The Department of Instruction and Teacher Education is a dynamic, nurturing, collaborative learning community that supports the growth of aspiring and practicing educators.
The Department of Instruction and Teacher Education is committed to educating and conducting research related to all areas of teaching and learning. Our programs prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to become influential educators, leaders, researchers, advocates, and empowered change-agents in schools and communities. We offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral level programs, as well as endorsements and specializations for teacher education. Courses are delivered face-to-face, online, and in hybrid models. The flexibility of our programs enables students to work with and be mentored by faculty who are expects in their fields of study, and are engaged in research that impacts schools and communities. Classes are small and engaging.
The department of Instruction and Teacher Education offers three undergraduate, nine master’s level, and three doctoral degree programs:
The early childhood education program prepares students to work with children from birth through third grade. This program focuses on key strategies in teaching and learning, with an emphasis on issues of equity and social justice for young learners and their families.
The elementary education program offers integrated academic and embedded field-based experiences that provide the knowledge, skills, abilities, understandings, and dispositions needed for graduates to assume roles as professional educators of grades 2-6, and to enable them to emerge as leaders in the field of education.
The middle level program is designed for individuals who are interested in teaching young adolescents in grades 5-8. Through an educational experience that is developmentally responsive, challenging, empowering, and equitable, the middle level program prepares students to support the educational and developmental needs of young adolescent learners.
The Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education is designed for individuals with a bachelor’s degree who want to become elementary school teachers. The program is suitable for a wide range of people, from career changes who obtained a bachelor’s degree years ago to undergraduates seeking another option. If your goal is to become a teacher, we will help you to reach it. The program prepares you to teach students in grades 2-6.
The Language and Literacy M.Ed. is 100% online and prepares teachers to become specialized literacy professionals. The program focuses on research-based practices that help teachers meet the needs of the state's diverse learners. It is the only Master’s program in the state that offers courses needed for South Carolina add-on certifications for Literacy Teacher and Literacy Coach, and with one additional course, Literacy Specialist. Teachers will also have the option to gain add-on certification for ESOL.
Become a teacher and earn your master’s degree in as few as 15 months through the Career Changers Master of Teaching degree program. Whether you graduated with your bachelor’s degree years ago or are just finishing an undergraduate program, this degree can help you reach your goal.
This program is designed to offer both a master’s degree and certification to teach mathematics, English, science, and social studies in South Carolina high schools (grades 9-12). Students who complete the three-semester program learn research-based, innovative teaching practices to effectively reach all students.
The Master of Education in Teaching is a 100% online accelerated program. Designed to meet the needs of working people, the program provides opportunities for endorsements, career advancement and educational enrichment. The Multicultural Contexts in Education specialization promotes and encourages degree participants to learn and understand children and adolescents who come from different racial, ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds and experiences. Degree participants are prepared to work with the children, adolescents, families, and the school community to implement culturally relevant curriculum, instructional strategies, and thriving classroom contexts that reflect the students and communities they serve.
The Curriculum Studies Program offers the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in Educational Practice and Innovation which is informed by the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). The Curriculum Studies concentration is 100% online.
This degree is designed to assist scholarly practitioners develop an in-depth understanding of social justice in diverse communities, actively conduct research as educational leaders, and use equity pedagogies to address problems of practice in educational settings.
The STEM Program offers the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in Educational Practice and Innovation which is informed by the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). STEM concentration is 100% online.
The STEM Ed.D. is designed to prepare STEM education leaders across varying educational settings such as school, district, and state. The program is designed to support research-practitioners and focuses on investigating problems of practice in STEM education.
The Ph.D. in Language and Literacy prepares candidates to impact the existing knowledge base of literacy in scholarship, schools, and diverse communities of practice, and to take a proactive stance on addressing barriers to literacy equity and justice. Through coursework and hands-on experiences, candidates will work with dedicated faculty to develop their abilities to conduct research and expand capacities to study critical issues and needs. Graduates will be prepared to pursue faculty positions in higher education and specialized literacy professional positions.
The Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning program prepares educators to engage in transformative, high quality research, teaching and leadership at the university level. Emphasis on developing scholar activists who address issues of equity and the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. The program ensures that graduates are able to excel in teaching and learning in educational institutions, including universities, funding agencies, schools, districts, and departments of education.
This project is designed to strengthen the expertise and skills of South Carolina’s early childhood leaders, particularly people who work in settings that serve very young children and their families. This project, made possible by funding provided by the South Carolina Department of Social Services-Early Care and Education Division, leads to a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education.