M.A. with Teacher Certification

Elementary Education Specialization

The Master of Arts/Teacher Certification Program in Elementary Education is designed for individuals who have an Arts and Sciences undergraduate degree or the equivalent. The M.A./TCP is a fully accredited certification program which prepares teachers of children in grades 1-6. Note that certification requirements may be completed before the M.A. is completed.

Admission to this program requires that you submit an online application through the URI Graduate School.

The M.A. in Education is a minimum of 30 credits. M.A./TCP candidates can count approximately half of their courses completed in the TCP portion of the program in their M.A. program. Those courses are:

  • EDC 402: The Education of Special Needs Students (3 credits)
  • EDC 423: Teaching Comprehension and Response in the Elementary School (3 credits)
  • EDC 424: Teaching Literacy in the Primary Grades (3 credits)
  • EDC 502: Foundations of Curriculum/EDC 503: Education in Contemporary Society (3 credits)
  • EDC 512: Educational Psychology/Classroom Learning (3 credits)

The remaining credits in the M.A. program are:

  • 1 outside EDC course (3 credits)
  • 1 elementary methods course (3 credits)
  • EDC 529: Foundations of Educational Research (3 credits)
  • EDC 575: Supervised Field Study/Practicum and Seminar in Education (6 credits)

You will complete a Program of Study with your advisor in the first semester of the program. This will be the plan for completing your degree.

In accordance with the 2019 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, URI hereby discloses only that the curriculum for this program meets the educational requirements for licensure as an Elementary Educator in the states of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and Maryland. The applicable licensing board in these states may impose additional requirements on candidates prior to granting a license (e.g., passing of an exam; obtaining a certificate; performing additional clinical/practicum hours; etc.), and we encourage you to investigate those requirements with your licensing board. URI has not determined whether the curriculum for this program meets the educational requirements for licensure in any other states or territories and we encourage you to investigate the requirements in your state or territory.