M.Ed. Vermont Program Highlights
The Union Institute & University Master of Education Program in Vermont, which allows educators to build studies around their own questions, interests, professional development goals and/or school initiatives, is aimed at teachers, administrators, and counselors, both for pre-service learners seeking licensure and for current practitioners seeking professional development. Our mission is to foster the development of educators who are leaders, inquirers, and reformers in their settings and who make a difference in schools and in the lives of their students.
The program offers areas of concentration in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership, School Counseling, Adult and Higher Education, and Issues in Education. We offer approved licensure programs in:
Art
Early childhood
Elementary
Middle Grades
Secondary English
Secondary Math
Secondary Science
Secondary Social Studies
Special Education
School counseling
Principal
Among our key emphases are:
- learner-designed and directed study
- problem-focused, interdisciplinary study
- critical inquiry into schools and education
- attention to diversity
- one-on-one relationship with faculty advisor
- site-based and university-based study
- integration of theory and practice
Learner-Centered/Individualized Programs of Study : Work closely with your faculty advisor to design individual studies that incorporate your own real interests and learning goals. Deal with problem-focused issues and questions that are important to you and the field. Your studies support your professional development and often lead to final products useful in your work.
Flexibility and Convenience : Attend brief residencies at the Montpelier Center, and plan your own schedule to balance study with family and work commitments. Earn your M.Ed. while studying part-time over a two-year period. Work with colleagues in your work and home as well as with advising group members and faculty, allowing you to draw on experience and to bring theory and practice together in meaningful ways.
Strong Emphases on Community, Dialogue, And Cultures of Inquiry: You will join educators from a variety of roles to examine the complex enterprise of education while working closely with students and faculty in residencies that are stimulating, intensive and supportive of your pursuit of your goals.
Attention to Diversity: Diversityof race, class, gender, ethnicity, and modes of knowing. In the M.Ed. program we honor each learner’s context, experience, and needs. The Program provides for critical examination of curriculum, pedagogy, and school organization as these aspects are embedded in a political, economic, and cultural context.
Prompt, Individual Attention at a Distance: Benefit from the guidance and mentorship of a faculty advisor and the support of our dedicated staff. You will enjoy access to a variety of on-line research databases and reference assistance making it easy to plan and execute your individualized studies.
Brief On-Campus Residencies: Aware of the many and ever increasing demands placed on educators and the pressures on schools, we intend through this program, instead of adding to the list of demands, to support educators in planning and carrying out a Master’s program that is of real and lasting value in their work. The Program, which is a half-time, two-year program, includes:
three six-credit terms each year (summer, fall, and spring)
a two-week summer residency in July
a one-week winter residency in February
At the residencies, students and faculty come together from around the country to share ideas and questions; participate in seminars, workshops and advising groups; and plan their studies. Following the residency, students return home to pursue their individually designed study and to submit to their faculty advisor three packets of work, which may include reviews of titles read, longer academic papers on particular topics, log entries regarding action research, videotapes of classroom interaction, and/or other agreed upon documentation of the students’ learning and progress. The advisor responds with feedback, questions, and ideas for further exploration.
Students may transfer 6 graduate credits which are related specifically to their area of concentration and in which they have earned a grade of B or better.
For additional information on our Master of Education Program, request a program brochure from our Admissions Office at 888-828-8575 or admissions@tui.edu .