University of West Florida

The M.Ed. in Reading Education is designed to enhance the professional skills and knowledge of educators as well as help them move into specialized areas of reading leadership within the schools and district-level positions. This includes positions as reading teachers, reading coaches, district-level literacy specialists, and intervention specialists. This degree also prepares graduates for work in the private and nonprofit sectors in positions such as consultants in the publishing industry, reading tutors, and program coordinators. The program is designed for current teachers; thus, applicants must hold a professional teaching certificate. While fieldwork is required, all required courses are delivered online. The program follows a cohort model with new cohorts typically admitted in the fall of each year.

Reading is a critical shortage area, and teacher education students may be eligible for the Critical Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program and/or the Critical Teacher Shortage Tuition Reimbursement Program.

Based on the International Reading Association’s Standards for Reading Professionals, this program integrates course work and clinical experiences to prepare graduates in the following areas:

• Foundations of reading and writing processes and instruction
• Instructional practices, approaches, methods, and curriculum materials to support reading and writing instruction
• Assessment tools and practices to plan and evaluate effective reading instruction
• Integration of foundational knowledge, use of instructional practices, approaches and methods, curriculum materials, and the appropriate use of assessments

Admission Requirements

In addition to the University graduate admission requirements described in the Admissions section of the catalog, the applicant must meet the following minimum departmental admission requirements for provisional admission:

• Hold a professional teaching certification
• Have earned a GPA of at least 3.0 on bachelor's degree*
• Submit a current (within five years) official Graduate Record Exam (GRE) verbal score OR Miller Analogies Test (MAT) score
• Submit a letter of intent that includes the following information: your background, short- and long-term goals, contributions you would like to make to your field of study, and strengths you bring to the program
• Submit contact information (email addresses and phone numbers) for two professional references

To be fully admitted to the program, the following requirements must be met in addition to the requirements for provisional admission (above). Full admission is required by the fifth week of the first semester. Students will be unable to register for a second semester of coursework until full admission has been granted.

• Completion of the Professional Education Applicant Disposition Scale OR completion of the ETS® Personal Potential Index by each person identified as a professional reference
• Purchase and activation of a subscription to the School of Education's assessment system, Tk20
• Completion of the Professional Education Applicant Disposition Self-rating Scale within Tk20

All approvals for admission to the School of Education are provisional and subject to reevaluation as students progress through the program. Students denied admission or removed from the program may appeal the decision to the Dean, College of Professional Studies.

School of Education students are expected to adhere to the Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida and national standards of conduct associated with professional, accreditation, and state agencies. Students who are struggling to meet content and/or disposition standards and/or competencies may be referred to the Response to Intervention (RtI) process. Any student who is referred for an RtI and does not successfully complete the intervention process may be denied continued enrollment in any professional education program.

Degree Requirements