Master's in Reading Education Requirements

Admission Requirements

For the M.S., teacher licensure at one of the following levels: early childhood, elementary, middle or secondary education.

1. The Reading Education program follows the School of Graduate Studies requirements for a cumulative undergraduate minimum grade point average of 2.75 or a junior/senior year minimum grade point average of 3.00.
2. Applicants must satisfy the School of Graduate Studies’ English Language Proficiency requirements as listed in the Graduate Academic Information section of the graduate catalog.
3. Transcripts, recommendations, and a personal statement, i.e., a response to three essay prompts, are part of the School of Graduate Studies and Reading Education application procedure.
4. The personal statement essay should be three pages in length and the prompts are:
   1. Describe your professional background, especially as it relates to teaching reading, writing and other areas of reading/language arts.
   2. What characteristics and strengths do you possess that make you a good candidate for this degree program?
   3. Discuss your professional goals.

Refer to the School of Graduate Studies Admissions and the Education Admissions Process sections of the graduate catalog for additional information on degree and application requirements and procedures.

Degree Requirements

1. Core Reading Education Courses: The courses in the major engage students in learning content about diverse readers, writers, and speakers; curriculum, methods of teaching and assessing; literacy theory and foundations; and professional perspective. T&L 583 Reading Clinic, one of the Core Requirements, involves students in a practicum experience in which they work with readers to apply their core knowledge about teaching literacy to diverse readers.
2. Core Instructional Coaching Courses: Students engage in and facilitate professional learning that is tied to ongoing work within a culture of continuous improvement and share collective responsibility for the professional growth of all adults and the success of every student.  Students are eligible to earn an Instructional Coaching Certificate with these courses.  
3. Scholarly Tools: This component of the program supports development of skills for scholarly inquiry and systematic study of one’s own practice; learning about scholarly inquiry is integrated throughout the coursework.

The credit hours for the M.S., Reading Education may consist of:

Accelerated Admissions for B.S. Elementary Education/M.S. in Reading Education

The Accelerated Bachelors/Master's (ABM) 4+1 program allows exceptional undergraduate students at UND an opportunity to complete the requirements for both the bachelors and master's degrees at an accelerated pace. All requirements for both degrees must be met, and these students may double count up to 12 graduate-level credits toward the requirements for both their bachelors and master's degree requirements. ABM students must obtain their master's degree within 12 months of completing the bachelors degree.

• Students may apply to this program upon completion of 60 credits toward the bachelor’s degree or with an Associate’s degree. Students interested in the accelerated program will follow the admissions process listed above.
• Students must have an overall G.P.A. of 3.00 or higher at the time of admission.
• Passing scores on Praxis I

Degree Requirements for Accelerated B.S. Elementary Education/M.S. in Reading Education:

Transferred or Prerequisite Courses: 

• Child Development or Developmental Psychology
• Human Geography or World Regional Geography
• US History 
• College Algebra 
• Math for Elementary Teachers
• North Dakota licensing requirements include knowledge and course content in the Physical, Life, Earth, and Space Sciences. Students who are missing any of these science requirements, can take T&L 474: STEM Concepts in the Elementary Classroom (3 credits) which covers all North Dakota teacher licensing requirements.

Additional Elementary Education Requirements:

• Passing PRAXIS I Core Academic Skills for Educator scores in the Praxis Series of tests in Math, Reading, and Writing. The exam should be taken before or while applying to the program as there are no pre-requisites for taking the test. 
• After being admitted to the 2+1 Accelerated Elementary Education (B.S.) and Reading Education (M.S.) Program, you will be required to purchase the Field Experience Module of LiveText, a web-based tool required for all teacher candidates (available at: https://www.livetext.com/misk5/c1/purchase) (Approximate cost $139)
• Completion of Successful Professional Disposition Reports (obtained while enrolled in an Introduction to Education course and in other field experiences throughout the program. 
• Take the Praxis II Specialty Area Tests in Elementary Education before student teaching. 
• Complete the application process for student teaching. 
• Student Teaching will have additional fees for supervision costs.
• Pass a FBI Criminal Background Investigation and fingerprinting test before being placed in a school.

Teacher Education Program Retention Policy: 

• Maintain a 3.0 GPA in all coursework
• Complete all field experiences with a score of “satisfactory” on all Professional Disposition Reports
• Receive a final grade of C or higher in all required coursework

Courses: