E-mail this pageLiteracy Education Master's Degree
If you already have a provisional or initial teaching certificate and want to specialize in literacy instruction, please read on.
Our newly-designed program allows teachers to work toward state certification in either Literacy Birth-Grade 6 or Literacy Grades 5-12. The program has been structured to be in alignment with the Standards for Reading Professionals adopted in Fall 2003 by the International Reading Association. In order to comply with New York State Education Department requirements, the program includes fifty hours of supervised practica at the range of grade levels our candidates seek for certification.
As you'll see in our sequence of courses, we have developed a program that has just the right mix of flexibility and specificity for today's professionals.
Our Literacy Education Master's Degree Allows You To
- Tailor Your Own Professional Development: Our candidates take a variety of electives throughout their program in order to pursue interests in such things as instructional technology, linguistics, and children's literature. These elective courses can also focus on areas of particular need, such as special education, classroom management, and subject-specific pedagogy.
- Specialize in Literacy: Required courses in literacy instruction build on the prior experience of our candidates. We concentrate on connecting theory with practice, encouraging practical applications to classroom settings. Our Tier II courses, offered each spring, allow candidates to perfect their administration of a range of assessment devices while offering tutorial experiences to children in our Literacy Education Center. Our program concludes with a five week long, intensive clinical experience during the summer as a one-on-one tutor under the direction of our talented faculty members. We facilitate professional cooperation and help our candidates develop useful networks of support and continued access to instructional resources.
- Study Full-time or Part-time: When applying for the program in either spring or fall, potential candidates have two choices. They may indicate their desire to pursue the degree on a full-time basis (generally twelve credit hours per semester). This allows people to graduate in August after twelve months of study. Other applicants indicate that they wish to take a few courses at a time, due to full-time teaching responsibilities in the schools where they work. This facilitates the real use of course assignments and allows our candidates to share their ongoing experiences.
- Study at Convenient Hours: Courses are offered in the afternoon and evening so that our candidates may work as substitute or full-time teachers during the regular school day. Some of our classes are offered in a web-based format through distance learning so that they can fit into many people's busy schedules.
- Learn from Experienced Faculty: We love teaching. Our faculty members have many years of experience across a wide range of grade levels. Please consult our departmental faculty webpage or our individual faculty websites for details. Contact us if you'd like more information.
Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.) Literacy
Birth-Grade 6 (Curriculum Code: 8021)
Grades 5-12 (Curriculum Code: 8022)
PLEASE NOTE: Revised programs are starting in the Fall of 2009. During the 2009-10 academic year, the Foundations, Specialization, and Clinical Experience courses will only be offered at the Main Campus in Plattsburgh.
Sequence of Courses (36-37 credit hours total)
(Please note that the revised programs are described in detail on this website. The programs will appear in the 2009-10 catalog when it is published. The former program (described in the 2008-09 catalog on pages 184-186) is being phased out. Graduate program information and policies on pages 162-171 of the 2008-09 catalog are still in effect. Explore the course descriptions for specific details. Consult the master schedule of particular semesters for more information because course days and times may change from year-to-year and because some courses may be available in a web-based, on-line format or at the SUNY Plattsburgh Branch Campus at the Adirondack Community College (ACC) in Queensbury.
Note: the 179kb graduate catalog PDF file and 595kb graduate policy information PDF file require the latest version of Acrobat Reader, which is available as a free download.
Foundations (9 credit hours)
Coursework in Foundations must be completed before Specialization coursework. Check prerequisites for each course.
- EDR504 Writing and the Teaching of Writing (3 credit hours, Fall and Spring Semesters)--prerequisite is matriculation into an M.S.Ed. Graduate Program
- EDR513 Literacy for Democratic and Global Societies (3 credit hours, Fall and Spring Semesters)--prerequisite is EDR318 or EDU335 or EDR501 OR matriculation into an M.S.Ed. Graduate Program
- EDR522 Advanced Study in Literacy Instruction (3 credit hours, including 10 hours of supervised practica, Fall and Spring Semesters)--prerequisite is EDR318 or EDU335 or EDR501 OR matriculation into an M.S.Ed. Graduate Program
Specialization (8 credit hours)
Coursework in Specialization must be completed before Clinical Experience coursework. Check prerequisites for each course.
