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.

Applicants may be admitted with specific program-defined course deficiencies provided that the deficiencies amount to no more than 6 credits.

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:

Select 12 credits in Curriculum and Instruction core areas
CURRINS 701Curriculum Planning and Ideologies3
CURRINS 705Research in Schools and Communities3
CURRINS 716Teaching in Urban & Diverse Communities1-4
CURRINS 714Analysis of Instruction to Improve Teaching and Learning3
or CURRINS 774 College Teaching
Select 12 to 15 credits in a focus area approved by the student’s major professor12-15
Select one of the following:3-6
Master's Seminar in Curriculum and Instruction (3 credits)
Master's Research or Thesis (3-6 credits)
Total Credits30

Reading Education Concentration

Qualifying Courses (15 cr)
CURRINS 543Developing Biliteracy3
CURRINS 545Reading in the Content Areas: Middle, Junior, and Senior High School3
CURRINS 643Balanced Literacy Instruction in the Elementary School1-3
CURRINS 646University of Wisconsin System Reading Research Symposium1-3
CURRINS 647Early Reading Empowerment: Part 13
CURRINS 648Early Reading Empowerment: Part 23
CURRINS 650Reading Interests of Adolescents3
CURRINS 655Applied Educational Linguistics3
CURRINS 700Field Work in Schools, Agencies and Institutions:2-6
CURRINS 747Reading Assessment and Instruction with Practicum: K-12 Part I3
CURRINS 748Reading Assessment and Instruction with Practicum, K-12: Part II3
CURRINS 799Independent Reading: (With appropriate faculty)1-3
CURRINS 846Seminar in Developmental Reading:3
EXCEDUC 600Survey of Exceptional Education3
EXCEDUC 715Issues and Trends in Exceptional Education3

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.