Our 30 or 36-hour, cohort-based program is offered completely online at a competitive price. Earn your Bellarmine degree in just four or five semesters, depending on the area of emphasis.

This is an advanced degree program for those students holding an initial teacher certification. The following emphasis areas are available:

• Literacy Specialist Endorsement, Grades P-12
• Teacher Leadership, Grades P-12

The Literacy Specialist program offers educators an in-depth study of teaching, learning, and literacy leadership. The endorsement across all grade levels will allow the classroom teacher to explore literacy issues related to elementary, middle, and high school students with an emphasis on issues related to struggling readers. Candidates who complete the Literacy Specialist Endorsement (Grades P-12) may choose to remain a highly qualified classroom teacher of reading and writing, may elect to serve as the literacy leader in their school, become the school’s reading coach, or apply for a district level literacy resource position.

The Teacher Leadership program is designed to develop teacher leaders who will be challenged to reflect continuously upon: leadership skills; coaching and mentoring; analysis of assessment and data to impact instruction; strategies for closing the achievement gap through instructional best practices; the need to address equity and diversity in schools; and collaborative efforts to include colleagues, parents, and the community in comprehensive efforts for school improvement.

Why earn your MAEd at Bellarmine?

As our theme, “Educator as Reflective Learner” suggests, our candidates are integrally involved in ongoing reflective practice as master educators in their classrooms, schools, and communities. Reflective teachers use the world of practice, knowledge of pedagogy, knowledge of the learner, and knowledge of content personally to evaluate their effectiveness. This continuous process provides master teachers with a basis for self evaluation that results in leadership development for school improvement.

Advanced teacher candidates will participate in ongoing evaluation through the use of an individualized Professional Growth Plan, Anchor Assessments within identified courses, Dispositions Assessments at specified transition points, and a final culminating project within the candidate’s emphasis or endorsement area. Each candidate will work closely with his/her faculty advisor to review regularly progress toward the degree.

Program Highlights

Successful alumni of our MAEd program will:

• collaborate with education stakeholders, including parents, teachers, administrators, and the community, to improve student learning and achievement;
• reflect on diverse field and clinical experiences, making instructional decisions based on individual learner needs;
• demonstrate educator dispositions that value the dignity and unique development of individual learners, and the intellectual, moral, ethical, and professional competencies that characterize effective teaching and leading;
• analyze data to make pedagogical and content based decisions that inform teaching, learning, leading, and achievement in the 21st Century; and
• employ Valli’s five reflective processes which include technical, personalistic, deliberative, in and on action, and critical reflection.

Tuition and Fees

Our fully online MAEd is competitively priced. Please visit our Graduate Tuition Rates for the most up-to-date tuition and fees information..

Funding Assistance
School districts may apply tuition supports for this program, please contact your school district’s personnel specialist. As a degree seeking student in the MAED program, students should be eligible for federally supported forms of student aid. Financial aid questions should be directed to the Financial Aid Office at Bellarmine University (finaid@bellarmine.edu or 502.272.7300).

Admission Requirements

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution.
• A 2.75 (on a 4.0 scale) overall grade point average for all undergraduate coursework.
• A 3.00 grade point average in the applicant’s undergraduate major.
• Recommendations from professors, employers, or supervisors attesting to the applicant’s potential as a graduate student. Teacher Leader requires letter from current building principal.
• A letter of intent to pursue the graduate degree; the letter should include a statement of the applicant’s professional goals and application rationale (two pages).
• Official transcripts of all previous higher education course work from regionally accredited institutions in sealed envelope from the institution.
• A valid Kentucky Provisional or Professional Certificate at the program level for which the applicant is making application. Teacher Leader requires current teaching position.
• If your undergraduate degree is from an international institution, you were born outside the United States, or English is your second language, you will be required to submit an official TOEFLiBT (internet-based test) score and receive a total score of 80 or higher. We will also consider an equivalent score on the IELTS or MELAB tests. The School of Education Admission, Progression and Graduation Committee reserves the right to require a TOEFL score from any applicant.
• Additional information is required from international applicants; see the MAEd admission application form for more information.

Accreditation

All teacher education programs at the advanced level recognized by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board are fully accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), 2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036; and approved by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board.

Contact Information

Rosie Young, Ed.D.
Chair, Advanced Education, Graduate Programs
ryoung@bellarmine.edu

Sarah Schuble
Assistant Director of Graduate Student Enrollment 502.272.8271
sschuble@bellarmine.edu

Additional Resources