- EDR509 Assessment of Reading and Writing Skills and Strategies (2 credit hours, Spring Semester)--prerequisites are matriculated Literacy Graduate Student AND EDR504, EDR513, and EDR522
One of the following courses must be taken concurrently with EDR 509 and must be matched to the certificate sought:
- EDR511 Literacy Education Birth-Grade 6 (3 credit hours, includes 10 hours of supervised practica, Spring Semester)--corequisite is EDR509 and prerequisites are matriculated Literacy Graduate Student AND EDR504, EDR513, and EDR522
- EDR512 Literacy Education Grades 5-12 (3 credit hours, includes 10 hours of supervised practica, Spring Semester)--corequisite is EDR509 and prerequisites are matriculated Literacy Graduate Student AND EDR504, EDR513, and EDR522
- EDR527 Becoming a Literacy Leader (3 credit hours, Spring Semester)--prerequisites are matriculated Literacy Graduate Student AND EDR504, EDR513, and EDR522
Enrichment (13 or 14 credit hours)
Coursework in Enrichment may be taken before, during, or after Foundations and Specialization coursework. Check prerequisites for each course.
- Children's Literature: Select one 3 credit hour course.
- EDR515 Exploring Children's Literature (3 credit hours, Fall, Spring, and Summer)
OR - EDR516 Reading, Literature, and the Young Adult (3 credit hours, Fall, Spring, and Summer)
- EDR515 Exploring Children's Literature (3 credit hours, Fall, Spring, and Summer)
- EDR514 Exploring Multicultural Competencies and Literacy Instruction (3 credit hours, Fall, Spring, and Summer) - prerequisites are matriculation into a B.A./M.S.T., M.S.T. or M.S.Ed. Graduate Program AND one of the following courses: EDR501 or EDR513 or EDR524 or EDR318 or EDR465.
- EDR585 Practitioner Research II: Conducting Research in Literacy Education (2 credit hours, Fall, Spring, and Summer)--prerequisites are matriculated Literacy Graduate Student or POI AND EDU475, EDU5180 or equivalent course.
- Electives: Select 5 or 6 credit hours. Courses are offered in the Fall, Spring, and Summer. Select graduate-level courses that will enhance your professional development. At least 2 credits must be in Literacy (EDR prefix). Recommended courses are:
- EDR502 Current Trends in Reading (topics vary)
- EDR517 Integrating Language Arts: A Collaborative Approach
- EDR524 Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas in Grades 7-12
- EDR540 Theory into Practice: Reading Instruction
- EDR543 Philosophy and Children's Literature
- EDR564 Creative Responses to Literature
- EDR570 Computers and Reading Instruction
- EDS543 Inclusive Schools and Communities
- EDU500 Education in Contemporary Society
- EDU5180 Practitioner Research in Education I: Planning Research
Clinical Experience (6 credit hours)
Twenty-seven (27) credits (including all of the Specialization coursework) must be completed prior to the Clnical Experience. Check prerequisites for each course.
- EDR560 Clinical Experience in Literacy Instruction (6 credit hours, including 30 hours of supervised practica, Summer only)--prerequisites are matriculated Literacy Graduate Student with at least 27 credits AND EDR509 and EDR527; EDR511 or EDR512.
This five-week, Monday-Thursday, course in clinical experience is offered in the Literacy Education Center on the Plattsburgh Campus. It may be taken in the afternoon (4:00-8:00 p.m.) during summer session "B" (June and part of July) or in the morning (8:00 a.m.-noon) during summer session "C" (July and part of August).
Culminating Experience
All candidates must complete a portfolio that receives a positive review from the graduate program faculty.
