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Curriculum & Instruction

MA Program in Curriculum & Instruction

The program is structured around three components: Educational Content Area, Emphasis Area, Research Methodology, and requires 36 credits. Students must have completed licensure for teaching in the State of New Mexico, or the equivalent.

Students must meet with an advisor and complete a Program of Study within the first semester of attendance.

Educational Core Content:

EDLD 625 Educational Leadership & the Principalship OR GNED 645 Socio-Cultural Factors Affecting Education (3 cr.)
GNED 615 Instructional Strategies & Mentoring (3 cr.)
GNED 641 Advanced Educational Psychology (3 cr.)
GNED 663 Principals of Curriculum & Instruction (3 cr.)

NO SUBSTITUTIONS ARE ALLOWED FOR EDUCATIONAL CORE

Emphasis Area:

Students must complete at least 12 hours in Emphasis Area. Courses for Emphasis Area must be discussed with, and approved by, program advisor. See below for information regarding selecting Emphasis Areas.

Research Methodology:

GNED 605 Statistics for Education (3 cr.); must be taken prior to GNED 610.
GNED 610 Educational Research Interpretation (3 cr.)

Additional Courses for students not taking Comprehensive Exam (see below).

GNED 697 Field Project (1-6 cr.) OR
GNED 699 Thesis (1-6 cr.)

Completion Options:

Comprehensive exam

Requires additional coursework in RDED for a total of 18 credits.
Written Exam: candidate’s committee will provide four questions and the candidate will have 8 hours to write answers.
Upon passing the Written Exam, the candidate will prepare and deliver an original presentation (after consultation with advisor) during Oral Exam.

Field project

Answers a practice-oriented question through thorough examination of current relevant scholarly research, and original class- or school-based research designed and carried out by MA candidate.
Five-chapter format. Length: approximately 50 pages (not including references).
Upon acceptance of the Field Project, the candidate will prepare and deliver an original presentation on her/his research during Oral Exam.

Thesis

Answers a theoretical question through thorough examination of current relevant scholarly research.
Five-chapter format. Length: approximately 50 pages (not including references).
Upon acceptance of the Thesis, the candidate will prepare and deliver an original presentation on her/his research during Oral Exam.

Students are responsible for downloading and reading the Graduate Student Handbook.

Emphasis Areas

Students select an emphasis area in consultation with their education advisor and advisors for the field(s) of study selected. Emphasis area options within the School of Education are available in technology teacher education, reading, early childhood multicultural education, and bilingual education.

Other emphasis area options are available in many of the university’s content fields outside the School of Education. Specifically, emphasis-area options may be formulated from programs which offer 500- and/or 600- level courses in many disciplines, including: art, music, Spanish, English, philosophy, history, political science, business, human performance and sport, anthropology, sociology, psychology, computer science, mathematics, life science (in biology and environmental science), chemistry, geology, and physics.

Students considering a particular are of emphasis must contact the advisor for that area of interest. In formulating plans for the emphasis area, students and advisors must consider various limitations:

the frequency of offering of the necessary 500- and 600- level courses, both during the fall and spring semesters and in the summer session (the selection may be especially limited for students who rely totally or principally on classes scheduled in evenings and/or summers);
any requirements from the New Mexico Public Education Department;
having the preparation to undertake advanced studies in the field; and
for students whose undergraduate degrees are from Highlands, the availability of appropriate 500-level courses that were not taken already at the 400-level.

Sample Emphasis Area Courses--students should consult with their advisors prior to registering for classes.

Reading Education (RDED)
RDED 516 Teaching Reading and the Language Arts in the Bilingual Classroom (3 cr.)
RDED 526 Reading & Children’s & Young Adult Literature (3 cr.)
RDED 527 Reading in the Content Area (3 cr.)
RDED 535 Selected Topics (3 cr.)--subject to advisor permission.
RDED 616 Psycholinguistics and Reading (3 cr.)
RDED 618 Diagnosis & Remedial Reading I (3 cr.)
RDED 623 Evaluating Reading Materials & Designing Reading Programs (3 cr.)
RDED 634 Practicum (1-6 cr.)--subject to advisor permission.
RDED 650 Seminar in Reading (3 cr.)
RDED 690 Independent Study (1-4 cr.)--subject to advisor permission.
RDED 692 Independent Research (1-4 cr.)--subject to advisor permission.