Department of Education
Department Chair: Bob Fuller
Graduate Education Faculty
Associate Professors: Chrystal Hodges, M.Ed. Program Coordinator
Assistant Professor: Kelly Ballard, MAT Program Coordinator, Hope Durst
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 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 teach 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.
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 also must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher and passing scores on the Praxis II, the subject area licensure exam.
- The Graduate student, in consultation with his/her Program Coordinator, 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 Program Coordinator to determine whether the student’s admission status can be changed.
- The Graduate student must meet with his/her Program Coordinator 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 Program Director 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 must be done in consultation with an approval by the Program Coordinator and 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 agreement by the Program Coordinator and 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 in the last semester before graduation all graduate students will register for ED 590 - Graduate Portfolio and submit a professional portfolio to their Program Coordinator. Deadlines for submission are published in the graduate handbook on the School of Education’s website. Each graduate student is advised to confirm deadlines with their Program Director. Students are advised to keep ED 591 - Graduate Comprehensive Exam to take the Comprehensive Final. Deadlines for successful completion are published in the graduate handbook on the School of Education’s website. Each graduate student is advised to confirm deadlines with their Program Coordinator.
- The Graduate student needs to meet with her or his Program Coordinator 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 Portfolio and 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
Other Programs
