Education, M.A. ~ Degree Requirements

Semester Credits Required

Curriculum & Instruction Emphasis

Total credits: 32

Minimum credits at CSUMB: 26

Credits in the program: 32

You may transfer in up to eight credits, or two courses, taken prior to formal admission to the MAE program. These must be graduate-level courses taken at CSUMB (through extended education) or elsewhere, and should relate to the focus of the MAE program. Consult with your advisor and the MAE program coordinator regarding the selection and transfer of coursework.

Special Education Emphasis

Total credits: 30

Minimum credits at CSUMB: 30

Credits in the program: 30

You may apply six units of credit or two courses from your Preliminary Level I Education Specialist Credential and 12 units of credit or four courses from your Professional Level II Education Specialist Credential toward an MAE with Special Education Emphasis. For more information about our special education credential programs, please consult the teaching credentials section of the CSUMB Catalog or contact us.

Outcomes

MAE LO 1 ~ Students express a critical, questioning perspective (i.e. identify, describe, and analyze) about diverse theoretical paradigms with regard to teaching, learning, and school reform, including those generated by marginalized groups, which situate schooling in a larger historic and political context.

MAE LO 2 ~ Students search, navigate, and critically consume (read, analyze, and use) educational research.

MAE LO 3 ~ Students use, apply, design, and implement research to bring about change and make improvements in their own professional environment.

MAE LO 4 ~ Students demonstrate their knowledge of and ability to use the most appropriate culturally responsive practices that support complex and challenging learning.

MAE LO 5 ~ Students communicate with native speakers of a language other than English.

MAE LO 6 ~ Students use technology critically to access information, to communicate, and as a means of curricular and pedagogical support for higher-level thinking.

MAE LO 7 ~ Students communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing, particularly acting as effective advocates for children.

MAE LO 8 ~ Students work with communities of practice on behalf of social justice.

Courses and Assessment

Curriculum & Instruction Emphasis

You officially begin the program by enrolling in the MAE 600 ProSeminar , during which time you work with your advisor and the course instructor to create your Individual Learning Plan. That ILP maps out how you will achieve each of the Learning Outcomes designated above by successfully completing the courses or alternative assessment options listed below. You conclude the program by completing your Action Thesis, a publicly presented project that displays your cumulative learning. [Learn more at CSUMB.EDU/mae]

MAE LO 1 ~ Complete one of the following: MAE 600 ProSeminar ; MAE 641Paradigms of Assessment; MAE 644 Critical Social Foundations of Education

MAE LO 2 ~ Complete one of the following: MAE 600 ProSeminar; MAE 625 Professional Literature Review

MAE LO 3 ~ Complete: MAE 621 Qualitative & Quantitative Research Methods; MAE 622 Qualitative Research Methods

MAE LO 4 ~ Complete one of the following: MAE 636 Culture, Cognition, and Development; MAE 632 Arts as Culturally Responsive Curriculum; MAE 633Literature for a Partnership World; MAE 637 Multicultural Curriculum Design

MAE LO 5 ~ Demonstrate language proficiency at the fourth-semester college level by the end of the program. You can do this with transcripts showing four years of one language in high school; transcripts showing four semesters of one language in college; native language proficiency; completion certificates from intermediate-level HILT classes taken at Salinas Adult School or another site; a letter from a knowledgeable expert validating the fluent use of language in a work or educational setting; or an assessment from a college or university showing that you would be placed at the fifth-semester level or advanced level if you were to enroll in a language class.

MAE LO 6 ~ Complete one of the following: MAE 638 Technology as a Tool for Creativity in the Multicultural Classroom; MAE 625 Professional Literature Review

MAE LO 7 ~ Complete one of the following: MAE 637 Multicultural Curriculum Design; MAE 634 Literacy for Linguistically Diverse Children; MAE 642 Multicultural Community Partnerships

MAE LO 8 ~ Complete both of the following: MAE 670 Capstone; MAE 690 Action Thesis

Special Education Emphasis

You officially begin the program by enrolling in Level II Mild/Moderate coursework and/or MAE 600 ProSeminar where you work with the instructor to create your Individual Learning Plan. That ILP maps out how you will achieve each of the Learning Outcomes designated above by successfully completing the courses or alternative assessment options listed here. You conclude the program by completing your Capstone, a publicly presented project that displays your cumulative learning. [Learn more at CSUMB.EDU/capstone].

As the foundation for your master's work, you will complete three core courses: ProSeminar, a research methods course, and the Capstone Seminar. The core courses help you develop a theoretical and research base for successful teaching in pluralistic contexts and special education environments. In the research course, you initiate a research project. You complete it in the Capstone Seminar.

On top of the core, you must demonstrate competency in a second language through fourth-semester level. Coursework in a second language is available as needed, as is assistance in determining level of language competency. If you enter the program with the requisite second language proficiency, you are not required to complete additional coursework. You will also need to demonstrate basic technology competence; coursework is available as part of the program.

In addition to the three core courses there are four required Level II special education courses: Current and Ongoing Research, Policy, and Practice in Special Education; Advanced Assessment, Curriculum, & Instruction for Students with Learning Challenges; Advanced Behavioral, Emotional, & Environmental Supports for Students with Challenges; and Advanced Collaboration & Consultation. Two courses from the Preliminary Level I Credential may apply towards the MAE.

You begin conceptualizing your action thesis in ProSeminar and the research methods course, and continue to work on it while completing your special education coursework. You complete your thesis in the Capstone Seminar. You can explore thesis topics of program graduates on the CSUMB.EDU/mae website.