Program Requirements
30 Graduate Credit Hours
The MAE at Augsburg is premised by two assumptions: first, that we learn through a series of experiences, embodied through a lived curriculum or “currere” (Grumet & Pinar, 2014) and, second, that graduate inquiry entails an ongoing cycle of critical questioning and a commitment to continuous improvement, of ourselves and our world.
This program invites students to engage in critical discourse relevant and pertinent to their own socio-cultural context, integrating relevant knowledge to address the problems they identify and wish to address. As we are all life-long learners, our faculty partner with students in collective searches and re-searches for insight and shared meaning. Our faculty bring their expert knowledge, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, to help students gain access to the tools of scholarly and pragmatic inquiry, in order to critique, deconstruct our world as it is and envisage our schools and communities as we would like them to be. In other words, we co-construct curriculum with students, a collaborative effort to facilitate emergent intellectual and material journeys. This process entails studies of agency and self-politicization, understanding of different experiences and interactions with broken systems, and articulations of alternative ways of knowing and organizing our social relationships.
Required Core Courses (9 CH)
EDC 511 – Tools of Inquiry (3 CH)
EDC 560 – Issues In/equity (3 CH)
EDC 571 – Navigating Change in Education (3 CH)
Concentration Coursework (12 CH)
*Note: Concentration Coursework may consist of any education coursework. The following concentrations are recommended clusters of courses.
Culture & Curriculum Concentration Options
EDC 552 – Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (3 CH)
EDC 5xx – Paideia Theory, Research, and Practice (3 CH)
EDC 512 – Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction (3 CH)
EDC 5xx – Out of School Pedagogies (3 CH)
EDC 5xx – Education Policy and Advocacy
EDC 566 – Diversity/MN American Indians (3 CH)
EDC 543 – Critical Geography, Culture, and EcoJustice Education (3 CH)
ESE 500 – Reading and Writing in the Content Area (3 CH)
ESL 530 – Language, Culture and Schools (3 CH)
SPE 530 – Instructional and Behavioral Practices (3 CH)
SPE 510 – Implementing Assessment Strategies (3 CH)
Community Engaged Learning Concentration Options
EDC 552 – Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (3 CH)
EDC 512 – Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction (3 CH)
EDC 543 – Critical Geography, Culture, and EcoJustice Education (3 CH)
EDC 541 – Experiential Education
EDC 542 – Outdoor Education
ESL 530 – Language, Culture, and Schools (3 CH)
SPE 525 – Transition and Community (3 CH)
SPE 540 – Parent and Professional Planning (3 CH)
Elective Coursework
Nine (9) Additional Credit Hours are required to complete the degree. These credit hours may be taken as electives from other graduate programs at Augsburg or from Education coursework. They may also be taken as professional development workshops and institutes that offer graduate credit. Please contact the Graduate Programs in Education office or consult the Handbook for more information about these opportunities.
Additional Degree Requirements
Students in the MAE are required to complete an Inquiry Project in partial fulfillment of their degree. Details regarding the Inquiry Project are found below. Additional information can be found in the Graduate Programs in Education Handbook. Alternatively, students may petition to complete a thesis in lieu of the Inquiry Project. Please consult the Thesis Completion section below for details about doing a thesis in the MAE program.
MAE Inquiry Project
Students elect to complete the inquiry project in the graduate course of their choosing with the consent of the instructor. Since most courses have a culminating graduate assignment, students would notify their instructor that they wish to complete the inquiry project in their course. The instructor of the course serves as evaluator/facilitator of the inquiry project.
An inquiry project should integrate and synthesize the course topic, student experience and insight, and the questions that underpin student inquiry throughout the program. An inquiry project may be classroom or community-based in nature. The inquiry project is a contextualized project designed by graduate students that facilitates:
- professional development within the context of a discipline.
- participation in and contribution to our broader communities.
Mazzeo et al (Perin, 2011, p. 6) define contextualization as instructional strategies intended to link academic content with its application in a specific context relevant to the students. Additionally, community-based instruction is defined as systematic instruction that integrates community settings with meaningful learning and it is age-appropriate to the students. Drawing from the literature of experiential learning, the project will be designed with a focus on the relevance of presenting problems and societal issues, so that students can apply what they learn to their work in the world.
The inquiry project is left to be intentionally open so that graduate students may design school or community based projects that are relevant to the context in which they work. This allows graduate students to explore a compelling project in which they are allowed to design an effective tool to be used in authentic settings and for authentic purposes. The form and content of the project will be proposed by the graduate students and guided within the content of one graduate course. Projects should demonstrate relevance and applicability to educational contexts. The project will include a synthesis of relevant literature, and inquiry and professional development activities undertaken by the student either alone or in collaboration with faculty, other graduate students, or community members.
