Elementary Education, MEd

This 39-credit, initial licensure master’s degree program fulfills all Virginia Department of Education requirements for a Virginia teaching license in grades PK-6 and prepares professional educators with the specialized knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to meet the educational needs of students attending today's elementary schools. The program is structured using a cohort model with full-time and part-time options available to provide flexibility for students.

The classes require students to engage in required field work each semester in an assigned partner school and to successfully complete a series of performance-based assessments. These assessments include content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and dispositions.

Prior to internship in the final year or final semester of the program, students must successfully complete:

Emergency First Aid, CPR and AED certification 

Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary

Praxis Subject Assessment for Elementary Education

Content Area Endorsement Coursework

Licensure testing requirements are determined by the Commonwealth of Virginia and may change at any time. If changes to these requirements occur, students must meet the current testing and licensure requirements as set forth in the legal Code of Virginia.

Admissions

All students will be required to fulfill the graduate admission requirements of the University. Applicants must submit:

• Graduate application and fee
• 750- to 1,000-word written statement of your goals and interest in the program
• Current resume
• Two letters of recommendation
• Transcripts from all previous institutions attended in the United States. 
  • Applicants with transcripts from institutions outside of the United States could have additional requirements.

Banner Code: E1-MED-ELED

Degree Requirements

Total credits: 39

Core Coursework

¹

6 credits of 790 are required for licensure. Year-long internship students must register for 3 credits in the fall and 6 credits in the spring. Semester-long internship students must register for 6 credits during their internship and complete 3 credits of elective coursework. See below for elective course options.

²

Applicable for yearlong interns, 3 credits

Bachelor's Degree (any)/Elementary Education, Accelerated MEd 

Overview

Highly-qualified undergraduates may be admitted to the bachelor's/accelerated master's program and obtain a BA or BS in any degree area and an MEd in Elementary Education in an accelerated time-frame after satisfactory completion of 138 credits.

See AP.6.7 Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree for policies related to this program.

Students in an accelerated degree program must fulfill all university requirements for the master's degree. For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

BAM Pathway Admission Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions Policies and Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's Degree policies. For information specific to this accelerated master's program, see Application Requirements and Deadlines.

Students will be considered for admission into the BAM Pathway after completion of a minimum of 60 credits, and additional unit-specific criteria (see Application Requirements and Deadlines).

Students who are accepted into the BAM Pathway will be allowed to register for graduate level courses after successful completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credits and course-specific pre-requisites.

Accelerated Master’s Admission Requirements

Students already admitted in the BAM Pathway will be admitted to the MEd program, if they have met the following criteria, as verified on the Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Transition form:

• 3.0 overall GPA 
• Completion of specific undergraduate coursework
• Successfully meeting Mason’s requirements for undergraduate degree conferral (graduation) and completing the application for graduation. 

Accelerated Pathway Requirements

To maintain the integrity and quality of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, undergraduate students interested in taking graduate courses must choose from the following which can be taken as Advanced Standing or Reserve Graduate credit (to be determined by the student and their advisor):