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Curriculum and Teaching
Few educational tasks are more important than helping to prepare the next generations of citizens of our nation and our world through social studies education. At The University of Kansas, graduate students may pursue this area of study at three levels.
The core requirement for doctoral students in the School of Education includes courses in statistics or research, human learning or development, history, philosophy, or social foundations of education and general curriculum or general instructional strategies.
In many cases students may take a variety of courses to fulfill their unique program needs. In some cases course selection is restricted to a choice among a few required alternatives or even restricted to a single course. Advisor-accepted substitutions for non-required courses should be documented with a note to the student's Departmental file. Requests for substitutions for required courses must be approved by the faculty advisor.
Students may concentrate in a single discipline. Undergraduate transcripts will be reviewed carefully for their content in these areas. Arts and science courses are required unless substituted with approved content centered alternatives offered in our own Department.
HIST 6XX and higher
GEOG 6XX and higher
POLS 6XX and higher
ECON 6XX and higher
ANTH 6XX and higher
PSYC 6XX and higher
SOCI 6XX and higher
The general requirements for the program of study are shown above for each type of Master's degree. Once you have selected the courses you wish to take, a tentative program of study is established. An official program of study form must be completed midway through the program. This form is submitted to the faculty advisor. As with other deadlines, it is your responsibility to secure this form and initiate its review in time to meet the deadline.
M. A. students and M.S.Ed 30 hour program students are assigned a three-person thesis or applied project committee. The faculty advisor serves as the head of the committee. The committee helps plan the student's program of study, conducts an oral comprehensive exam over the program of study when appropriate, and assists in developing and assessing the thesis or applied project.
Thesis : Students in the M. A. program produce a thesis. A thesis is an independent research effort that meets scholarly criteria for publication. All students are required to submit a written prospectus of their thesis plan and obtain approval from their committee prior to undertaking thesis research. Students must have their thesis research cleared by the Institutional Review Board if human subjects are used. The Graduate School publishes a guide to thesis preparation and processing.
Applied Project : An applied project is usually carried out in a typical classroom or school setting. The project may, for example, involve a quasi-experimental trial of a teaching approach advocated in education literature. The format and contents of applied projects vary considerably. Since the Graduate School does not review applied projects, the faculty advisor and advisory committee serve as the final arbiter of acceptability for both content and format. Applied projects that are based on research with human subjects must be cleared by KU's Institutional Review Board.
M.S.Ed students who are undertaking an applied project work with the faculty advisor. The student is required to submit a brief prospectus and obtain approval from his or her faculty advisor prior to implementing an applied project. The faculty advisor oversees the student's work on the applied project. Upon completion of the applied project, the student presents results to the entire advisory committee.
Candidates for the M. A. and M.S.Ed degrees must successfully complete a written comprehensive examination that covers the areas of (a) research, and (b) curriculum and instruction. Students are responsible for notifying their faculty advisor that they will be taking the comprehensive examination during the final semester of their coursework. They also must secure the commitment of two other faculty members to serve on the exam committee.
See our admissions section for more information and/or contact us.
The Department of Curriculum and Teaching offers graduate teaching assistantships
that enable students to be employed while completing an advanced degree.
Graduate assistantships are available for student teacher supervision, undergraduate teaching, and work on research projects.
This also could include assisting faculty with course instruction
or research and/or supervising student teachers at the elementary, middle, or secondary
levels. Applicants pursuing a doctorate in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching
are preferred. Classroom teaching experience is highly preferred.
Download the GTA Application (Word) | Download the GTA Application (PDF)
