If you're a practicing teacher, licensed in middle grades mathematics, middle grades science, secondary mathematics, or secondary comprehensive science, and would like to pursue a master's degree, a new M.Ed. offered at Catawba College may be just right for you. Catawba's Department of Teacher Education is now accepting applications for its new Master of Education Program in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) that will launch during the spring semester of 2016.
This 33-semester-hour curriculum is a two-year cohort program that involves two-courses per semester, including summer. Taught by a strong faculty who are committed to the professional development of middle and high school science and math teachers, the program offers opportunities for individualized study and practical applications in the teacher's classroom.
Some Rowan-Salisbury School System (RSSS) teachers will be selected as full-tuition scholarship recipients, thanks to a gift made by local philanthropist Fred Stanback. Teachers in other districts are also welcomed into the program without the full-tuition scholarship component. The tuition for non-RSSS teachers is currently $180 per semester hour, plus a $25 per semester parking fee.
Applicants for the program must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher education with a grade point average of 3.0 or greater. Applicants must have passing PRAXIS/NTE scores and/or North Carolina licensure in math or science, but have no need to produce GRE or Miller Analogies scores.
When the collaborative program was announced in January of 2015, RSSS Superintendent Dr. Lynn Moody noted she anticipated it helping to build a strong leadership base within her district. Catawba President Brien Lewis called it "a carrot" that the local system could offer in its efforts to recruit new teachers, especially in light of North Carolina's elimination of a salary incentive for teachers holding master's degrees.
The graduate catalog and application is available online at www.catawba.edu/stem-med. For more information contact Dr. Rhonda Truitt, chair of the Department of Teacher Education at Catawba, at (704) 637-4468 or at rltruitt@catawba.edu or Mrs. Jane Snider, assistant to the Department of Teacher Education at Catawba at (704) 637-4461 or at jvsnider@catawba.edu. RSSS teachers may contact Dr. Julie Morrow at Julie.Morrow@rss.k12.nc.us.
