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DESCRIPTION OF THE M.A. ONLY

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.

Please note that there are currently two versions of the MA (Multicultural Option) program. One is for students who were officially admitted to the program before Fall of 2003. The "New" program is for students who were officially admitted during Fall of 2003 or later.

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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