MEd and Teaching License, English Education
Our accelerated program will prepare you to step into your classroom with confidence and solid classroom experience. You will complete all of the required coursework and teaching hours for licensure in just 12 months. The license to teach in Minnesota is highly transferable to other states and our candidates are sought after by local school districts.
This is a post-baccalaureate (graduate-level), full-time program. You will earn your master’s of education while teaching in your own classroom, post-licensure.
100%
English Education graduates found teaching jobs within a year of graduation (2021-22 cohort)
Mission
Our program prepares future middle and high school English teachers to support adolescent learners while exploring the personal and political nature of reading, communication, language, and literacies. Instructors use critical literacy as a catalyst for examining how educational experiences are shaped by race, language, culture, identity, and codes of power. We educate teachers to reflect on these issues with students through literature, writing, discussions, and digital literacies. We cultivate relationships with diverse schools, teachers, and learners committed to engaging communities, enacting social justice, transforming learning experiences, and creating joy.
Timeline
The initial teaching licensure coursework is offered in a full-time, 12-month, graduate-level format integrating educational theory with classroom practice. Courses start in the summer and finish the following summer. Students earning their MEd along with their teaching license can complete 9 additional credits after finishing the licensure part of the program, while teaching in their own classroom. Evening, online, and summer courses are available to complete the MEd coursework after licensure. You have up to three years to complete the required 9 credits to earn your Master of Education.
Program details
Student experience
Our unique co-teaching program and cohort experience will help you gain the confidence you need to start in your own classroom with plenty of support. Learn more about the student teaching experience .
Program coursework
To look at the core curriculum and electives for the program, visit the University course catalog Teaching MEd page and scroll down to see the English Education sub-plan.
Admission, tuition, and scholarship information
See admissions deadlines, prerequisites, application requirements, and program costs.
Masters of education
This program includes two components: initial licensure to be an English teacher in Minnesota and a master of education (MEd) degree. The Department of Curriculum and Instruction offers our teacher preparation programs at the graduate level because it affords you the opportunity to master your content knowledge through your undergraduate degree before being placed in a real classroom for an optimal learning experience.
Combining an MEd with your teaching license offers the following advantages:
- Teachers with a master's degree are regarded as experts in their field, making you a more competitive job candidate with an MEd
- Teachers who have a master's degree will see a roughly $7,000 annual salary increase [Teacher.org]
- Though the salary increase with a master's degree will vary by district and state, Minnesota teachers are on the higher end of the payscale. The annual mean Minnesota teacher salaries were $64,790 for middle school teachers and $64,960 for high school teachers in 2019 [Bureau of Labor Statistics].
- Once a teacher is employed, there is much more mobility that comes with a master's degree. Teachers with advanced degrees can be promoted to school administration positions and can become mentors to other teachers based upon their graduate training.
Related programs for undergraduates
Teacher Scholars of Color program
Do you identify, or are you identified, as a non-majority racial group? Consider participating in the Teacher Scholars of Color program. Students admitted to the MEd and initial teaching license programs have the opportunity to join a community of prospective teachers of color and get paired with a faculty mentor. International students are also welcome to this program. Find out more about the TSoC program.
What our students have to say
I was surprised at the wide variety of subjects we studied as part of the program. We learned about pedagogy, educational theory, child psychology with an educational lens, how to teach literature, reading, and so much more! So much goes into being an educator, and faculty at the U of M understand that.
Madeleine Wolfe, MEd 2020
English teacher at
Mounds Park Academy
St. Paul