A student enrolled in any of the Education Department’s undergraduate programs may apply for admission to the Accelerated Master’s program for the following areas of study: Reading Education. The student should review specific graduate admissions criteria. An undergraduate education student interested in the Accelerated M.S. program should make application to the Accelerated M.S. program during the spring semester of their junior year. An Accelerated Education student is provisionally accepted. The condition of acceptance is passage of Praxis II. An Accelerated Education student may not take a graduate level course until he/she has passed Praxis II. The student must pass all Praxis Series tests required for the initial certificate prior to student teaching in the senior year. Failure to pass Praxis II prior to the start of the senior year will negate the provisional acceptance into the accelerated program. This will permit the student to student teach during the spring semester of the senior year.
Depending on when an Accelerated Education student passes Praxis II, he/she may register for a maximum of 12 hours of graduate coursework while still classified as an undergraduate student. Generally, an undergraduate student may register for one graduate level course each semester. With the recommendation of the graduate program director, an accelerated student may register for two graduate level courses in a single semester. An accelerated student may not register for a graduate level course the semester that he/she is student teaching. Often, an accelerated education major will student teach in the fall semester of the senior year and take two graduate courses (six graduate credits) during the spring semester of the senior year. However, if the student teaching takes place during the spring, the graduate courses can be taken in the fall semester. The six graduate credits taken as an undergraduate will contribute toward both the B.S. and M.S. degrees. The student will need to have Act 34, Act 151, the FBI fingerprint clearances, and a valid, TB test result.
An Accelerated Education student will not be regularly admitted to an Education graduate program of study if he/she does not provide evidence of a valid teaching certificate or provide evidence that an application has been submitted documenting that all certificate requirements for another area have been met..
A student pursuing a non-education undergraduate major that could lead to PDE certification may apply for admission to the Accelerated M.S. in Secondary Education program. The student should review specific graduate admissions criteria and contact his/her advisor to receive a list of undergraduate courses required for PDE certification. The student should make application to the Accelerated M.S. program during the spring semester of their junior year. A non-education major accepted into the Accelerated M.S. program will take two graduate courses (six graduate credits) during the senior year. The six graduate credits taken as an undergraduate will contribute toward both the B.S. and M.S. degrees. To be eligible to receive the M.S. degree, a non-education undergraduate major accepted into the Accelerated M.S. program must meet all undergraduate requirements for initial certification; and must pass all Praxis Series tests required for initial certification. The student will need to have Act 34, Act 151, the FBI fingerprint clearances, and a valid TB test results.