Graduate Certificate in Curriculum and Instruction

The Curriculum and Instruction certificate program is designed for students with an interest in expanding their teaching or supervision skills, but who are not currently pursuing a Masters degree. Students complete the program with a total of 18 credit hours. The certificate program may be taken with a Literacy or Global Literacy concentration.

For more information, please email the program staff at curriculum@american.edu.

Admission to the Program

Applications must include transcripts of all college and graduate coursework, a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) in the last 60 credit hours of undergraduate work and in all graduate work, a statement of purpose, and two letters of recommendation.

Certificate Requirements

Grades lower than a B- are not accepted toward the fulfillment of certificate requirements in certificate program courses. Students must have at least a 3.0 GPA in certificate courses in order to be awarded a certificate. Students in certificate programs must take a minimum of 6 credit hours during each 12-month period and complete the certificate in four years. International students must enroll in 9 credit hours each semester (except for summer). A maximum of 6 credit hours earned at an accredited college or university may be applied toward the certificate as transfer credit.

Course Requirements

Program Tracks

Literacy Focus (18 credit hours)

The Literacy focus prepares practicing teachers to become literacy specialists by providing both a thorough grounding in theory, principles and practice of literacy education as well as a critical understanding of key contemporary issues in relation to the teaching and learning of literacy and language in schooling.

• EDU 619 (3 Credits) Children’s Literature: A Critical Literacy Approach
• EDU 622 (3 Credits) Language and Literacy Learning
• EDU 623 (3-6 Credits) Rotating Topics in Literacy Education
• EDU 644 (3 Credits) Language Development and Remediation
  or
  EDU 671 (3 Credits) Foundations of Reading: Diagnosis and Remediation
• 6 credit hours from the following:

  TESL 527 (3 Credits) Cultural Issues in the ESL/EFL Classroom
  ANTH 537 (3 Credits) Topics in Language and Culture
  SOCY 553 (3 Credits) Multiculturalism
  EDU 565 (3 Credits) Gender and Cultural Diversity in School
  ANTH 635 (3 Credits) Race, Gender and Social Justice
  ANTH 637 (3 Credits) Discourse, Narrative and Voice
  EDU 623 (3-6 Credits) Rotating Topics in Literacy Education
  EDU 644 (3 Credits) Language Development and Remediation
  EDU 647 (3 Credits) Global and Multicultural Education
  EDU 671 (3 Credits) Foundations of Reading: Diagnosis and Remediation

3 credits completed through distance education courses offered through the University of South Australia‘s International Masters Program in Language and Literacy Education.

Global Literacy Focus (18 credit hours)

We live in a world that is becoming increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse, reminding us, on a daily basis, of the interconnectedness and interdependence of our world. Given this new reality, teachers need to better understand the changing contexts within which education takes place. The Global Literacy focus provides practicing teachers an opportunity to incorporate global perspectives into their existing curricula and pedagogies. The program also offers them an opportunity to experience literacy teaching and learning in other countries.

• EDU 622 (3 Credits) Language and Literacy Learning
• EDU 623 (3 Credits) Topics in Literacy Education (e.g. multiliteracies and information communication technologies)
• EDU 624 (3 Credits) Language, Schooling, and Nation Building
• EDU 647 (3 Credits) Global Multicultural Education
  
• 6 credit hours from the following:
  
  SOCY 553 (3 Credits) Multiculturalism
  SIS 546 (3 Credits) Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Identity
  EDU 627 (3 Credits) Skills Institutes in Literacy Education:
  ANTH 635 (3 Credits) Race, Gender and Social Justice
  EDU 792 (3 Credits) Internship in Education