Social Icons

 

Admissions: 800.906.8312       GoddardNet | SIS | Goddard E-Mail
»   Inquire About Programs               »  Scholarships                 »  Apply Now     

MA in Education

MA in Education

Goddard College's low-residency MA in Education degree embodies a set of values and beliefs grounded in progressive education. Studies are self-designed, centered around your individual area of inquiry and personal goals. Draw on your own experience in education, whether it be from previous formal studies, from work-related training, from practice in the field, or from personal research and study. Actively define your area of inquiry, such as democratic education curriculum for kindergarten students, place-based education, living history, or community outreach program and work with your faculty advisor to develop and carry out your own learning goals.

The MA in Education program (MA EDU) offers graduate degree options, concentrations, coursework, and licensure for those seeking a Master of Arts degree, professional development courses, or licensure certificate in these areas:

During the application process students may apply to transfer up to 12 graduate credits, if these credits meet the program objectives.

LOCATIONS

Students can enroll in the MA in Education Program in two locations:

The Plainfield, VT Campus, offering the following MA Degree Options:

  • Individual Focus in Education (Non-Licensure)
  • Licensure: Teacher or School Counseling

The Seattle, WA Site offering the following MA Degree Options:

  • Individual Focus in Education (Non-Licensure)

Goddard College programs operating in the State of Washington are authorized by the Washington Student Achievement Council.  For more information, please refer to Accreditation and Approvals.

CREDIT OPTIONS

Full-time

Goddard’s traditional 12-credit semester full-time study format includes attending an eight-day residency at the beginning of each semester, which occurs in January and July. Full-time study requires a commitment of 26 hours or more a week after the residency.

Three-quarter-time

Goddard’s three-quarter-time study option translates to nine credits each semester. It provides a study opportunity for students who are not able to attend a residency in January. As part of the three-quarter-time option, students attend a five-day summer institute immediately following the required eight-day residency in July. Students living internationally, or who are working for a school district that does not grant five release days from work for professional development, are excellent candidates for the three-quarter-time program. The nine-semester credit option also benefits students who can commit 19 hours a week to their academic work, but find the 26 hours required of the full-time option too challenging. The nine-semester credit option extends the time necessary to earn the degree by one semester. The cost per individual semester is reduced.

DEGREE CRITERIA

The MA in Education degree criteria are the goals toward which your individualized graduate studies are aimed. Throughout your course of study, you are expected to deeply engage with the criteria, working toward a full and sustained demonstration of them by graduation.  Students graduating with an MA in Education will have successfully accomplished the following:

  • Articulated a powerful autobiographical understanding of their relationship to society, culture, and education
  • Understood and actualized the essential concepts of progressive education, namely inquiry-based learning, reflection and critical thinking, and a student-focused curriculum
  • Prepared themselves to work toward the creation of a more just, humane, democratic, and sustainable world
  • Acquired the professional knowledge base to perform a leadership role in the field of education
  • Developed the capacities to critically analyze, interpret, organize, communicate, and apply knowledge relevant to education
  • Developed a clear sense of the relationship between theory and practice, and learned to apply progressive education principles and practices to real-world issues
  • Produced a masters’ thesis that includes the formulation of significant questions, application of methods of inquiry, identification and utilization of learning resources, analysis, crit​ical thinking, and the integration and application of theory into practice.

WORK OF THE PROGRAM

At the center of the Goddard MA in Education program is the concept that the most effective education occurs when it is shaped around you, the student. There is an emphasis on individual needs and interests rather than predetermined curriculum. Goddard education programs hold a central commitment to social justice, diversity, anti oppression, and anti bias education. These values are especially important today for educators working in a complex and pluralistic society.  As a student, you engage with the program faculty who allow you to begin your studies where you are, and help you discover your interests and goals. From there, your study plan evolves.

Educational resources vary from independent study to field experience. Many studies focus on a particular issue or problem.  Creative engagement and the integration of theory and practice are emphasized. Within an individualized education focus, work may include studies in anti-racist education, alternative schooling, integrative arts, mediation, bilingual education, spirituality, and environmental sustainability, to name a few.  At the end of each semester, in lieu of grades, you and your advising faculty write narrative evaluations that describe your work in a practice of authentic assessment.