Literacy & Language Education

Administration

Degrees and Certificate Offered

  • EdD in Developmental Studies with specialization in Literacy & Language Education
  • EdM, CAGS in Reading Education
  • EdM, CAGS in Developmental Studies with specialization in Literacy & Language Education

The Literacy & Language Education Specialization is designed for graduate students interested in research and practice in literacy and language in public and non-public education settings. The course of study addresses research and theory that informs the acquisition, development, and use of language and literacy in home, school, and community settings. Upper-level undergraduate students may elect graduate-level courses with the approval of their advisor and Literacy & Language Education faculty.

Courses Open to Undergraduates

  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Bilingual Students: Instruction and Assessment
  • SED ED 201 Tutoring Readers and Writers
  • SED ED 204 Children’s Literature
  • SED EM 523 Children’s and Adolescent Literature
  • SED LS 560 Introduction to Language and Language Acquisition
  • SED LS 565 Introduction to Language and Linguistics
  • SED LS 566 Language Acquisition

The School of Education offers two programs to support the preparation of teachers, administrators, and policy-makers interested in reading education, in particular, or more broadly, in literacy and language education.

Most of the students who enroll in the Literacy & Language Education specialization are interested in practice, research, or policy-making in public or private educational settings. Those who enter the program are diverse in background experience: some are licensed educators with experience in public-school settings; others hold undergraduate or graduate degrees in fields other than education and have had experiences in various educational settings, including private or community education settings or organizations such as Peace Corps and Teach for America. Many are international students whose experiences are in public- or private-school settings in their own countries.

Students who choose the specialization in Literacy & Language Education are also diverse in their primary area of interest, and in addition to those whose interest is literacy, the population of students also includes those with interests in TESOL, Bilingual Education, and Deaf Studies.

Through the specialization in Literacy & Language Education, students may earn a Master of Education, Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study, and Doctor of Education degree. Unlike the Reading Education Program, the Literacy & Language Education specialization does not offer students the opportunity to meet state licensure requirements.

Therefore, although there is substantial overlap with the Reading Education Program in the course of study, students in Literacy & Language Education are not required to complete the field experiences required to meet licensure requirements. For those who do not intend to become school-based practitioners, this is an important difference in the course of study. All programs may be completed on either a part-time or full-time basis.

The master’s degree program is designed for professionals who wish to study the theoretical and research knowledge that informs policy, practice, and research in both school-based and community settings. The program of 36 credits comprises study of literacy and language acquisition and development, including the study of bilingual and second language learning and at least one research course.

The Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) is designed for professionals who hold a master’s degree in education or a related field and who wish to increase their knowledge of research, theory, and practice in literacy and language. A program of 32 credits comprises study of literacy and language acquisition and at least one research course. A final project that affords the candidate the opportunity to apply research and theory to practice completes the course of study.

The doctoral program in Literacy & Language Education offers candidates the opportunity to develop specialized knowledge of literacy and language education while achieving an understanding of related disciplines. Doctoral students may specialize by discipline or domain (cognitive, literacy, linguistics, psychology), by population (age, grade, or stage of development), or by educational setting (preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school; college/university; workplace; community; clinic).

A program of 60 credits must be completed, and these include six courses from one of the two core areas (Literacy or Language Education), four courses in research, and one of the schoolwide courses in the intellectual history of education. The remaining credits will be earned through guided inquiry (independent study, dissertation advisement, and research apprenticeship) or electives. In addition, each doctoral student is required to complete successfully three qualifying tasks that are designed to give students experiences that will be critical to future academic and professional activities. Finally, each doctoral student proposes, conducts, reports, and defends an original research study (the dissertation). During the period of doctoral study, students must spend at least two consecutive semesters in full-time study (enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits during each of the two semesters); the remaining time of study can be completed on a part-time basis.

Please contact the office of the department to request further information on any one of these degree programs (617-353-4667).

Core Areas

Literacy Core

  • SED BI 535 Literacy Development for Second Language Learners: Instruction and Assessment
  • SED BI 621 Bilingualism and Biliteracy
  • SED BI 652 Reading and Writing in a Second Language: Development, Assessment, and Instruction (K-6)
  • SED LR 780 Processes of Reading
  • SED LR 782 History of Reading Research
  • SED LS 690 Contexts for Literacy: Oral and Written Discourse
  • SED LS 725 Discourse, Narrative, and Literacy
  • SED LS 790 Seminar in Literacy Assessment: Research/Theory/Practice
  • SED LS 792 Reading and Writing in the Content Areas
  • SED LS 902 Seminar in Early Literacy
  • SED LW 733 Teaching Writing in Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Schools
  • SED LW 781 Processes of  Writing

Language Core

  • SED LS 565 Introduction to Language and Linguistics (formerly SED LS 602) (prerequisite to higher-level language courses)
  • SED LS 566 Language Acquisition
  • SED LS 658 Second Language Acquisition
  • SED LS 750 Cognitive Development and Language
  • EdM/CAGS Research Requirement
  • SED RS 600 Perspectives on Inquiry

Subspecialization area (5 courses) These courses will be selected, in consultation with the advisor, from the core list, other courses in the department, or from appropriate courses in the School of Education and/or other schools and colleges of the University.

CAGS Final Project Students complete a final project in their area of subspecialization. Acceptable projects include curriculum materials, research papers, staff development plans, and video and multimedia presentations.

Please refer to the “Courses” section for a complete listing of courses.