Social studies education
Master of education/initial licensure
(Minnesota state licensure in social
studies education)
Social studies teachers help form their students' views of society, culture, diversity, tradition, and human relations. It's an important job that needs passionate leaders like you!
Information session: Before applying to this program, applicants are strongly encouraged to attend an information session for an overview of admission and program requirements. Hour-long sessions are held at Student Services. Register online.
Program
The social studies education initial licensure program is designed to help you become an inquiring, analytical, and reflective professional educator prepared to teach in grades 5-12 classrooms and lead in the schools. The program seeks to develop educators who are advocates for young people and the social studies, and can help youth to become thoughtful and active citizens in a culturally diverse, democratic society.
Master of education (M.Ed.)/initial licensure programs are for individuals with bachelor's degrees who want to become licensed teachers. These graduate-level programs provide rigorous professional teacher preparation in accordance with Standards of Effective Practice for Teachers (SEPT) and content standards adopted in fall 1998 by the Minnesota Board of Teaching.
Social studies education students enter a 13-month program integrating educational theory with classroom practice. This program is offered through the Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) (C&I) in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). Sixteen weeks of student teaching create a strong experience base in which to apply the principles and methods learned in University classes.
Included is preparation on understanding student learning, working with diverse learners, using a variety of instructional strategies, creating positive learning environments, communication, lesson planning, assessment, reflection and professional development, and collaboration, ethics, and relationships.
An important advantage of this program is its cohort nature. Students begin classes together and continue through their course of study as a single group, building a valuable sense of community. Throughout their student teaching, prospective teachers work closely with experienced teachers, observing firsthand the daily rewards and challenges of the profession.
This program includes two concurrent components: initial licensure and the M.Ed. degree. Students must meet all State of Minnesota licensure requirements to earn licensure recommendation. In addition, they must meet all degree requirements specified in the M.Ed. Handbook.
Curriculum
Students complete foundations, methods, and clinical experience coursework for licensure. Students are accepted into the program as a single cohort once each year, beginning classes in June and continuing through August of the following year.
First summer session*
- CI 5741—Introduction to Social Studies Education (3 cr)
- EDHD 5001—Learning, Cognition, and Assessment (3 cr)
- EDHD 5003—Developmental and Individual Differences in Educational Contexts (2 cr)
- EDHD 5004—Teaching Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Settings (2 cr) (effective fall 2009)
- EDHD 5005—School and Society (2 cr)
- EDHD 5009—Human Relations: Applied Skills for School and Society (1 cr)
- PUBH 6003—Fundamentals of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (1 cr)
Note: The PUBH-designated course listed above may not be applied toward the M.Ed. degree.
During the first summer, students take courses in foundations of education, including courses on the psychological, sociological, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of education. These courses lay the foundation for developing a breadth and depth of knowledge and skills in education. Through inquiry, analysis, and reflection, prospective teachers learn to examine educational issues from multiple perspectives. Students must also complete the first social studies methods course during the summer: CI 5741. This introductory methods course focuses on developing basic instructional techniques and identifying/evaluating teaching resources. Students become familiar with the concept of “authentic pedagogy”, develop assessment tasks, and design instructional lessons.
* CI 5741 must be completed during the summer session. Other courses in this list may be completed during the second summer term.
Fall term
- CI 5452—Reading in the Content Areas for Initial Licensure Candidates (1 cr)
- CI 5644—Working with Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students in the Mainstream Classroom (1 cr)
- CI 5742—Advanced Methods of Teaching the Social Studies (3 cr)
- CI 5743—The Social Sciences and the Social Studies (3 cr)
- CI 5782—Clinical Experiences in Teaching Social Studies (5 cr fall) [does not count toward M.Ed. degree]
- EDHD 5007—Technology for Teaching and Learning (1.5 cr)
In the fall, students enroll in courses that include a student teaching experience (CI 5782). Each student works with a secondary social studies teacher in the metropolitan area every morning for seven weeks. During this time, the student teacher plans and teaches an instructional unit to at least one class. In the afternoons, student teachers take courses on campus. In these courses, students develop their repertoire of instructional methods, examine the structure of the social science disciplines and explore technology and its uses in the classroom.
