Educating Non-Native English Speakers

Charisse Cowan Pitre, PhD, Chair

Overview

The Master’s Degree in Educating Non-native English Speakers: Leadership, Research, and Professional Practice will provide a graduate degree for educators who serve non-native English speaking students in pre-K-12 settings. The degree emphasizes a sociocultural approach to the needs of English language learners, beginning with the understanding that the context of learners’ experiences and the cultures which shape them also significantly shape the ways in which they acquire and master academic and other language categories. The degree provides graduate students with the skills to provide second language acquisition support to pre-K-12, non-native English-speaking students, as well as to provide building-level, district, and regional leadership in shaping the educational systems that serve these students. The degree situates graduates’ preparation in the fields of Human Development (sociocultural/biological nature of development and learning) and applied linguistics (ESL/Bilingual Education/Literacy) in order to prepare informed, critical, and responsive educators and advocates for English language learners (ELL).

This degree is intended for working professionals and, because of this, courses are delivered in an online flexible format that provides students opportunities to attend synchronous sessions online and expand their learning through asynchronous weekly experiences. This program helps teachers earn both an endorsement to serve ELL students and the advance knowledge to support systems and to advocate for ELL students’ needs.

Admissions Requirements for Educating Non-Native English Speakers

Applicants are considered for enrollment every quarter. Admission is selective, and candidates are evaluated on their individual merits rather than on a comparative basis. Requirements include:

Application for Graduate Admission with non-refundable $55 application fee. (Application fee waived for SU alumni.)
Four-year equivalent bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university
Minimum GPA of 3.00 calculated from transcripts of all post-secondary educational institutions attended in the last 90 quarter/60 semester credits of the bachelor’s degree, including transfer credit earned during this time, and any post-baccalaureate course work. Applicants with less than a 3.00 GPA may apply but are required to submit by the application deadline official GRE or MAT scores
Basic teaching credential to teach in Washington State or a state that holds a reciprocal agreement with Washington State
Two recommendations from professional educators using College of Education forms
Professional Résumé
College of Education Self-Assessment form

Degree Requirements for Educating Non-Native English Speakers

A 3.00 cumulative GPA must be maintained to remain in the program and to graduate from the program
Satisfactory completion of a program portfolio and capstone action research project