Master of Arts in Education


The School of Education’s faculty believe that professional practice must be guided by inquiry and reflection in order to yield understanding and action that promote positive educational change. We believe that committed educators should value and incorporate systematic inquiry and reflection into their practice using these skills to help them act as agents of change within their professional community. Within the M.A. program, therefore, we believe that it is important to prepare candidates to engage in educational research with the idea that they will, as professionals, be practitioner researchers and educational leaders. Reflection and inquiry are embedded in all graduate programs in the School of Education, but are perhaps most evident in the M.A. degree program. The Master of Arts is a research-based program with concentrations in research and evaluation, elementary education, and secondary education.

The M.A. program requires at least thirty-six (36) credit hours of graduate-level coursework. Eighteen (18) credit hours are selected from the education core in addition to nine (9) credit hours in one of the concentration areas and nine (9) credit hours of elective credit (in or out of department).

Required Courses Credit Hours
Core Courses 18 
Concentration Courses 9 
Elective Courses*  9 
   
Total Hours Required  36 


*Consists of electives either in or out of the School of Education.

Concentration in Research and Evaluation

The specialization in Research and Evaluation is a thesis- driven program designed to prepare graduates for entry level positions in educational research and evaluation or to pursue doctoral study. By the end of the first semester, the student should select a research area and a thesis advisor who will supervise the research and the remainder of the student's course work in conjunction with the Graduate Program Advisor. By the end of the second semester and in collaboration with the thesis advisor, the student should identify a three-member thesis committee. Two members must be from the School of Education with the thesis advisor as the committee chair; the third member must be from outside the School of Education. An expert from outside the university may be used with the approval of the Graduate School. In carrying out the thesis project, the student must complete a minimum of three and maximum of six hours of thesis credit. On completion of the research, the student will write a thesis that conforms to the Graduate School's recommended procedures. With the advisor's approval, a draft of the thesis will be forwarded to the other members of the thesis committee for examination and review. After the thesis has been reviewed and judged ready for defense by the advisor and by the other members of the thesis committee, the student must pass an oral thesis examination. The oral examination is comprehensive, covering the student's entire graduate program and emphasizing the research work and content of the thesis. All thesis and oral examination requirements must be scheduled and completed to meet Graduate School deadlines. The concentration in research and evaluation does not lead to teacher certification.

Concentrations in Teacher Certification

The concentrations in elementary or secondary education allow students to pursue Oklahoma certification as part of their M.A. degree program or allow certified teachers to enhance their expertise in and knowledge of professional education. The elementary and secondary education concentrations are both field and research-based. While students concentrating in these areas are non-thesis, all students do complete a research project. The research project consists of a series of research-related coursework that includes the preparation of an approved research proposal and a final research paper reporting on original empirical research conducted in the final year of the program. Students seeking certification in these concentrations are also required to pass the Oklahoma General Education Test (OGET) and be formally admitted to the School of Education’s Teacher Education Program by the end of their first semester of study.

The M.A. degree program with concentrations in elementary or secondary education requires a minimum of 36 credits of graduate-level coursework, but additional coursework may be required to qualify for the Oklahoma teaching certificate. Those seeking elementary teacher certification concurrently with the M.A. may have to complete additional coursework depending on their completed undergraduate or graduate coursework. Those students seeking secondary teacher certification must have completed a baccalaureate degree in a field approved for certification by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Courses counting concurrently toward both the M.A. degree program and Oklahoma teacher certification requirements are selected from an approved list and are designed to enhance the teacher’s expertise as well as fulfill the state requirements for certification. Specialized undergraduate courses leading to teacher certification may be taken for graduate credit in some instances. These 6000-level courses are listed at the end of this section under the heading "Approved Undergraduate Courses."