Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é

Skip to main content

Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Master of Education in Bilingual Education

Program Highlights

REQUEST INFORMATION APPLY NOW
teacher in bilingual classroom

30 credit hours |  In-state tuition: $480.90/credit hour | Out-of-state tuition: $590.53/credit hour

  • Convenient, 100% online M.Ed. program for working teachers and professionals in education-related fields
  • May be completed in as little as 12 months
  • Program curriculum approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  • Non-thesis master’s degree
  • Does not lead to teaching certification but offers increased employability
  • Offered through UTEP's College of Education
NOTE: YOU MUST HAVE A BACHELOR'S DEGREE TO APPLY.

PROGRAM ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Master Today's Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Classroom

UTEP’s M.Ed. in Bilingual Education program is a 30-credit hour degree that can be completed fully online through UTEP Connect and the College of Education's Teacher Education Department. The program is designed for individuals who wish to pursue graduate studies focused on the teaching and learning of English Learners/Emergent Bilinguals. Intended for busy educators (licensed or un-licensed) seeking to become advanced Bilingual Education professional practitioners, this degree program can be completed in as little as 12 months.

Proficiency in bilingual education gives teachers and professionals in education-related fields an advantage in today’s increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms and offers increased employability. 

In choosing the online master's degree in Bilingual Education, students will gain practical marketable skills such as:

  • A deeper appreciation of and sensitivity to the value of linguistic diversity, inclusivity and the design and implementation of culturally sustaining bilingual curriculum and practices
  • The ability to address the special needs and skills of English language learners and emergent bilinguals and to help students from different cultures in the classroom
  • The skills to translate bilingual and multicultural pedagogies into concrete strategies
  • The level of knowledge needed to be eligible for increasingly senior administrative positions related to bilingual and ESL education

In addition to being teachers in public and private schools, graduates may also seek employment at community colleges, teach ESL classes for extra income or work in corporate training departments. The options are many. Types of positions graduates can expect to hold include:

  • Bilingual education curriculum specialist
  • Public/private school teacher (ESL or Bilingual)
  • Community college instructor
  • Corporate trainer/bilingual professional development specialist
  • Two-way immersion teacher
  • Adult literacy, GED and ESL teacher

Course Overview

This M.Ed. program emphasizes the practical application of current theory, research, and assessment in Bilingual Education, with particular attention to the value of linguistic diversity, inclusivity and the design and implementation of culturally sustaining bilingual curriculum and practices. Graduates in this program develop a critical perspective, gain deeper knowledge in bilingual and multicultural pedagogies and secure strengthened credentials that enables them to become teacher-leaders and advocates for bilingual educators, administrators, children and their families both inside and outside of the PK-12 education system. Through graduate coursework designed to promote reflection and refine teaching, students may tailor their course of study to earn State of Texas English as a Second Language (ESL) Certification or State of Texas Bilingual Certification and/or a Graduate Certificate in Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE); preparation for ESL Certification or Bilingual Certification and/or a DLBE Certificate is built into the program. 

This program does not include a teaching credential. However, the M.Ed. in Bilingual Education may be combined with our on-campus Alternative Certification Program (45 credits total) for individuals seeking to obtain this M.Ed. degree and who also want to earn a Texas elementary [EC-6], Secondary or Special Education [PK-12] teaching license with ESL or Bilingual Certification. Admission to the Alternative Certification Program requires a separate application process.

Our faculty have all earned their Ph.D.s and have a wealth of knowledge both theoretical and practical. Their goal is to ensure that you are prepared to address the needs of schools and other youth-serving agencies, particularly in multicultural communities.  

Required Courses

Focus on the discourse of diverse paradigms in Bilingual/ESL Education. Discuss current pedagogical, theoretical, historical, legislative, and other issues in the field. Identify and explore program models in Bilingual/ESL Education, including their philosophical foundations, instructional frameworks, and the planning and design of program evaluation.

Study the pedagogy of dimensions of language and how it is used in various contexts (social and academic) for understanding and facilitating the cross linguistic connections of English learners (EL)/Emergent Bilinguals (EB). Examine language documentation and description use them to intentionally and systematically identify strategies for bridging with phonemes, letter – sound correlations, spelling patterns, word analysis and use of cognates in biliteracy/EL classrooms.

Gain an introduction to the history, theory, methods, practice, and problems in the testing of emerging bilingual (EB) learners in formative and in large-scale assessments. Study the assessment of language proficiency and academic achievement in EB students. Issues of effectiveness, validity, and fairness in the testing of EB populations are addressed to emphasize a critical examination of the purpose, use, methods, and appropriate selection of assessments to match the student population, context, and content.  

