Objectives: To provide a degree appropriate for a person seeking certification to teach history or social studies with endorsement for Virginia and states with reciprocal agreements concerning credentials. To provide proof required for competency and mastery according to federal guidelines.
When students have completed 24 semester hours of coursework, they may be required to either take a written comprehensive examination or to complete an integrative project. A follow-up oral examination may be required.
Although the M.A.Ed. is primarily a teaching degree rather than a research degree, a culminating writing project will be required that can take two directions. In some cases, students will write a comprehensive paper in which they will analyze what they have learned, and the implications of their discoveries for what they expect to happen in their classrooms. In other cases, students will pursue an original research project involving primary and secondary research.
Requirements for Admission (M.A.Ed. Programs)
- A baccalaureate degree from an accredited undergraduate institution with a minimum GPA of 2.75 overall and 3.0 in the major
- Completion of the Graduate Record Examination.
- Submission of a writing sample of high quality.
- Review by an admissions committee.
- For experienced teachers and other individuals of exceptional promise, the admissions committee may modify the GPA requirement. Prospective graduate students are required to provide three recommendations from individuals familiar with their work, submit a completed application for graduate admission, and provide official copies of any professional tests they have completed.