Master of Arts in History, Secondary Education
Course Requirements • Program Delivery • Admissions
The MA degree in history with a concentration in secondary education consists of 36 semester hours of graduate level coursework and yields a North Carolina M-level teaching license.
Based on the 2007-08 pay scale, the 10% pay increase for a master’s degree can mean around $127,000 in extra earnings over a 30-year career. The addition of 12% for National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification can mean over $156,000 over 30 years. These estimates are conservative since they do not take into account future pay increases that will raise the state pay scale. In short, a master’s degree and NBPTS certification means thousands of extra dollars per year for teachers, and since both state retirement pay and Social Security are based on salary earned, that salary increase continues to accrue for life. In other words, every year a teacher works without a master’s degree and/or NBPTS certification it costs her/him thousands of dollars in potential income. Two differences between the master’s degree and NBPTS certification should be noted. While teachers may not begin NBPTS certification until their fourth year of teaching, they may begin master’s work in or before their first year. Another distinction is that NBPTS certification must be renewed every ten years, but the master’s degree need not be renewed. Interested individuals should check with the central office of their school districts since some systems pay for their teachers to attend graduate school.
In cooperation with the Office of Extension and Distance Education, the College of Arts and Sciences delivers the Master of Arts in History, Secondary Education to selected sites in western NC. The program enables local access to all courses required for the MA History, Secondary Education degree. (For a listing of locations of upcoming programs,
see Proposed
New Programs.)
Courses taught by Appalachian
in the Off-Campus History, Secondary Education Program
| Required History Courses: |
| HIS 5000 |
Varieties and Methodologies of History |
| HIS 5450 |
History and Social Studies Education |
| History Elective Courses: |
Eight courses (24 semester hours) of history electives will be offered. Courses are selected from a spread including:
* American History
* European History
* Non-Western History (Asian, African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American)
Courses are chosen based on their relevance to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Secondary Social Studies. |
| Required Professional Education Courses: |
| CI/SPE 5045 |
Advanced Topics in Diversity |
| CI/LHE 5585 |
Teacher Leadership and School Improvement |
Off-Campus Program Delivery:
The courses required for the MA degree in History will be delivered to the designated off-campus
site, and
Appalachian State University faculty will teach each course. A combination of instructional strategies and course
delivery systems may be employed. The modes of delivery
may include: the instructor's being present at the site;
web-based instruction; and/or live interactive two-way,
audio-video sessions via the North Carolina Information
Highway (NCIH) network. Generally, two courses will be provided
each term. Face-to-face courses will be conducted either
during the evenings (e.g., 5:00-7:45 pm one evening a week
for 15 weeks) or on weekends (e.g, Friday evenings and Saturday
mornings). The program will be cohort-based, meaning the
group of identified students who enter this program will
begin together and continue together through the specified
sequence of required courses leading to the degree. The
courses in each cohort will be offered only once, so a student
must be prepared to take the courses as they are made available.
Requirements for Admission:
To be considered for admission to this program, an individual must possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and hold a North Carolina A-level teaching license (or the equivalent from another state). In addition to the application form, applicants must present scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) as well as three letters of recommendation. A candidate will be selected based upon the strength of her/his undergraduate career, GRE test scores, and endorsements expressed in the letters of recommendation.
For Appalachian’s off-campus cohorts, the Graduate School Application form may be accessed online at: http://www.graduate.appstate.edu.
The GRE test scores must be sent to:
Cratis D. Williams Graduate School
ASU Box 32068
Boone, NC 28608
For information about the Appalachian Testing Center, which is a testing site for the GRE, you may visit: www.testing.appstate.edu.
The application deadline for Fall 2008 entry: April 15, 2008.
To make a request of the Office of Extension and Distance
Education Click
Here
