The program provides a course of study leading to the master of arts degree with a major in Teaching English to Speakers of Other languages (TESOL). The MA-TESOL program at the University of Nevada, Reno is housed in the Department of Educational Specialties in the College of Education. The program is designed for both native and non-native speakers of English who wish to teach ESL or EFL. The degree prepares the candidates for employment as teachers, program directors, curriculum consultants, or materials developers. Candidates for this degree will do course work in second language acquisition theories, TESOL methods and materials, linguistics, bilingualism, and multicultural education. Courses are offered through the Department of Educational Specialties with other courses offered in the English Department.

An application and advisement manual is available for download (PDF).

The MATESOL program is designed to meet the needs of practicing as well as prospective teachers new to this field. For master's candidates with a state of Nevada teaching license, the MATESOL program will provide the courses needed for a professional ESL endorsement. The master's program is offered on a non-thesis basis only. A culminating experience is required for completion of the degree. Options for the culminating experience vary based on the student's program of study.

In order to teach ESL in the public school system in Nevada (K-12), students must have a Nevada teaching license in elementary education, secondary education, or special education. Students may pursue a teaching license concurrently with the MATESOL program. Participation in the teacher licensure program requires separate admission to the College of Education Teacher Education program and involves additional course work and one semester of full-time student teaching; thus, lengthening the amount of time required to complete both the master's degree in TESOL and a Nevada teaching license.

Those interested in Teaching English Abroad, please see the web site created by MA-TESOL students on this topic.

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DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The program requires a minimum of 39 credits. A minimum of 15 credits must be taken at the 700 level. One additional credit through enrollment in EDS 795 is required by the university for completion of the comprehensive exams. Candidates must pass comprehensive written and oral examinations or other approved qualifying criteria before being awarded the degree. A maximum of nine graduate credits may be transferred to UNR from other accredited institutions.

Additional program requirements include:

(1) Candidates who have not taken upper division courses in English syntax and introduction to linguistics, are required to take ENGL 612A* and ENGL 611B*, which can be counted toward the 39 credits.

(2) Candidates unable to document a full year of full time ESL/EFL classroom teaching experience must take EDS 789, the ESL Practicum;

(3) Candidates must maintain a GPA of 3.0 to remain in the program

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Program of Study

Departmental Core Courses (9 credit hours)

EDUC 680 Multicultural Concerns in Education
EDUC 770 Master's Seminar in Educational Specialties [to be taken in the first year]
EDUC 751 Research Applications in Educational Specialties

Required TESOL Courses (15 credit hours)

EDRL 671 Second Language Acquisition
EDRL 672 ESL Instruction in the Elementary School OR
EDRL 673 TESOL Instruction for Adolescents and Adults
EDRL 681 Sociopolitical contexts of bilingualis
EDRL 735 Language Assessment
EDRL 738 ESL Practicum

Electives (15 credits or more)

Highly Recomented Electives

EDRL 736 Curriculum Development in Sec. Language Education
EDRL 737 Critical Issues in Second Language Literacy
EDUC 771 Special Topics in Educational Specialties
EDRL 647 Literacy, Diversity, and Schools
ENGL 611B Principles of Modern Grammar (required if not taken in undergraduate program)
ENGL 612A Linguistics (required if not taken in undergraduate program)

Other Electives

ENGL 614A History of the English Language
ENGL 612A Applied Linguistics
ENGL 613B Historical Linguistics
ENGL 713 Problems in Language
ENGL 740 Issues in ESL/EFL
ENGL 750 Special Topics in ESL
CTL 746 Secondary School Curriculum
CTL 775 Seminar in Curriculum Studies
EL 700 Basic Principles of. Educational Administration
EL 702 School Leadership & Decision-making
EL 703 Administration & Curriculum Improvement
CEP 613 Computers & Telecommunications in Education
CEP 758 Multimedia Presentations & Tech. in Education
SPCM 612 Intercultural Communication
SPA 723 Language Theory (pre-requisite: ENGL 611)

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