Elementary Education, M.S.

Carlson Hall
Telephone: (203) 576-4764

This degree program provides advanced study in content and content pedagogy for persons interested in careers in education, and/or certification in the State of Connecticut to teach on the elementary, or secondary levels.

Intern Program

Carlson Hall
Telephone: (203) 576-4219

The Graduate School of Education provides an internship option for the following students: (1) those seeking a Master’s degree or 6th Year Certificate of Advanced Studies and teacher certification; (2) those already certified and seeking a Master’s degree or Sixth Year Certificate of Advanced Studies, or (3) those seeking a Master’s degree only for work in nonpublic American schools, schools in another country, or in other educational settings. This internship is designed to integrate field experience with graduate course work. During the internship students earn thirty-three tuition remission credits.

Master’s Degree Program

Master of Science in Elementary and Secondary Education

(Connecticut Teacher Certification)

This program provides educators with the opportunities for in-depth study of subject content, techniques and materials appropriate to contemporary classrooms within a structured framework of field concentration and professional development. Emphasis is placed on selected areas of concentration in content and content pedagogy and professional course work for the development of individual clinical competencies.

Individuals seeking Connecticut certification must take courses required for their license in a Master’s Planned Program of Study. This program consists of foundation courses, subject content courses, professional courses, field experiences, and residency teaching.

The following certification tracks are available: Elementary content area courses; Secondary and Middle Level Academic Subjects: Biology, Physics, General Science, Chemistry, Earth Science, English, Mathematics, History and Social Studies, Business Education, and Music (K-12).

Teacher Preparation Programs

Candidates who seek certification to teach in Connecticut must follow a Planned Program of Study that results in a Master’s Degree and a recommendation by the State Certification Officer at the University for an Initial Educator Certificate in the State of Connecticut.

Admissions into the Master’s Degree (Certification Track Programs)

Students seeking certification must apply to the program of their choice and must meet the following requirements PRIOR to admission into a Certification Track Program in Elementary, Secondary Academic Subjects, or Music:

1. A Bachelor’s Degree in a subject area major (not professional education) from a regionally accredited institution with thirty-nine credits in general education, including course work in English, Mathematics, Natural Science, Social Studies, and World Language or Fine Arts (Grades below a C are NOT accepted for this category).
2. Undergraduate GPA of at least a B-.  (B Minus)
3. A well-written essay, at least 350 words, describing the candidate’s reasons for enrolling in the program and experience relevant to teaching and demonstrating the appropriate dispositions for becoming a teacher.
4. One letter of recommendation from a person able to testify to the candidate’s suitability as a prospective teacher and potential for graduate-level work.

Candidates seeking admission to the certification-track programs are expected to possess basic technology proficiencies, such as word processing, sending and receiving email messages, using the Internet, and the University’s web based platforms.

All candidates for Connecticut State Certification must meet the following additional requirements prior to recommendation for certification:

1. Completion of all required Planned Program course work
2. Completion of all General Education (undergraduate requirements)
3. PRAXIS II examinations, as well as any additional - state mandated assessments for specific certification areas
4. Demonstration of all state-required program competencies
5. Demonstration of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions for teaching in the program area, including successful completion of all performance assessments specific to the certification program.

Program Goals

The Teacher Preparation Program Goals coincide with the six domain goals of the Connecticut Common Core of Teaching and the national States’ Common Core of Teaching. The Teacher Preparation program at the University of Bridgeport seeks to develop teachers who can accomplish all of the following:

• Understand and apply essential skills, central concepts, and tools of inquiry in their subject matter or field;
• Promote student engagement, independence, and interdependence in learning by facilitating a positive learning community;
• Plan and Implement instruction in order to engage students in rigorous and relevant learning and to promote their curiosity;
• Use multiple measures to analyze student performance and to inform subsequent planning and instruction;
• Maximize support for student learning by developing and demonstrating professionalism, collaboration with others, and leadership.

Learning Outcomes

Candidates will be prepared to: 

1. Plan lessons and units according to State and National standards. 

2. Exhibit appropriate content knowledge of mathematics, reading and language arts, social studies and science evidenced by a passing score on the Praxis II Examination for elementary school education (grades 1 - 6). 

3. Demonstrate foundational and developmental understanding of literacy as evidenced by a passing score on the Connecticut Foundations of Reading Assessment (CT 190). 

4. Utilize high leverage teaching practices in planning for, instructing, and assessing students from diverse backgrounds as evidenced by successful completion of the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) 

7. Differentiate instruction and assessment for students with learning differences.