Graduate Education Programs
Draft Version
This is a DRAFT catalog for review and advising purposes. Items in this catalog draft are subject to change until the catalog for 2024-2025 academic year will be officially published on August 19th, 2024. The statements set forth in this catalog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as the basis of a contract between a student and this institution. Should changes in a program of study become necessary, those changes will be applied liberally by the institution while the catalog is in draft mode.
Professional Master Of Arts In Environmental Science Education
Sherri Morris,
Program coordinator
The PMA in Environmental Science Education is a professional master's degree for secondary and middle school (6-12) teachers who want to become teacher-leaders in middle-school/secondary level STEM education. Program objectives for the PMA in Environmental Science Education specify that the teachers will be able to gain knowledge and expertise in the following areas:
- increase the teachers' content knowledge in math, science, and engineering
- increase teachers' ability to use inquiry-based teaching of ENS in their classrooms
- improve the ENS achievement for all learners in the classrooms of the teachers
- help enrollees develop leadership skills to become teacher leaders
- teachers will understand the transdisciplinary and universal nature of environmental science.
Admission Requirements
Entrance requirements for the program include all held by Graduate Education. In addition, applicants must be a certified, secondary science teacher or a certified teacher who has completed at least 18 hours of course work in at least two different science content areas with a C or better and must pass a mathematics placement exam demonstrating proficiency in college-level algebra and precalculus skills. Regulations for the teachers to continue to be enrolled will be those established by Graduate Education and a requirement of continuous enrollment in the course of study as described at the time of admission. Other requirements to complete the program include those described by ISBE to satisfy the endorsements included in the program design. Students progress through the program as a cohort. A new cohort will begin no more than once per calendar year. Check with Graduate Education for the next cohort start date.
Degree Requirements
The program is comprised of 35 hours of graduate (600 level) courses to be completed in 36 months, the majority of which will be in environmental sciences, including related work in mathematics and technology, content, and in STEM education.
Sample Course Of Study
Spring I
MST 615: Introduction to the Interdisciplinary Nature of ENS - 3 hrs.
3 hours
Summer I
- MST 62x: Science through Inquiry II - 3 hrs.
- MST 661: Directed Research in ENS - 1 hr.
- MST 612: Introduction to Teacher Leadership - 1 hr.
- MST 63x-64x: first elective in Environmental Science Education - 2 hrs.*
7 hours
Fall I
MST 616: The Mathematics of Environmental Science - 3 hrs.
3 hours
Spring II
MST 665: Environmental Systems A - 2 hrs.
2 hours
Summer II
- MST 666: Environmental Systems B - 2 hrs.
- MST 650: Inquiry Based Curriculum Development and Analysis - 3 hrs.
- MST 662: Research in ENS - 2 hrs.
7 hours
Fall II
- MST 670: Action Research: Methods and Practice - 1 hr.
- MST 63x-64x: second elective in Environmental Science Education - 2 hrs.*
3 hours
Spring III
MST 681: Advanced Teacher Leadership - 2 hrs.
2 hours
Summer III
- MST 680: Nature of Inquiry and Innovation - 3 hrs.
- MST 63x-64x: third elective in Environmental Science Education - 2 hrs.*
5 hours
Summer/Fall III
- MST 685: STEM Education Project - 3 hrs. or
- MST 686: ENS Research Project - 3 hrs.
3–4 hours
*Electives options currently include: MST 635, MST 637, MST 640, and MST 641.