Program Description:

The Masters Program in Science Education leads to New York State certification for grades 7-12 in the Teaching of Biology, Teaching of Chemistry or Teaching of Physics. Staffed by full time and part time educators with a wide range of classroom experience, scholarly publications and longtime involvement with professional associations, the program emphasizes content mastery in science, a clear understanding of current instructional materials and pedagogical methods, and teaching methods that provoke critical thought and inquiry-based learning. Extensive school-based fieldwork is required prior to student teaching, both to familiarize students with urban educational environments and to enable them to develop classroom strategies that are innovative and appropriate for teaching today's students. The pivotal experience of the program is a semester of student teaching at the secondary and middle school levels, where M.A. students -- mentored by their cooperating teachers and NYU field supervisors -- are given responsibility for teaching in the New York City public schools.

Admission Requirements

All students admitted to the Masters program in Science Education will have completed a bachelor's degree with a strong overall GPA. They must also have completed a major in science in their undergraduate programs or the equivalent of NYU's undergraduate science majors. The applicant must also have successfully completed study at the college level of a foreign language or American Sign Language.

In certain instances, the program will accept students who have not satisfied all of the above requirements. In these cases, such students will be required to complete at NYU all outstanding coursework, in addition to their program requirements, prior to their graduation from NYU.

I. Content Core (2 courses, 6 credits)

E14.2017 Recent Advances in Biology (3)
E14.2016 Recent Advances in Chemistry (3)
E14.2015 Recent Advances in Physics (3)
E14.2018 Breakthroughs in Science (3)

II. General Pedagogical Core (5 courses, 16 credits)

E27.2010 Inquiries into Teaching and Learning III (4) (Includes 15 hours of field experience)
E27.2275 Language and Literacy Acquisition and Development (3) (Includes 15 hours of field exp.)
E63.2272 Adolescent Development (3) (Includes 15 hours of field experience)
E75.2162 Educating Students with Disabilities in Middle Childhood and Adolescent Settings (3) (15 hrs.)
E14.2021 Science in the Historical Perspective (3) or, 1 course from Sociology of Education (E20.1015); History of Education (E55.2175); or Philosophy of Education (E50.2013) (3)

III. Pedagogical Content Knowledge Core (5 courses, 15 credits)

E14.2039 Methods I: Teaching Science in the Middle School (3)
E14.2040 Methods II: Teaching Science in the High School (3)
E14.2092 The Science Curriculum (3)
E36.2000 Contemporary Issues in Science and Mathematics: Gender and Ethnicity (3)
Plus One Additional Course by Advisement:
E14.2031 Measuring Outcomes in Science Teaching (3)
E14.2042 The Scientific Enterprise (3)
E14.2050 Using NYC Non-Formal Science Resources (3)
E36.2002 Research Internship in Science and Mathematics (3-6)

IV. Student Teaching (2 courses, 6 credits)

E14.2149 Student Teaching I: Grades 5-8 (3)
E14.2150 Student Teaching II: Grades 9-12 (3)

V. Culminating Experience (0 credit)

E14.2100 Teacher as Researcher, Reflective Practitioner and Curriculum Developer (0)
There will be a class room-based teacher-directed action research project that begins in the first semester and is completed in the final semester. The final paper should include the following: action research, self-reflection, and curriculum development.

VI. Social Responsibilities of Teachers (0 credit)

E27.2999 Drug and Alcohol Education/Child Abuse Identification/School Violence: Social Responsibilities of Teachers(0)

Sample Program of Study