Planning Your Literacy Education Graduate Program
There are many ways to follow the sequence of courses listed above. You can choose from three possibilities--a one-year program, a one and 1/2 year program, and a two-year program--based on the current projection of course offerings.
Application Deadline: Interview Dates and General Information
The application deadline for matriculation in the Spring 2010 Semester is October 15, 2009. The application deadline for the Fall or Summer 2010 Semesters is February 15, 2010.
Applicants should be prepared to attend a required Interview Day from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in Sibley Hall, Room 308, on the Plattsburgh campus on Saturday, November 7, 2009 for the Spring 2010 Semester or Friday, March 12, 2010 for the Fall or Summer 2010 Semesters. Please reserve the appropriate Interview Day on your personal calendar. Additional information about the Interview Day will be communicated via e-mail to applicants. Candidates - please try to arrive ten to fifteen minutes earlier because we will begin promptly at 9 a.m.
Please note that some materials should be sent to Graduate Admissions (Kehoe 113) and some should be sent to the Department of Literacy Education (Sibley 302).
Application Forms and Instructions
Graduate application materials that need to be submitted to the Graduate Admissions Office (Kehoe 113) can be found at http://www.plattsburgh.edu/admissions/graduate/
Specific materials that applicants must submit directly to the Department of Literacy Education (Sibley 302) on or before the application deadline are the Literacy Questionnaire for Applicants and the "Literacy Application Artifact" with an attached written rationale. Here are the guidelines for the artifact:
Literacy Application Artifact
Please provide the admissions committee with an artifact that gives additional and unique information about you: for example, a video of you working with children; an artistic or creative product; a link and printed materials from a classroom Web site you have designed; a children's book you have written; or a scrapbook of experiences from Alternative Spring Break.
Admission Requirements for M.S.Ed. Literacy
- appropriate preparation at the baccalaureate;
- a completed application form with required supporting materials;
- evidence of a 2.75 undergraduate GPA on a 4.0 scale;
- three letters of recommendation (at least two must be from a professor or academic advisor if you are currently taking graduate courses or if you have taken undergraduate or graduate courses within the last three years) that address your ability to take part in a graduate program in education;
- a statement of purpose indicating why you want to enter this specific program;
- a resume indicating relevant teaching experience;
- a copy of your teaching certificate at the elementary and/or secondary level OR a written explanation indicating how all NYSED requirements (including NYSTCE exams) for such a certificate will be completed prior to matriculation into this M.S.Ed. program. Individuals must submit passing scores on the NYSTCE exams before matriculation into the program.;
- a completed Literacy Questionnaire for Applicants (sent directly to the Department of Literacy Education, Sibley Hall - guidelines are above);
- an artifact that gives additional and unique information about you and a written rationale for your selection (sent directly to the Department of Literacy Education, Sibley Hall - guidelines are above);
- attendance at an on-campus interview, if invited.
Contact Information
If you would like more information about Literacy Education Programs at SUNY Plattsburgh, please contact:
Aline Bobys, Ed.D.
Associate Professor, Teacher Education Unit
Program Leader, M.S.Ed. Literacy Programs
Office Location: Sibley 200A
Phone: (518) 564-5147
Fax: (518) 564-2149
E-mail: Aline.Bobys@plattsburgh.edu
Heidi Schnackenberg, Ed.D.
Associate Professor, Teacher Education Unit
Program Area Coordinator, M.S.Ed. Graduate Programs
Office Location: Sibley 309
Phone: (518) 564-5143
Fax: (518) 564-2149
E-mail: Heidi.Schnackenberg@plattsburgh.edu
Bethanne DelGaudio, M.A.
Director of Graduate Advising and Teacher Certification
Office Location: Sibley 302A
Phone: (518) 564-2124
Fax: (518) 564-2149
E-mail: bethanne.delgaudio@plattsburgh.edu
Jessica Chase
Secretary
Office: Sibley Hall 302
Phone: (518) 564-2125
E-mail: chaseja@plattsburgh.edu
Fax: (518) 564-2149