Department of Education
Department Chair: Shelley Bock
Graduate Education Faculty
Professor: Twila Alpe
Associate Professor: Chrystal Hodges
Assistant Professors: Kelly Bennett, Alina M. Harges
Visiting Assistant Professor: Leigh Todd
Purpose Statement for the Department of Education
The “Educator as Reflective Decision Maker” is the model for the conceptual framework for the educator preparation programs at Mississippi University for Women. The programs have adopted the Core Standards of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards as goals for teacher candidates, the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders for school administrator candidates, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards for early childhood educators. Further explanations of requirements and expectations for undergraduate teacher candidates are in the Teacher Education Handbook available through the MUW website.
The Department of Education aligns with the School of Education’s goal to advance innovation in life-long learning from preschool to post-graduation in alignment with and support of the Mississippi University for Women’s mission of delivering high-quality instruction designed to assist students in attaining their academic, professional, and personal goals.
Program Purpose:
The Graduate Programs in Education provide high quality, advanced professional development and leadership training for educators, which will strengthen their theoretical knowledge, their practice, and increase their accountability for student learning. This reflects the University’s mission of professional education with an emphasis on academic and leadership preparation.
The conceptual framework of the Department of Education and has been extended for Graduate Studies in Education to include the five core propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The related belief statements that follow each core proposition further characterize the advanced programs in education.
1. Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
2. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teache those subjects to students.
3. Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from their experience.
5. Teachers are members of learning communities.
The Graduate Programs in Education are: Master of Education and the Master of Arts in Teaching. The Master of Education provides candidates a choice of three different concentration pathways for completion; Educational Leadership, Gifted Studies, or Reading/Literacy.
Progression in the Program
- The potential Graduate student must make formal application for admission, providing official transcripts of all coursework (undergraduate and graduate), email addresses and/or contact information for three references who are willing to provide letters of recommendation, proof of immunization, teaching license or proof of eligibility, and $25.00 application fee. (MAT applicants must submit passing scores on the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators OR ACT scores of 21 or above AND Praxis II, content area.) **
- The Graduate student, in consultation with his/her advisor, works out a proposed program of study.
- After the completion of the appropriate number of hours and/or semesters, as indicated in the section on Graduate Admissions in the Graduate Bulletin, the student who has been admitted conditionally must meet with his/her advisor to determine whether the student’s admission status can be changed.
- The Graduate student must meet with his/her advisor prior to registration to secure approval for courses to be taken in the ensuing semester.
- The Graduate student must submit an official transcript of any transfer credits before his/her last semester of coursework. The Graduate faculty must approve any transfer work applied to the student’s program. No more than 6 hours with minimum grade of B may be transferred.
- Withdrawal from a graduate class should be done in consultation with an advisor and must be approved by the Department Chair.
- Once graduate students have accumulated at least six hours of graduate credit at MUW, they must apply for candidacy by the end of their next semester of enrollment.
- All requests for modification of the Candidacy Form must be made in writing to the Department Chair whose approval allows the student to proceed with courses as planned.
- A minimum of 15 semester hours must be completed following the student’s admission to candidacy.
- Before graduation all graduate students will submit a professional portfolio to the Department Chair. For August graduates, portfolios are due the first day of the second summer session. For May and December graduates, portfolios are due one month prior to graduation. Students are advised to keep a copy of all contents for their own records.
- To take the Comprehensive Final Examinations, the student must submit a written request to the Department Chair at the beginning of the semester exams are to be attempted.
- The Graduate student needs to meet with her or his advisor to confirm completion of graduation requirements: all admission and program requirements have been satisfied, all transcripts of transfer credit have been submitted to and processed by the Registrar, the Comprehensive Final Examinations have been completed satisfactorily, the MUW cumulative GPA and the overall GPA are at least a 3.0 and no grades of incomplete remain on the student’s academic record.
Graduate Major
