Masters Degree

Admission to the MA Program

In addition to the general requirements of the university, specific requirements for admission to classified graduate status are:

  • Three letters of recommendation are required.
  • You must apply to the program using the online admisssions system found at:  www.csumentor.edu
  • Admission deadline dates for the 2010-2011 school year as follows:

    • The Spring 2011 application deadline is Friday, January 28, 2011. All additional documents including official transcripts must be submitted no later than Monday, February 14, 2011.

    • The Fall 2011 application filing period is October 1, 2010 - July 15, 2011. All additional documents including official transcripts must be submitted no later than August 2, 2011.

     

Advancement to Candidacy

Necessary for advancement to candidacy (next step after admission to the program, usually done in the second quarter of enrollment):

Upper division writing course that will not be over 7 years old when you complete the program (EDUC 306 or equivalent) or passing score on the Writing Requirement Equivalency Examination (WREE), which is administered every quarter. Note: If your 306 course will be over 7 years old, a waiver will need to be submitted to and approved by Graduate Studies. You may also apply for a waiver of this requirement per the guidelines found at the Graduate Studies website. For more information, see "Writing Requirement" below.

Program Plans

A program plan is a personally designed plan or "road map" that outlines an order of courses and requirements for each student. This program plan is important; it is a kind of contract binding both you and the university to its content.

Transferring courses - you may transfer up to 12 units of graduate level course work deemed equivalent to courses in the Masters of Education: Reading/Language Arts option. You may also transfer an unlimited amount of equivalent-level work to the Reading Certificate or the Reading Specialist Credential programs.

Masters Program Plan (PDF)

Writing requirement

You must complete an upper-division-level writing component to be fully classified in the Masters of Education, Reading/Language Arts option. This can be accomplished in various ways:

  • completion, with a grade of "B" (3.0) or better, within seven years of the date of admission, one of the following courses: EDUC 306, ENG 306, HUM 306, MGMT 306, NSCI 306, or SSCI 306.
  • completion, with a grade of "B" (3.0) or better, of an equivalent advanced expository writing course at another college or university within seven years of the date of admission.
  • satisfactory completion of the Writing Requirement Exemption Examination (WREE) offered at this university. Further information about the WREE (costs, when offered, what it covers) is available from the Testing Center, Jack Brown Hall, Room 405 (909-537-5041).
  • completion of a waiver by providing substantive documents such as grant proposals, published works, and/or materials that demonstrate the writer's ability to marshall an argument and use accepted citation format (such as APA). Below is a list of the types of documentation students may submit in support of their petitions to waive the graduate entrance writing requirement. While a wide variety of documents is acceptable, all must show evidence of summary, synthesis, analysis, research and the proper citing of sources, the elements required by the WREE and 306.
  • Dissertation or Master's thesis completed at another university. Student must submit a signed copy.
  • Senior project, thesis, or research project completed at another university. The document must demonstrate knowledge of the style guide of the discipline and show evidence of summary, synthesis, analysis, research and the proper citing of sources. Transcript and courses descriptors required.
  • Upper-division and graduate writing writng courses taken at another institution. Students must submit a copy of their transcript and a ctalog description of the course. The catalog description must indicate that the course required research-based writing. If the desciption does not, then students should provide the syllabus or a paper written for the course. RESEARCH PAPERS WRITTEN FOR CSUSB GRADUATE COURSES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE.
  • Published scholarly articles. The article should show evidence of analysis/synthesis and documentation of sources. Unacceptable: articles written for such things as a community newspapers, and club, church or job newsletters which show no evidence of research-based analystical writing.
  • A major study or report written as a part of the student's job responsibilities. The report must demonstrate the elements of summary, synthesis, analysis, research and the proper citing of sources. Unacceptable: reports which show no clear evidence of authorship and/or the student's contribution to the project.
  • Upper-division writing requirement (UDWR) tests taken at other CSU's. CSUSB accepts only three UDWR tests as equivalent to our WREE and 306: those from CSU Fresno, CSU Sacramento, and San Diego State University. At many other CSU's, the UDWR test is a minimum proficiency test or asks for impromptu, personal experience, no-text-based writing.

Required Courses

Masters in Education: Reading/Language Arts Option (48 Units)

Core Classes

  • EDUC 603: Effective Communication in Education
  • EDUC 607: Introduction to Educational Research
  • EDUC 605: Foundations of Education
  • Program Coursework
  • ERDG 620: Foundations of Reading and Writing
  • ERDG 658: Literacy and Language Processes
  • ERDG 640: Early Assessment & Intervention
  • ERDG 642: Images of Culture through Literature
  • ERDG 622: Basic Materials & Approaches to Reading & Writing
  • ERDG 625: Practicum in Reading and Writing: Certificate Level
  • ERDG 632: Assessment in Reading and Writing
  • ERDG 631: Curriculum Perspectives in Reading and Writing
  • 9a. EDUC 600: Masters Thesis/Project
    or
  • 9b. ERDG 999: Comprehensive Exam
    PLUS ERDG 643 Critical Issues in Reading and Writing