Spring term
- CI 5744—Seminar: Reflecting on Professional Development in Social Studies Education (3 cr)
- CI 5745—Engaging Youth with Social Studies (3 cr)
- CI 5782—Clinical Experiences in Teaching Social Studies (7 cr spring) does not count towards M.Ed. degree
- Third week of March–end of May Session:
- CI 5746—Global and Multicultural Education in the Secondary Classroom (3 cr)
OR
- CI 5762—Developing Civic Discourse in the Social Studies (3cr)
In the spring, students complete a 10-week student teaching experience (CI 5782). During this time, students are in the schools all day. Each student teacher is assigned a mentor social studies teacher. All student teachers enroll in a seminar held on campus each Thursday night for the duration of the semester to discuss and reflect on their teaching experiences (CI 5744).
M.Ed. completion
Students completing their M.Ed. degree must apply to graduate by submitting the appropriate forms to Student Services no later than the first day of the month in which their last course grade will be posted. Degrees are cleared at the end of each month, and are posted to the transcript by the end of the following month. Those who wish to participate in Commencement must submit their completion forms to Student Services no later than March 1. The required forms are:
- CEHD Application for M.Ed. Degree and/or Certificate and
- Either a final program form or APAS (look under self-services in the column on the right) signed by your faculty adviser
See course descriptions and course schedules.
Admission criteria
Admission to the program is based on the following criteria:
- Prerequisite courses for content area knowledge:
- Applicants must have a fully developed knowledge base of the subject area they plan to teach. This knowledge is recognized through completion of prerequisite courses.
- A transcript review can be completed before applying. To have your transcript(s) reviewed, please email a copy of all unofficial transcripts to the Prospective Graduate Student Adviser and Recruiter, Jontue Austin.
- Please allow two weeks for a completed transcript review to be emailed to you.
- If your transcript is from outside of the United States, you must arrange for a national evaluation (see #3 under the Application materials heading below).
- Grade point average (GPA):
- Grade point average (GPA)—2.80 overall GPA and 3.00 GPA in major coursework at the time of application. Bachelor’s degree must be completed at the time of matriculation.
- Bachelor’s degree must be completed at the time the program begins.
- Classroom hours:
- Minimum requirement is 100 hours in the classroom. Competitive applicants have significant experiences with diverse populations both inside and outside of a classroom setting. We consider experiences with diverse populations to be within an environment or situation different from that which you are familiar (e.g., race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, language, religion, geography, sexuality, special needs).
- Must be completed within grades 5-12 in a U.S. public or charter school.
- For more information about this requirement, see the Classroom experience website.
- These hours are to be documented on the Classroom Hours form [PDF] [WORD DOC].
- This form will be uploaded into the application system when you apply.
- Additional related experiences
- Additional related experiences are considered to be outside of a classroom setting and related to the field of teaching.
- Although there is no minimum hour requirement for additional experiences, competitive applicants have significant experiences with diverse populations both inside and outside of a classroom setting. We consider experiences with diverse populations to be within an environment or situation different from that which you are familiar (e.g., race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, language, religion, geography, sexuality, special needs).
- These experiences are outside of the required classroom hours and are to be documented on the Additional Related Experiences form [PDF] [WORD DOC].
- This form will be uploaded into the application system when you apply.
- Admission statements
- There are three statements required to complete the application:
QUESTION A: Experience with difference
Please describe a specific experience in your life that required you to navigate through an environment or situation different from that which you are familiar. How did you approach this experience? What did you learn? Note that the experience you describe may reflect difference across dimensions such as race, socio-economic status, gender, language, religion, geography, sexuality, special needs.
QUESTION B: Educational disparities
Disparity in educational outcomes is a major challenge in Minnesota. How do you account for these disparities? How do you view your role as a future educator in addressing educational disparities?
QUESTION C: Becoming a teacher
Discuss your life and work experiences that have influenced your decision to become a teacher.
- Write statements as separate documents (e.g., Question A is one document, Question B is a separate document, etc.), save them separately to your computer, and upload them separately into the application system.
- Each statement should be no longer than 2 double-spaced pages with 12 point font.
- At the top of the statement page, include your name and the question title (e.g., Question A: experience with difference).
- For tips on writing an effective personal statement, watch the Writing effective personal statements online workshop.
- Please visit your writing center for feedback on your statements, as CEHD staff are unable to provide this service.
- We will evaluate your statements to:
- Ensure best fit between applicants and proposed Initial Licensure Program
- Capture ability and experiences not reflected in other admission materials
- Evaluate academic writing skills
How to apply
-
Apply Online
- Be sure to save your PIN number and password, so that you can work on the application over time.
- Take your time and follow instructions carefully! Once your application is submitted, you will no longer have access to add/change information or upload required supplemental material.