Support for Students
After 12 credit hours, the Graduate Program will audit progress with each student to determine their progress towards developing an inquiry project. For students who require additional support in developing their projects, they may be advised toward particular coursework to better prepare their project work.
Tools of Inquiry (EDC 511) may be repeated at the end of the program (counts as an elective) in order to further develop or hone their project if they are unable to complete it during the course in which they have elected to complete the Inquiry Project.
Perin, D. (2011). Facilitating Student Learning Through Contextualization.
Community College Research Center, Working Paper No. 29: New York, NY Columbia University.
MAE with an additional teaching license
For students who are seeking an additional teaching license as part of their graduate degree, required licensure courses are determined based on a transcript evaluation upon acceptance into the program. Additional courses at the undergraduate level may be required to satisfy state licensure requirements.
When seeking an additional license with a master’s degree, you may be required to take additional coursework to reach the required minimum of 30 Graduate Credit Hours. This additional coursework may be any course offered at the 500 level in Education (EDC, ESE, EED, SPE) or Leadership (MAL) as a graduate elective.
MAE students seeking an additional license may also petition to enroll in coursework offered by any graduate program at Augsburg University as a graduate elective. In many cases, the Graduate Director of the program offering the elective will also need to approve registration. Students may alternatively petition to have graduate coursework taken at another institution be accepted in transfer. Up to nine (9) graduate credit hours outside of education may be applied to the degree.
MAE: Additional License in English as a Second Language (ESL)
110 Field Experience Hours
EDC 502 – Critical Histories and Philosophies of Education* (3 CH)
EDC 566 – Diversity/MN American Indians (3 CH)
EDC 533 – Learning and Development in an Educational Setting (3 CH)
EDC 544 – Learners with Special Needs* (3 CH)
EED 525 – K-6 Language and Literacy Methods: Critical Applications for the Elementary Classroom* (3 CH)
ESE 525 – Creating Learning Environments* (3 CH)
ESL 510 – History and Structure of the English Language (3 CH)
ESL 520 – ESL Literacy* (3 CH)
ESL 530 – Language, Culture, and Schools (3 CH)
ESL 540 – ESL Methods* (3 CH)
To complete the license, students also will need to complete the following requirements at the undergraduate level:
HPE 115 – Chemical Dependency Education
EDC 220 – Educational Technology
ESL 310 – Second Language Acquisition
ESL 320 – Introduction to Linguistics
ESL 410 – ESL Testing and Evaluation
*This course has a field experience requirement.
MAE: Additional License in Special Education
190 Field Experience Hours
EDC 502 – Critical Histories and Philosophies of Education* (3 CH)
EDC 566 – Diversity/Minnesota American Indians (3 CH)
EDC 533 – Learning and Development in an Educational Setting (3 CH)
EDC 544 – Learners with Special Needs* (3 CH)
EED 524 – Transcultural Literacies: An Introduction to Language and Literacy (3 CH)
EED 525 – K-6 Language and Literacy Methods: Critical Applications for the Elementary Classroom* (3 CH)
EED 550 – K–6 Methods: Math* (3 CH)
EED 560 – K–6 Methods: Science* (3 CH)
SPE 510 – Implementing Assessment Strategies* (3 CH)
SPE 511 – Etiology and Theory of Mild to Moderate Disabilities (3 CH)
SPE 515 – Theory to Practice* (3 CH)
SPE 525 – Transition and Community* (3 CH)
SPE 530 – Instructional and Behavioral Practices* (3 CH)
SPE 540 – Parent and Professional Planning (3 CH)
To complete the license, students also will need to complete the following requirements at the undergraduate level:
HPE 115 – Chemical Dependency Education
MAT 137 – Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I
EDC 220 – Education Technology
EDC 330 and 332 – Building the Public Good: Public Achievement and Organizing
EDC 331 and 333 – Practicum in Public Achievement
*Field experience required as part of this course.
Elective Coursework
Education Graduate Students may take any course offered at the 500 level in Education (EDC, ESE, EED, SPE) or Leadership (MAL) as a graduate elective.
Graduate students may also petition to enroll in coursework offered by any graduate program at Augsburg University as a graduate elective. In many cases, the Graduate Director of the program offering the elective will also need to approve registration. Students may alternatively petition to have graduate coursework taken at another institution be accepted in transfer.