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:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 12 credits in Curriculum and Instruction core areas | ||
| CURRINS 701 | Curriculum Planning and Ideologies | 3 |
| CURRINS 705 | Research in Schools and Communities | 3 |
| CURRINS 716 | Teaching in Urban & Diverse Communities | 1-4 |
| CURRINS 714 | Analysis of Instruction to Improve Teaching and Learning | 3 |
| or CURRINS 774 | College Teaching | |
| Select 12 to 15 credits in a focus area approved by the student’s major professor | 12-15 | |
| 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 Credits | 30 | |
Reading Education Concentration
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying Courses (15 cr) | ||
| CURRINS 543 | Developing Biliteracy | 3 |
| CURRINS 545 | Reading in the Content Areas: Middle, Junior, and Senior High School | 3 |
| CURRINS 643 | Balanced Literacy Instruction in the Elementary School | 1-3 |
| CURRINS 646 | University of Wisconsin System Reading Research Symposium | 1-3 |
| CURRINS 647 | Early Reading Empowerment: Part 1 | 3 |
| CURRINS 648 | Early Reading Empowerment: Part 2 | 3 |
| CURRINS 650 | Reading Interests of Adolescents | 3 |
| CURRINS 655 | Applied Educational Linguistics | 3 |
| CURRINS 700 | Field Work in Schools, Agencies and Institutions: | 2-6 |
| CURRINS 747 | Reading Assessment and Instruction with Practicum: K-12 Part I | 3 |
| CURRINS 748 | Reading Assessment and Instruction with Practicum, K-12: Part II | 3 |
| CURRINS 799 | Independent Reading: (With appropriate faculty) | 1-3 |
| CURRINS 846 | Seminar in Developmental Reading: | 3 |
| EXCEDUC 600 | Survey of Exceptional Education | 3 |
| EXCEDUC 715 | Issues and Trends in Exceptional Education | 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.