Secondary Education with Initial Teacher Certification

Master’s Programs

Graduate opportunities

The Master of Education degree in Secondary Education at the University of North Texas is an innovative program that allows you to earn a master’s degree and teacher certification simultaneously.

You start working toward your degree in our Online Secondary Education Teacher Certification Program before eventually enrolling in more specialized master’s classes. Most students complete their program taking courses entirely online. However, certain certification areas and specializations may require courses offered only in a traditional classroom setting. Your course work in this program examines issues such as:

• Applying theory to the teaching practice
• Classroom discipline
• Curriculum development
• Public education
• Successful teaching practices

With experienced and informed instructors and a high-quality curriculum, we offer one of the finest teacher preparation programs in the Southwest. Overall, the College of Education is recognized as one of the top producers of teachers, administrators, counselors and other school professionals in Texas.

The College of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2010 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20036-1023; telephone 202- 466-7496). This distinction means we meet or exceed strict academic standards for excellence in educator preparation.

Attending UNT

Admission requirements

Documentation of at least 24 undergraduate credit hours in a Texas-approved teaching content field (12 must be upper level) must be provided and accepted by the program coordinator. A minimum 2.8 GPA in teaching field course work and admission to the graduate school, the program and the department are also required. You will be granted access to a subject area examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCET/TExES).

Application process

his program requires joint enrollment in and completion of our post-baccalaureate certification program. Admission to the certification and master’s programs may be sought concurrently and requires the following steps:

1)Apply for admission to the Toulouse Graduate School. Select the post-baccalaureate certification program as your major. This requires:

• Completed online application at www.applytexas.org
• Application fee
• Official transcripts
• Minimum 2.8 overall GPA on the undergraduate degree or at least 3.0 GPA on the last 60 hours of the undergraduate degree

2) Apply to the Online Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program. This requires:

• Completed pre-admission requirements form (available at www.coe.unt.edu/secondary-level-teacher-certification

3) Complete a second application at www.applytexas.org, selecting Master’s in Secondary Education as your major (No additional application fee is required.)

4) Submit GRE scores to the Toulouse Graduate School

5) Complete the program admission survey at re-admission requirements form available at www.coe.unt.edu/online-programs-secondary-level-teacher-certification/admission-requirements

If you have any questions, contact the program advisors at 940-565-3319.

Degree requirements

Master of Education

• 24 semester hours of core courses
• 12 semester hours of electives

Additional requirements

In order to meet the state requirements to teach reading at the secondary level, Language Arts and Reading candidates need to complete an additional 6 hours of reading course work. Texas public schools offer reading classes through 10th grade. English Language Arts and Reading students should complete 6 hours of reading course work within the 12-hour graduate elective block. These courses count toward the certification and master’s degree plan.

Financial assistance

Our department offers a limited number of teaching fellowships and assistantships to help you pay for your graduate education. These opportunities include working with professors on research grants and projects, serving as a teaching assistant, working with undergraduate students in advising and degree plans, teaching undergraduate classes, or supervising student teaching.

You may apply for these positions by submitting a letter of application and a current résumé to the department chair. The letter should address your strengths and interests. Information about other financial aid opportunities is at financialaid.unt.edu.