Social Studies Graduate Program |
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Admissions Requirements
MA Degree Criteria
Certification
Program Coordinator
Welcome to the master’s in teaching social studies program. Our program leads pre-service and in-service teachers to a master’s degree and New York state certification in teaching social studies, grades 7-12. You can view admissions requirements, program requirements, and certification requirements on this site. Applications are accepted twice a year. We look forward to working with you.
Application deadlines: November 1 and April 1.
Admissions Requirements
Applicants must have:
• A bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university grade point average of 3.0 in the undergraduate major and a cumulative grade point average of 2.7 in undergraduate work. If conditionally accepted, must earn 3.0 in courses designated by the program coordinator.
• Bachelor’s degree must be in history or any of the social sciences
• Students must have at least one undergraduate course in the following areas: Lehman undergraduates can satisfy these requirements prior to admission in the Master’s program by choosing courses for their distribution requirements in the areas listed.
- Anthropology
- Sociology
- Geography
- Political science
- Economics
- Psychology
- Two history survey courses, one in U.S. history and one in European or world history
• Candidates must schedule an interview with the Social Studies program coordinator that includes a transcript review
• If conditionally accepted, make up deficiencies by the end of the third consecutive semester of matriculation
• Two letters of recommendation
• 500 word application essay on interest in the program as it relates to long term interest in teaching.
MA Degree Criteria
During the first semester of matriculation, students must meet with a graduate coordinator in Social Studies to plan their graduate program. To be eligible for the Master of Arts degree in Teaching Social Studies, students must complete the following while maintaining a 3.0 GPA:
(1) A total of 9 graduate credits (or equivalent) in Core Education sequence:
• ESC 501 (3 credits) Psychological Foundations of Education (including 25 hrs field observation)
• ESC 502 (3) Historical Foundations of Education: A Multicultural Perspective (including 25 hrs community observations)
• ESC 529 (3) Language, Literacy and Educational Technology (including 25 hrs observation)
(2) A total of 9 credits in the Social Studies sequence: Candidates must have submitted to the program coordinator and course instructor scores for the LAST and ATS-W examinations prior to enrolling in ESC 533: Teaching World History in Middle and High School or ESC 534: Teaching U.S. History and Government. Students must also begin preparations to take the New York State Content Specialty Test (CST) at this time. Candidates must obtain a B or better in Methods Courses to be eligible for Student Teaching/Internship.
• ESC 533 (3) Teaching World History in Middle and High School (including 25 hrs of social studies classroom observations)
• ESC 534 (3) Teaching U.S. History and Government
• ESC 708 (3) Curriculum studies seminar
(3) ESC 595 (3) Internship in Classroom Teaching (if teaching) OR ESC 596 (6) Student Teaching in Middle and High School (1 fulltime semester supervised student teaching)
(4) A total of 15 graduate credits in history [Not required for Advanced Certificate]. Students are required to take HIU 534 (U.S. History) and HIW 533 (World History) courses. The remaining 9 credits will be chosen in consultation with the advisor so that the 15 credits reflect a balance between U.S., European and world history.
(5) For New York State certification, students must have 21 credits in history. The 15 credits of graduate credits combined with a minimum of 6 undergraduate credits in history will satisfy this requirement.
(6) Other courses may be taken, if approved by the program coordinator. For certification, additional hours of classroom observations will depend on how many combined undergraduate/graduate pre-student teaching fieldwork hours are needed to meet the State Education Department requirement of 100 hours.
(7) Successfully complete a culminating portfolio. This will be done in ESC 708, taken as one of the students’ final courses.
(8) Complete all prerequisites or conditions for admission and matriculation
(9) Complete 36-39 credits for the M.A. degree program
(10) Complete all degree requirements, including educational core courses and any additional requirements including pedagogical, content area and/or distribution courses with a GPA of 3.0 or better
Certification
IF SEEKING New York State Certification students must complete the following additional requirements:
1) Pass the LAST (Liberal Arts & Sciences Test), ATS-W (Assessment of Teaching Skills-Performance), CST(Content Specialty Test).
2) Meet the core liberal arts requirements including 3 credits in college level math and 3 credits in college level foreign language.
3) Have fingerprints cleared by the state’s education department.
4) Successfully complete a Child Abuse course.
Mrs. Ruth Jordan is the Certification Officer at Lehman College, CUNY. Her office is in Carman B33 and her phone number is (718) 960-8401.
She will assist candidates with application for Initial Certification (to be issued at the completion of your degree studies) and Internship Certificate (to be issued at the completion of half of the MA degree coursework should you receive a job offer in NYS prior to completing the master’s). There are many other requirements associated with these applications. Please make an appointment to speak with Mrs. Jordan as soon as you enroll in the program to have your transcripts evaluated.
Program Coordinator
Jessica Shiller , Program Coordinator
Department of Middle & High School Education
Lehman College, CUNY
250 Bedford Park Blvd. West
Bronx, NY 10468
Phone: 718.960.1174
Fax: 718-960-7272
E-mail: jessica.shiller@lehman.cuny.edu