’ll take an introductory research and evaluation course, then choose eight electives that relate to your focal areas. The program culminates with an applied project in which you’ll design and develop an inquiry study. The study should address one or more problems related to your focal areas. You should anticipate needing access to a learner to complete coursework.

Education master’s focus areas may include:

• Learning design and technologies.
• Applied behavior analysis.
• Autism spectrum disorders.
• Early childhood education.
• Educating multilingual learners.
• Gifted education.
• Global education.

You can earn a master’s degree in education completely online in as few as 16 months. You’ll gain a broad perspective of current educational practices and challenges. You’ll also have a deeper understanding of your focal areas and develop essential skills for education professionals. These skills include effective communication, collaboration, leadership, advocacy and innovation. Your newfound skills and expertise will help you meet your professional goals, whether you’re working in children’s education, training institution, international schools, or other fields of education. Through this program, you’ll also develop a unique identity as an educator who’s capable of meeting the needs of diverse learners.

The master’s in education doesn’t qualify students to become a certified K–12 teacher. The program is designed for certified teachers and professionals who already have some level of professional experience in the field of education. Yet, individuals who want to start a new career in education can benefit from this degree as well. The program will give them professional knowledge to start a new job in a variety of noncertified education positions.

ASU offers programs that lead to professional licensure with the state of Arizona and may allow graduates to be eligible for licensure in other states. Please check the professional licensure list for Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College to determine if this program meets requirements in your state. Note that not all programs within the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College lead to professional licensure.

The master’s degree in education helps certified teachers and education professionals advance in their current roles. For instance, you could be a teacher who wants to gain advanced expertise to support school needs. Or you can become an administrator of an educational institution by building leadership skills. The master’s in education also will help you understand how children and adults learn to better meet their needs. Job titles potential students may hold will vary but could include:

• Behavior specialist
• Certified teacher
• Curriculum designer
• Education program manager
• Education subject matter expert
• Instructional designer
• Team lead (K–12 schools)

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = “A”) in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor’s degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = “A”) in an applicable master’s degree program. Applications may be considered for provisional admission with a GPA of 2.99 to 2.50.

All applicants must submit:

• Graduate admission application and application fee.
• Official transcripts.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Personal statement.
• Proof of English proficiency.

The letters of recommendation should be from individuals who can speak to the applicant’s potential for success in a graduate program.

Applicants must provide a personal statement of approximately 500 words that describes their personal interest in the field of education, the goals they wish to achieve while in the program and their short- and long-term career aspirations. The admission committee pays particular attention to the quality of writing, the ideas expressed and the relative match between the applicant and program  .

An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of current residency.

not included but on the site: An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of current residency.

For Chinese program we’d like to waive the request of proof of English proficiency. But for the English program, we will keep the requirement of the proof of English Proficiency.