The department offers the following master's degrees:

• Master of Arts (M.A.) in Reading (requires master's thesis)
• Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Reading (requires professional paper or 3-hour seminar in literacy research)

Certification and Specialized Training Programs

The department offers coursework leading to certification or specialized training:

• Master's in Reading: MA, MEd
• Reading Recovery teacher training
• Master Reading Teacher
• Master of Arts in Teaching - The Department of Reading offers content area courses for the Master of Arts in Teaching
• Reading courses for initial teaching certification (post-baccalaureate students)

These certificates may be developed along with most master's and doctoral degrees in the department (subject to department and graduate school approval).

Admission Requirements for Master's Students

Graduate admission requirements for Texas Woman's University are available from TWU's Office of Admissions.

At the master's level,  the Department of Reading requires:

• Completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
• 3.0 GPA
• Students must also provide certification of proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking English for unconditional admission to all master's degree programs. This proficiency must be certified to the advisor within the period of the first 12 semester hours, or its equivalent, of course work taken at TWU toward the degree.

The overall goals of the master's degree in reading:

• Incorporate new reading specialist competencies
• Build Master Reading Teacher courses into reading specialist plans
• Provide options for students to focus on areas of interest

All coursework in the master’s degree is aligned with the Department of Reading’s learning goals as well as the International Reading Association and Texas standards for literacy professionals.

• Figure showing department, state and IRA standards
• Coursework alignment with Department of Reading Learning Goals
• Coursework alignment with Texas Literacy Standards for Literacy Professionals
• Coursework alignment with International Reading Association Standards for Literacy Professionals

The coursework includes:

Core Reading Requirements (21 hours)
READ 5423 Literacy Development: EC-Grade 12
READ 5443 Literacy Assessment and Instruction
READ 5453 Processes and Strategies for Comprehending Texts
READ 5463 Practicum in Literacy: Analysis of Teaching and Mentoring
READ 5503 Phonological and Orthographic Language Systems in Literacy Learning
READ 5513 Literacy and the Diverse Learner
READ 5493 Research in Literacy: Responsive Action in Schools (fall)

Children's Literature (3 hours)
LS 5603 Juvenile Literature

Focus Area (9 hours; courses must have advisor's approval)
Possible focus areas include:
Early Literacy Early Childhood
Adolescent/Secondary Literacy ESL/Bilingual
Literacy Leadership Library Science

Research (3-6 hours)
Choose one of the following after consulting your advisor:

For MEd: (3 hours in 1 semester)
                READ 5973 Professional paper OR
                READ 5963 Seminar in Literacy Research

For MA: Thesis (6 hours; must be taken in 2 different semesters)
                READ 5983 Thesis AND
                READ 5993 Thesis

Total for MEd: 36 semester hours Total for MA: 39 semester hours

Students who successfully complete the master's degree have the option to apply for an All-Level Reading Specialist Certificate. Prerequisites for certificate include:

• Provisional elementary, secondary, or all-level certificate
• Three years full-time classroom teaching experience in accredited schools
• Completed master's degree
• Successful (passing) completion of Reading Specialist TExES

Students who successfully complete the All-Level Reading Specialist TExES exam can apply for Master Reading Teacher Certification without taking an additional TExES test.

Master Reading Teacher Certificate

Prerequisites for certificate:

• Provisional elementary, secondary, or all-level certificate
• Three years full-time classroom teaching experience in accredited schools
• Successful (passing) completion of Master Reading Teacher exam

Courses (or equivalent) required:

READ 5423   Literacy: Practice to Theory OR
READ 5533   Foundations of Early Literacy
 
READ 5443   Literacy Assessment and Instruction OR
READ 5473   Early Detection in Reading ( Reading Recovery Teachers)
 
READ 5523   Supervision in the Teaching of Reading OR
READ 6663   Practicum (Reading Recovery teacher leaders)
 
READ 5503  Phonological/Orthographic Language Systems in Literacy Learning
 
READ 5513   Reading for Diverse Learners

Total: 15 semester hours

Print a planning sheet for the degree plan:

• Master Reading Teacher
• Master's Degree in Reading

Initial Teaching Certification

The Department of Reading offers master's level course work as part of the requirements for initial certification at the post-baccalaureate level. The principal objective of these courses is to prepare teachers to be excellent teachers of literacy through practicing effective teaching strategies and understanding theories of literacy development.

Information about initial certification at the post-baccalaureate level can be found at the Student Support Office in Stoddard Hall 211 or call (940) 898-2829.  Admission requirements for the Teacher Education Program are available from the Department of Teacher Education (940) 898-2271.