The concentration area of Elementary Education is designed to serve those elementary school teachers who wish to remain in the classroom as master teachers. Some Elementary Education graduates go on to become mentor teachers. The 30-hour program consists of 24 hours of core content and six (6) hours of electives from professional areas.

Admission to the Program

The applicant must meet the general admissions criteria for the Graduate School. In addition, the program in elementary education requires that all individuals majoring in elementary education hold a current Professional Certificate certifying eligibility to teach in the elementary school and middle school.

Objectives of the Elementary Education Program

The graduate elementary education student will:

1. Identify, develop, and demonstrate knowledge of instructional best practices in the field of elementary education.
2. Demonstrate and articulate an increased comprehension of the psychological foundations and their implications for education, as applied to current educational problems.
3. Demonstrate research knowledge and skills necessary to plan and complete a seminar paper as defined by Bowie State University.
4. Demonstrate competence in the management and use of information systems and computers.
5. Identify and assess programs, which have been shown to be effective in working with handicapped, high-risk, and other categories of diverse students.
6. Understand and apply state and national standards, as espoused by the Learned Societies, to all areas of the curriculum.
7. Understand and apply the five Core Propositions advocated by the National board of Professional Teaching Standards, throughout the curriculum.
8. Understand Best Practice in the area of performance assessment in all content area curricula.
9. Understand current brain research as it relates to teaching and learning.
10. Demonstrate high levels of the professional knowledge and dispositions that are embedded within the graduate program and that allow functioning as academic scholars and effective practitioners.

Degree Requirements

The requirements of the degree program include the completion of 30 credit hours, a written comprehensive examination, and a written seminar paper. The written comprehensive examination may not be taken before the student has completed a minimum of 24 credit hours. Before enrolling in the final course, EDUC 863 Seminar in Elementary Education, the student must have been advanced to candidacy and passed the written comprehensive examination.

Transfer credits

Up to twelve (12) credits may be transferred into the Master of Education program. The courses for which transfer is sought must have been completed with a grade of "B" or better and must be related to courses and degree requirements offered in the program. Courses accepted for transfer credit can only be viable for use to satisfy program requirements seven (7) years from the date of completion.

The program consists of the following eight (8) core courses:

Two (2) elective courses from the following

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