MASTERS DEGREES

1. DESCRIPTIONS OF MASTERS DEGREES

OVERVIEW

The M.A. (Multicultural Option) and CLAD certificate combination is a viable alternative for teachers wishing to complete both an academic degree and state certificate simultaneously.  All 12 units required for the CLAD certificate may be applied towards the master’s degree.  Therefore, by taking 18 additional units (6 classes beyond the CLAD units, it is possible to complete both the M.A. and CLAD.  (Translation: You get “Two for the price of one!) The master’s degree prepares educators to be leaders in the field.  It usually has financial benefits associated with it as well.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

A total of 30 units (10 courses) are required to complete a master’s degree and CLAD simultaneously.   See "MA Only " degree requirements below.  For the MA and CLAD, students will need to take GED/MUL 505 and GED/MUL 508 as course electives.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long does it take to complete the M.A. and CLAD combination?

The majority of individuals enrolled in this degree program are currently employed teachers.  To accommodate their working schedules, classes meet once a week from 4 P.M. to 6: 45 P.M. or from 7 P.M. to 9:45 P.M.  Most students enroll in two classes each semester, thereby taking approximately two years to complete their M.A. and CLAD.  The university offers fall, spring and three six-week summer sessions.  MUL 520, MUL 525 and other courses are generally offered during the summer months.  See course schedule for course offerings.

You may obtain updated information regarding summer session course offerings on the Blackboard Multicultural website.

What are the advantages of obtaining an M.A. and CLAD combination from CSUDH?

The answer to this question is simple.  You get “two for the price of one.” That is, while earning an academic degree, you can also earn a CLAD state certificate.  We tend to cover the state-required CLAD information in greater depth than a test preparation course.  This ultimately provides students with greater expertise in the field, and leadership potential.  Over 90 % of our students pursue this combination. 

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OVERVIEW

The M.A. (Multicultural Option) degree allows for the student to develop expertise in multiculturalism, allowing him/her to specialize in an area of his/her choice.  This can be accomplished by carefully selecting courses and topics of term papers or projects.  Most students coming directly from the Teacher Education department will enroll in this program. 

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Former MA (Multicultural Option) Program

(For students who were admitted to the program before Fall of 2004)

A total of 30 units (10 courses) are required for this M.A. degree.

            1.  Course work

             5 Required Courses (15 units):

            GED 500-Research Methods in Education (3)

            GED 501- Seminar in Learning and Development (3)

            GED 503-Socio-Cultural Issues in Education (3)

            MUL 520-The Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (3)

            MUL 525-Bilingual-Multicultural Teaching Methods (3)

            3 Additional courses  (9 units) selected from the following:

GED/MUL 505-Asessment of Second Language Learners (3)

            GED/MUL 508-Language Acquisition in an Urban Setting  (3)

            MUL 521-Seminar in Mexican-American and Hispanic Education (3)

            MUL 522-Teaching Reading and Literacy in Spanish (3)

            MUL 420-Education of the Mexican American and Hispanic Student (3)

            MUL 590-Multicultural Field Study (3)

            Students may select electives from the "new" program as well:

MUL 511        Cultural Diversity in America (3)

MUL 533        Action Research for Urban Educators (3)

MUL 544        Urban Materials Design & Development (3)

GED 599- Thesis (3,3) (Thesis students only.  3 units are taken each semester for 2 semesters. )           

2.  Exit Requirement - Students may satisfy this requirement in one of two ways:           through a comprehensive examination or a thesis. Most of our students opt for the comprehensive examination.  These students generally enroll in our capstone course, GED 508/MUL 591 during their last semester in the program. Thesis students must enroll in GED 521 and 6 units of GED 599.

3.      A passing grade on the GWE (Graduate Writing Examination).

New MA (Multicultural Option) Program

(For students who were admitted after Fall of 2004)

A. Common Core Requirements (9 Units):

GED 500         Research Methods in Education (3)

GED 501         Seminar in Learning and Development (3)

GED 503         Socio-Cultural Issues in Education (3)

B. Required Courses (6 units):

MUL 520        Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (3)

MUL 525        Bilingual-Multicultural Teaching Methods (3)

C. Select 2 courses from the following (6):

MUL 505        Assessment of Second Language Learners (3)

MUL 508        Language Acquisition in an Urban Setting (3)     

MUL 511        Cultural Diversity in America (3)

MUL 521        Seminar in Mexican-American and Hispanic Education (3)

MUL 533        Action Research for Urban Educators (3)

MUL 544        Urban Materials Design and Development (3)            

D. Electives (9 Units):

Select 9 units from Education and other CSUDH graduate level course work with the approval of an advisor.

E. Culminating Experience (0 to 6 Units)

MUL 599 Thesis (3-6 units)          

MUL 591 Advanced Multicultural Studies (3)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long does it take to complete the M.A. Only?

The majority of individuals enrolled in this degree program are currently employed teachers.  To accommodate their working schedules, classes are held once a week from 4 P.M. to 6: 45 P.M. or from 7 P.M. to 9:45 P.M.  Most students enroll in two classes each semester, thereby taking approximately two years to complete their M.A. and CLAD degree/certificate.  In addition to fall and spring semesters, the university also offers three 6-week summer sessions.  MUL 520 and MUL 525 are generally offered during the summer months in addition to other courses in our program.

You may obtain updated information regarding Summer course offerings by checking the BLACKBOARD website. You will learn more about this after you have been accepted to our program.

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