The Department of Teaching and Learning offers a graduate program of study in curriculum and instruction, including choices of concentration in three Focus Areas: Subject Area, Instructional Level Area and Cross-Curricular Area.
The Department also cooperates with the Department of Administrative Leadership in the Specialist Certificate Program with an emphasis in reading. Under the auspices of the PhD program in Urban Education, the Department offers doctoral specializations in Curriculum and Instruction and in Mathematics Education.
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
An applicant must meet Graduate School requirements to be considered for admission to the program. Applicants must also complete the reason statement in the application.
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university is required for admission.
Applicants may be admitted with specific program-defined course deficiencies provided that the deficiencies amount to no more than 6 credits.
A criminal background check is required for admission to any program leading to Department of Public Instruction licensure eligibility. The check is required within 6 months prior to admission.
The student is expected to satisfy deficiency requirements within three enrolled semesters. The deficiencies are monitored by the Graduate School and the individual graduate program unit. No course credits earned in making up deficiencies may be counted as program credits required for the degree.
Credits and Courses
The minimum degree requirement is 30 credits, including:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses | ||
| CURRINS 705 | Research in Schools and Communities | 3 |
| CURRINS 716 | Teaching in Urban & Diverse Communities | 1-4 |
| Electives: Select from the following, based on specialization: | 3 | |
| Curriculum Planning and Ideologies | ||
| Guiding Instructional Improvement | ||
| Qualitative Research and Field Studies in Educational Settings | ||
| UWM Writing Project: | ||
| Capstone: Select one of the following: | 3-6 | |
| UWM Writing Project: | ||
| Master's Seminar in Curriculum and Instruction (3 credits) | ||
| Master's Research or Thesis (3-6 credits) | ||
| Additional credits in a specialization approved by the student’s major professor for a total of 30 credits | ||
Specializations
- Cultures and Communities
- Early Childhood Education
- English Education: Creative Writing
- English Education: Literature and Cultural Theory
- English Education: Media, Cinema, and Digital Studies
- English Education: Rhetoric and Professional Writing
- Mathematics Education
- Mathematics Teacher Leadership
- Reading Education
- Science Education
- Urban Social Studies
Mathematics Education Concentration
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying Courses (minimum of 15 graduate credits) | ||
| CURRINS 500 | Workshop in Curriculum and Instruction: | 1-6 |
| CURRINS 520 | Developing Mathematical Thinking in Young Children | 3 |
| CURRINS 532 | Teaching of Mathematics: Secondary | 3 |
| CURRINS 560 | Improving Mathematics Teaching and Learning: | 1-3 |
| CURRINS 561 | Mathematics Learners in Special Education I | 3 |
| CURRINS 562 | Mathematics Learners in Special Education II | 3 |
| CURRINS 579 | Current Topics in Curriculum and Instruction: (with appropriate subtitle) | 1-3 |
| CURRINS 580 | Mathematics Education: | 1-3 |
| CURRINS 624 | Instructional Trajectories for Fraction Concepts and Operations | 3 |
| CURRINS 625 | Principles and Practices of Teaching Geometry and Geometric Thinking | 3 |
| CURRINS 626 | Principles and Practices of Teaching Algebraic Reasoning | 3 |
| CURRINS 629 | Change and Change Strategies in Education | 1-4 |
| CURRINS 720 | Curriculum and Standards for School Mathematics | 3 |
| CURRINS 730 | Mathematics in Elementary Education | 3 |
| CURRINS 731 | Mathematics in the Secondary School | 3 |
| CURRINS 761 | Mathematics Instructional Leadership | 3 |
| CURRINS 830 | Seminar in Elementary School Mathematics Education | 3 |
| CURRINS 861 | Seminar in Mathematics Urban Education | 3 |
| ED PSY 631 | Cognition: Learning, Problem Solving and Thinking | 3 |
| MATH 690 | Topics in Mathematics: | 3 |
Additional Requirements
Major Professor as Advisor
The student must have a major professor to advise and supervise the student’s studies as specified in Graduate School regulations. A student who is not assigned to an advisor at time of admission should immediately contact the department chair. Students who have not completed a Proposed Program of Study form with their advisor and filed it with the Department by the end of the semester in which they are admitted may not be allowed to register for the next term.
Certifications
Graduate students seeking initial teacher certification or added certification(s) can arrange their master’s degree program so that a portion of the credits earned towards the master’s degree can also serve as partial fulfillment of teacher certification requirements.
Curriculum and Instruction MS Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from the Curriculum and Instruction MS program will be able to:
- Identify, apply, and critique various theoretical frameworks related to 1) curriculum, 2) historical and socio-cultural factors impacting schools and communities, and 3) research paradigms used in teaching and learning settings.
- Recognize and engage with pedagogical content knowledge in their subject area, which involves culturally, racially, and linguistically responsive/sustaining design decisions related to assessment, instruction, and curriculum.
- Bridge theory to practice in education settings.
- Demonstrate culturally, racially, and linguistically responsive/sustaining practices in research, pedagogy and educational policy at the national, state, and local levels.