Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language
- The MA-TESL Program combines a solid theoretical grounding in TESL theory with teaching experience.
- Students complete a Practicum in which they observe an experienced teacher at the beginning of the course and then teach one or more classes on their own.
- Students prepare themselves for the job market by writing résumés, job application letters, and statements of teaching philosophy in TESL.
- Students also complete a Portfolio course, which focuses on developing presentations for academic conferences.
- The program can be completed by most students in 1.5-2 years.
- Most courses are offered in the evening so that they are convenient for working students; some courses are offered online as well.
- Program graduates work in private and public schools at the K-12 level, in private language academies and intensive language programs, for nonprofit organizations, and in colleges and universities both in the United States and overseas. Some graduates work as administrators of Federal Grant Programs and as faculty in MA-TESL Programs.
- International students benefit from the large community of UCO internationals and from the support provided to them including the BELL Tutoring Center, where they can receive assistance with their English free of charge.
- Financial aid and teaching assistantships are available.
Courses You'll Take
Students pursuing this degree will complete a total of 33 hours: six hours of language courses, 12 hours of pedagogy courses, three hours of research, nine hours of electives and three hours of capstone. Required courses include Linguistics, TESL Grammar, Practicum in TESL, Resting/Eval in the Bilingual/ESL Classroom, Second Language Acquisition, Teaching English as a Second Language, Foundations of Educational Research and TESL Portfolio.
Requirements for Admission
- Online application for admission.
- Official copies of undergraduate and graduate transcripts from each institution attended with all degrees posted. All transcripts must be from accredited institutions. Transcripts must show:
- A minimum of 3.0 undergraduate GPA (overall) or 3.0 undergraduate GPA (last 60 hours completed); and 15 hours of undergraduate English with a 3.0 GPA.
- Students may gain conditional admission by achieving a score of 150 (verbal) and 4.5 (analytical writing) on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
- Students with a native language other than English must submit evidence of English language proficiency.
