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The Master of Education in Reading Degree is a 36-hour program (12 courses) available in two formats: on-site and online. This program is recognized by the International Reading Association (IRA) and accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Within this program there are two strands for pursuing a Master of Education in Reading Degree:

READING SPECIALIST or LITERARY COACH: The candidate intends to take the Texas Reading Certification exam to become a Reading Specialist in the State of Texas. In this case, all 12 courses are required. Transfer credits are rarely accepted.
MASTERS FOR CLASSROOM PRACTIONERS: The candidate does NOT intend to take the Texas Reading Certification exam. In this case, 8 of the 12 reading courses are required. The additional four courses are chosen from a secondary field of study (approved by the advisor). A maximum of three of these four could be graduate hours transferred in from another university.

The on-site courses meet on the SHSU campus or on our satellite campus at The University Center in The Woodlands, Texas. The online courses follow the same semester calendar as the on-site courses and are identical in content and rigor.

Technology Requirements: It is expected that candidates have the following computer skills: sending/receiving emails, attaching documents to emails, creating tables, creating PowerPoint presentations, conducting an online search, and using library electronic reserves. Microsoft Word is the required word processing program. It is also expected that candidates have access to a computer at home since much of the course work is done in the evening and on weekends.

The Reading Masters Degree Program Philosophy: Our program's philosophical base could best be summarized as "socio-psycholinguistic constructivism" and we also subscribe to the importance of affect to learning, cognitive theories, and critical theory. Imbedded within our program's design is the theoretical work of F. Smith, Cambourne, Dewey, Whitehead, Vygotsky, Gardner, Bruner, Clay, Freire, Rosenblatt, Cummins. Krashen and others. Researchers whose work influences our program design include Palinscar and Brown, Au, Paris, Goodman, Diffy, Rumelhart, Pearson, Clay, Harste, Burke, Graves, Allington, Farr, Holdaway and others. The work of these professionals is reflected in the program's belief in the importance of research, the interconnectedness of literacy with the language arts and other content fields, the importance of meeting the literacy needs of all learners, and the interactive relationship of assessment and instruction.

Listed below are the courses in the recommended sequence in the master's program.

RDG 530: Foundations of Literacy - Master's Portfolio is initiated in this course. Prerequisite: Bachelors Degree
BSL 571: Social, Cultural and Language Influence on Learning - Prerequisite: RDG 530 or consent of the instructor
RDG 590: Literature and Instructional Materials in Reading Programs
RDG 561: Language Arts: Theory and Instruction
RDG 589: Improvement of Literacy in Secondary Schools and Adult Populations - Prerequisite: RDG 530
RDG 598: Cognition and Emergent Literacy
RDG 532: Practicum in Literacy Assessment and Instructional Strategies I - Prerequisite: RDG 530
RDG 533: Practicum in Literacy Assessment and Instructional Strategies II - Prerequisite: RDG 530; ON CAMPUS - 3 weeks
RDG 688: The Politics of Literacy - Prerequisite: RDG 530
RDG 675: The Administration and Supervision of Literacy Programs - Prerequisite: RDG 530 or consent of the instructor
RDG 638: Research in Language and Literacy I - Prerequisite: RDG 530
RDG 690: Internship in Reading Leadership - Capstone course
RDG 587 - Portfolio Review

**It is strongly recommended that candidates begin their program of study with RDG 530.

Admission Procedures:
Applicants must first contact Dr. Joyce McCauley in the Department of Language, Literacy, and Special Populations for program information and an initial interview. Applicants can apply by mail to the Office of Graduate Studies at Box 2478, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2478 or online to the Office of Graduate Studies.

To be considered for REGULAR ADMISSION to the Master of Education in Reading program, applicants must submit the following documents:

To the Office of Graduate Studies:

An Application for Admission and fee
Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, both undergraduate and graduate. A minimum GPA of 2.5 in undergraduate and graduate work is expected.
Acceptable scores of the Graduate Record Examination or acceptable scores on the Miller Analogies Text.
Two letters of recommendations with accompanying Checklists
A copy of applicant's teaching certificate IF the applicant wants Texas Reading Specialization.
Acceptable writing sample (Applicants must submit an example of their expertise in writing. This will be requested during the first interview.) (.doc)

To the Department of Language, Literacy and Special Populations:

Initial interview responses
Acceptable writing sample (Applicants must submit an example of their expertise in writing. This will be requested during the first interview.)

NOTE: To be considered for CONDITIONAL ADMISSION, candidates must submit the applications, transcripts, interview, and writing sample. If granted Conditional Admission, permission will be given to register for one semester. To continue in the program, however, REGULAR ADMISSION is required. Candidates will have one semester to submit the remainder of the documents (GRE/MAT scores, letters of recommendations, checklists, and teaching certificate).

For more detailed information about the Master of Education in Reading Program, please download the handbook (.pdf)

For more information about developing your portfolio, please download the handbook (.doc) (.pdf)

For more information about Distance Learning at SHSU, please visit their website: distance.shsu.edu.

For more information about the GRE and how to prepare, please visit the GRE website at www.ets.org.