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Curriculum and Instruction

Master's Degree Program

Graduate opportunities

Tomorrow's campus and district leaders are being developed today in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration at the University of North Texas.

The Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction enhances your knowledge and expertise by combining theoretical perspectives and research-based practices with multiple opportunities for field-based projects and action research. This helps you make strategic decisions about effective practices in a private or public school setting.

Our comprehensive curriculum allows you to select a resource area from a wide range of areas related to Curriculum and Instruction. Among the areas are:

  • Bilingual education -- For those who want to become leaders and gain knowledge in educating students learning in English and in Spanish. Some courses may lead to supplemental certification in Bilingual Education. Contact your specialization advisor for more information.
  • Diversity -- For those who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse nature of education and how diversity affects curriculum and instruction.
  • Early Childhood Education -- For those who'd like to facilitate culturally rich curricula in early childhood classroom learning environments.
  • Educational Leadership -- For those who desire more knowledge about educational leadership and wish to assume various leadership roles. Additional course work in educational leadership can lead to principal certification. Check with your specialization advisor for more information. All courses for this specialization are available online.
  • ESL Education -- For those who want to become leaders and gain knowledge in the education of English language learners. Some courses may lead to supplemental certification in bilingual education. Please contact your specialization advisor for more information. All courses for this specialization are available online.
  • Literacy Education -- For those seeking a deeper understanding of reading, language and literacy education in diverse contexts. Some courses may lead to a supplemental certification as a Master Reading Teacher. Please contact your specialization advisor for more information.
  • Mathematics Education -- For those who'd like to become leaders and gain knowledge in the mathematics education. Additionally, it's possible to customize an area of specialization to your professional needs.

Exceptional faculty support

Our faculty members have many years of experience in their fields. Their professional contributions range from writing curriculum guides and textbooks to writing intensive training grants for teachers and school evaluation projects. Their research interests include:

  • Children's literature
  • Curriculum theory, politics and policy
  • Global literacy
  • Language minority students and bilingual/ESL instruction
  • Learning technologies
  • Research-based instructional methods and practices
  • Social studies education
  • STEM education
  • Teaching-learning theories and culturally responsive instruction

Outstanding student services

UNT provides a wide variety of services exclusively to graduate students. The Graduate Student Writing Support office can help you with writing, and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research offers assistance with statistical research.

The Toulouse Graduate School® offers several professional development workshops, with many of them being available online for your convenience.

Attending UNT

Admission requirements

The program is dedicated to serving all state- certified teachers and other qualified applicants from around the nation. Professionals in fields other than education will also be considered.

You must meet the graduate school's admission requirements and a specific set of department requirements when applying to the master's program. For graduate school requirements, visit the UNT catalog website or our website.

The department's requirements are:

  • Admission to the graduate school as a degree-seeking candidate with a major in Curriculum and Instruction
  • Valid Texas teacher certification or the equivalent
  • Three- to four-page essay on your personal philosophy of teaching with concrete examples of that philosophy applied to your own teaching practices
  • Letter of intent for pursuing a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction
  • Curriculum vitae or résumé

Required documents can be mailed to the department or emailed to the Department of Teacher Education and Administration.

Degree requirements

  • 12 credit hours of Curriculum and Instruction core courses
  • 12 credit hours in a specialization
  • 6 credit hours of electives
  • Final comprehensive exam

Financial assistance

A limited number of teaching fellowships and assistantships are available to help you pursue your graduate degree. These opportunities include working with professors on research grants and projects or as a teaching assistant advising undergraduate students, teaching undergraduate classes and supervising student teaching.

You may apply for these positions by submitting an application and a current résumé to the department chair. The letter should address particular strengths and interests.

More information about financial assistance is available at the financial aid website, our website or the college of education website.