- As your application is reviewed, you will receive email notifications of your status.
- Your application status and decision will also be posted in your application account.
- Submit all six required application materials (listed below)
- You will only upload materials listed below into the “Additional Program Specific Uploads – Initial licensure program” section – please disregard all other sections requesting information
- Transcripts
- Submit official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions you have attended (except the University of Minnesota) to:
CEHD Student Services – ILP Admissions
360 Education Sciences Building
56 East River Road
Minneapolis, MN 55455 - If you completed coursework at a university outside of the United States, your transcripts must be evaluated by a professional credential evaluation center by requesting a “course-by-course” evaluation. This process can take 4-6 weeks, so please plan in advance. A suggested provider of this service is Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE). You can, however, use any provider that is an accredited member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).
- Submit official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions you have attended (except the University of Minnesota) to:
- Classroom Hours form (upload into the application system in the “classroom experience form” section.)
- Additional Related Experiences form (upload into the application system in the "additional related experiences form" section
- Three Admission Statements
- Each statement is to be uploaded into the application system separately under the “Additional Program Specific Uploads – Initial licensure program” section for “Question A”, “Question B”, and “Question C”.
- Two Letters of Recommendation
- These will be requested and submitted through the application system.
- These letters should address your education-related experiences, work style, and personal attributes.
- One letter must be from a 5-12 site supervisor listed on your Classroom Hours form.
- Application fee
- This fee is charged when you submit your application and is required for each application you submit.
- Fees must be paid online with a credit card.
Nonnative English speakers and/or international students
- Submit an official score report from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Register for the test and submit scores here: http://www.ets.org/toefl/.
- Exceptions may be granted for applicants who will have completed 16 semester or 24 quarter credits within the past 24 months in residence as a full-time student at an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States before entering the University of Minnesota.
- Minimum TOEFL score requirements are listed below:
| Internet-based test | 79-80 |
| Computer-based test | 213 |
| Paper-based test | 550 |
- Applicants may also be required to demonstrate spoken English proficiency in an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and/or oral interview with faculty or staff. Contact Student Services for more information.
- International applicants who will require an I-20 for a student visa must submit a Financial Certification Statement, which will be mailed to you upon admission to the program.
- Questions regarding the TOEFL should be directed to TOEFL Services, Inside the U.S. and Canada: 1-877-863-3546, Outside the U.S. and Canada: 1-609-771-7100
Timeline
December 15—Priority deadline for admission—All application materials must be submitted by this deadline to be given full consideration for admission.
Applications received or completed after this deadline will be reviewed on a space-available basis. We are unable to determine if space is available until after April 1.
February—Submit Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form for financial aid
February/March—Committee review of applications
Late March—Notification of decisions
May 1—Deadline for University of Minnesota application for summer financial aid (eligible if FAFSA has been submitted)
Mid-May—Orientation and summer registration
Early June—Summer term begins. To be eligible to start the program in June, the student’s official MTLE Basic Skills test scores must be submitted to Student Services by June 1.
Before you begin the program
Minnesota Teacher Licensure Exam
As of September 2010, the Minnesota Board of Teaching requires licensure applicants to pass the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Exams (MTLE). These tests are offered several times a year; students are responsible for registering for and taking MTLE tests by the required deadlines. The GRE is not required for our teacher licensure programs.
Students must pass the following tests to be recommended by CEHD for teaching licensure:
- MTLE Basic Skills Tests. Students must take this test before starting the licensure program. Official test scores must be submitted to Student Services before starting the program.
The following tests must be taken before licensure program completion:
- MTLE Content Area Test: Social Studies (Grades 5-12)
- MTLE Pedagogy Test: Secondary (Grades 5-12)
Find out more about the MTLE »
Criminal background check
Before starting student teaching or practica, students are subject to a criminal background check required by the college. The investigation is conducted by a private agency contracted by the college and is designed to meet school district guidelines governing adults with responsibility for children. Decisions about candidate placement will be made by the district approving the assignment. For background check details and fees, contact Bob Utke at CEHD, 612-625-1084, email: stuteach@umn.edu.
Completing the program
Career information for teachers (CEHD Career Services center)
Faculty and staff
Prospective Student Advisor
Jontue Austin
612-625-6266
Email: aust0088@umn.edu
Core faculty
Patricia Avery
professor
612-625-5802
Email: avery001@umn.edu
J.B. Mayo, Jr.
assistant professor
612-625-2534
Email: mayo@umn.edu
Other resources
Revised January 2011