Identify the principles, problems, and issues of primary and second language acquisition, specifically the relationship between the development of these languages, to facilitate and promote literacy/ biliteracy.

Educators must be knowledgeable about creating learning environments that foster the development of academic language, particularly among bilingual students and English language learners. In this course, you will a) develop an understanding of language and literacy as simultaneously linguistic, cognitive and socio-cultural phenomena; b) use functional theories of language to understand language use in academic settings, c) build awareness and expertise in recognizing and analyzing academic language, and d) create pedagogical approaches to build academic language, with an emphasis on Dual Language Setting

Improve educational equity for emergent bilingual students, or English learners, by ensuring that emergent bilinguals have access to academic content, English language development, and the use of their whole linguistic repertoires in learning. Develop your awareness of language, expertise in language analysis, understanding of language learning theories and processes, and knowledge of sheltering strategies for teaching language and content at the same time.

Electives (Select THREE courses) 

The goal of this course is to support students in developing critical research skills to examine, critique, evaluate and conduct bilingual and multilingual research from a range of research traditions or cultures of inquiry. Gain essential understandings of research design and methods, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches in bilingual education while making connections between theory, methodology, and analysis. The course is designed to encourage students’ own related inquiry into a formal research proposal focused on bilingual education teaching and learning.

Examine translanguaging as the everyday way of using language in bilingual communities, in and outside the classrooms and translanguaging pedagogy. Explore dynamic bilingualism perspectives that interrogate rigid linguistic borders. Discuss the monoglossic ideological approaches that circulate in schools, power and privilege of particular speakers, and how they affect teaching practices. Study research methodologies to collect and analyze empirical data of translanguaging as a practice and pedagogy in the borderland.

Focus on educational language policy (ELP)— policy about the use and instruction of languages—and how social justice and educational equity can be advanced by examining and changing the ways language is used and taught. Explore ELP as not just official policy texts, but also everyday decisions about language use and language practices. Examine the use of language policy as an instrument of control and as an instrument of empowerment, focusing in particular on educators’ roles as arbiters of educational language policy and as actors with agency to effect change.

Learn how to create learning environments that foster the development of academic language and literacy considering the Spanish language and its conventions. Analyze and develop academic discourse in Spanish in the areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. Integrate language and content area objectives in your teaching in Spanish. This course includes the integration of bilingual/multicultural literature throughout the curriculum. Course taught in Spanish.

Focus on the research foundations and program principles for dual language education, introduction to second language acquisition and biliteracy as it applies to dual language education. Connect theoretical frameworks and research foundations for dual language education to practical application. Conduct a survey of successful mature dual language education programs.  Special emphasis is placed on literacies of the U.S.-Mexico border and the literacy education of emergent bilinguals/English language learners.

How powerful is the physical space in which teaching and learning occurs outside the mind? How can educators design such spaces? Explore these questions and more by considering how social settings, networks, and communities of practice - and the roles that members in these settings - influence how you engage in particular practices and learn new ways of thinking and being. Particular emphasis on specific student populations under study include Latinos, and those defined as marginalized for this course, including emerging bilinguals, migrants, immigrants, and others.

This course has two major components. One is the field experience component, which involves designing and implementing lessons with K-12 students is a Dual Language setting. The second component is documentation of your learning in an electronic portfolio. It will include your experiences through the coursework, observations, field experiences, and reflections aligned to the program objectives. The portfolio will be produced and disseminated electronically. Present the portfolio as part of the capstone course. For the field experience component, learn how dual language is implemented in real-world settings. Students are expected to observe and correlate practices of dual language education with the theories and methods studied in their coursework.

Explore the social context of education and teaching in a pluralistic society. Examine schools and society in relation to historical and contemporary issues of diversity.

Focuses on the needs of and teaching strategies for learners with special needs who have limited English proficiency and are from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Capstone

This course is the culminating experience in the M. Ed. in Bilingual Education. It provides the opportunity to synthesize and apply core content knowledge gained throughout the course of study. Demonstrate your academic and professional skill development as advanced bilingual teacher-leaders through the completion of an integrated project conducted in a bilingual setting/context. Earning a grade of “pass” in the capstone course is a degree requirement for graduation.

CONNECT WITH US

The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso
UTEP Connect Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Programs
Kelly Hall, Ste. 115
500 W. Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Ave.
El Paso, Texas 79968
E: utepconnect@utep.edu
P: 1-800-684-UTEP