Online Graduate Programs in Education
Whether you are already a teacher, or you are aspiring to become one, there are online graduate programs in education which will suit your needs.
For Current, Licensed Teachers
Most likely, you may have any of these four reasons to go to graduate school in education, no matter which of these you choose, you will be able to find online graduate programs in education for your choice:
1. To become more of an expert in your subject area. In this case, you will likely be going for a full Master’s degree which focuses on teaching in your subject area. Or, maybe, a Master’s degree which is purely content focused.
2. To become endorsed in a secondary area. Many teachers go back and get endorsed in special education, for example. However, it is also common for a Math teacher to get a new endorsement in Economics, an English teacher to get endorsed in Basic Skills, and so on. This will make you more marketable if you choose to change jobs, or if you need to take on extra classes. In this case, depending on the credit required, you may either get a graduate certificate, or a Master’s degree.
3. To get a promotion–moving into educational administration. In order to become a vice principal or principal, you will need to get a Master’s degree which qualifies you as an educational administrator. You will also need a certain number of years teaching, so don’t think that you can go straight to the top!
4. To get a raise. Many teacher’s contracts include raises when certain levels of education are reached. Most will recive a raise once a Master’s degree in education is obtained, but many will also offer a boost in pay with 15 graduate credits–about the amount needed for a graduate certificate.
For Aspiring Teachers
If you already have a bachelor’s degree and are interested in becoming a teacher, you have the option of two distinct types of online graduate programs in education.
If you already have 30 credits in the subject you want to teach (or 30 credits in liberal arts for those wanting to teach k-5), then you only need to take education and pedagogy classes in order to become certified. You can do this with a certificate or a degree program.
If you do not have 30 credits in the subject you wish to teach, then you either need to take some undergraduate courses to make up for the difference (doing so may save you some money as undergraduate classes are less expensive than graduate courses). While you are taking the undergraduate content courses, you can take pedagogy courses as well, or you can choose to continue on to a post-bachelor’s or graduate program for certification.
