This certificate provides individual teachers with the knowledge, skills, and research tools to make evidence-based claims as to their effectiveness in the classroom. The set of five, 3-credit graduate courses prepares professionals with the knowledge base needed to engage in data-driven, action research that draws from the use of formative, benchmark, and summative assessments and leads to effective upgrades in instruction. Certificate completers will be positioned to become school and district leaders having an integrated set of instruction, assessment, and research skills needed to advance student achievement levels in their respective disciplines.
Certificates of Advanced Study in Teaching and Learning may be earned in the following areas:
- Science
- Mathematics
- Reading
- Social Studies
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- English
- Literary Studies
- Adolescent Literature
- Children’s Literature
- Writing
- Second Language Acquisition
Admission Requirements
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
Admission
Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree with an undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or a graduate degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Applicants must also complete the reason statement in the application.
Application
- Students wishing to obtain this certificate must declare their intention by applying to the program office or director.
- All graduate certificate applicants—even those already enrolled in a UWM graduate program—must apply to the Graduate School.
- Graduate degree and previously admitted graduate non-degree students who decide to pursue a certificate program must submit the application before completing 6 credits in the certificate sequence.
- Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree and have a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average to be admitted into a certificate program.
Credits and Courses
Five required, 3-credit, graduate-level courses. Total credits: 15.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Course I | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Curriculum Planning and Ideologies | ||
A curriculum elective in the disciplinary focus area | ||
| Course II | ||
| Select one graduate-level elective in the student’s disciplinary focus area | 3 | |
| Course III | ||
| Select one of the following discipline-specific advanced methods courses: | 3 | |
| Curriculum for Early Adolescents | ||
| Advanced Problems in the Teaching of Social Studies | ||
| Advanced Problems in Science Education | ||
| Mathematics in Elementary Education | ||
| Mathematics in the Secondary School | ||
| Advanced Problems in the Teaching of Foreign Languages | ||
| Advanced Reading Education | ||
| Language Arts in the Elementary School | ||
| Teaching Language and Composition | ||
| Teaching Literature | ||
Other courses as approved by the certificate program committee | ||
| Course IV | ||
| CURRINS/ED PSY 725 | Improving Teaching and Learning with Classroom-Based Assessments | 3 |
| Course V — Capstone | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Research in Schools and Communities | ||
A capstone elective in the disciplinary focus area | ||
| Total Credits | 15 | |
Additional Requirements
Transfer Credit
No more than 20% of the required credits may be taken at an institution other than UWM. Transfer credits will be considered only if the applicant can provide ample, acceptable evidence that the course taken is substantially the same as one of the first three courses that constitute the certificate program. These courses are subject to Graduate School transfer policy and must be approved by the director of the certificate program.
Grade Point Average Requirement
A minimum cumulative 3.00 grade point average in certificate courses taken at UWM is required.
Articulation with Degree Programs
- Credits and courses required for a certificate may double count toward meeting UWM graduate degree requirements subject to the following restrictions:
- Degree programs must approve the courses from certificates that can double count toward the degree.
- All credits taken in completion of certificate requirements may count towards a UWM graduate degree as long as they do not contribute more than 90% of the total credits needed to obtain the degree. (Note: Students in PhD programs must still complete the minimum residency requirements)
- Certificate courses used toward meeting degree requirements must be completed within the time limit for transfer credit.
- Courses completed for a degree may be counted toward a subsequent certificate, subject to all certificate policy requirements.
- A course may count toward no more than one certificate and one degree.
- Students may not earn a certificate subsequent to a concentration in the same area.
Time Limit
Certificate program time limits shall be established as follows:
- 18 or fewer credits/Three years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
- 19 or more credits/Four years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
For certificates that are designed as add-ons to degree programs and are awarded concurrent with the degree, the time limit shall be the same as that of the degree program.