The Master of Science in Education is designed to prepare professionals for careers in education and related fields. The degree includes options for individuals with a bachelor’s degree that leads to careers in education in pre-school through secondary levels. While the M.S. in Education seeks to provide graduates with the skills, knowledge, and creativity needed for success in the classroom, community, and organizations, the specializations, certifications and licensure provide depth in a particular area of educational practice, policy, curriculum, and state-of-the-art best practices.

Student Learning Outcomes

Concentration-specific learning outcomes can be found below:

Concentrations in Administrator in Special Education

​Graduates of the MSEd or EdS in Administrator in Special Education are expected to demonstrate achievement in all areas of the program. Specifically, graduates will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following:

• Instructional Leadership: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by cultivating a shared vision that makes effective teaching and learning the central focus of schooling.
• Management and Operations: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by ensuring a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment, using resources to implement appropriate curriculum, staffing and scheduling.
• Family and Community Engagement: Promotes the learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff through effective partnerships with families, community organizations, and other stakeholders that support the mission of the school and district.
• Professional Culture: Promotes success for all students by nurturing and sustaining a school culture of reflective practice, high expectations, and continuous learning for staff.

Concentrations in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

• Promotes the learning and growth of all students by providing high-quality and coherent instruction, designing and administering authentic and meaningful student assessments, analyzing student performance and growth data, using this data to improve instruction, providing students with constructive feedback on an on-going basis, and continuously refining learning objectives
• Promotes the learning and growth of all students through instructional practices that establish high expectations, create a safe and effective classroom environment, and demonstrate cultural proficiency.
• Promotes the learning and growth of all students through effective partnerships with families, caregivers, community members, and organizations.
• Promotes the learning and growth of all students through ethical, culturally proficient, skilled, and collaborative practice.

Concentrations in Early Childhood & Elementary Education

​Graduates of the MSEd or EdS in Early Childhood Education or Elementary Education are expected to demonstrate achievement in all areas of the program. Specifically, graduates will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following:

• Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment: Promotes the learning and growth of all students by providing high-quality and coherent instruction, designing and administering authentic and meaningful student assessments, analyzing student performance and growth data, using this data to improve instruction, providing students with constructive feedback on an on-going basis, and continuously refining learning objectives.
• Teaching All Students: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through instructional practices that establish high expectations, create a safe and effective classroom environment, and demonstrate cultural proficiency.
• Professional Culture: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through ethical, culturally proficient, skilled, and collaborative practice.
• Collaboration and Communication Skills: Prepare students to demonstrate effective collaboration and communication skills, both orally and written, through in-class and in-the-field assignments as they apply in the teaching-learning process and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Professional Standards for Teachers. 
• Creating Safe and Effective Learning Environments: Prepare students to create and facilitate safe and effective learning spaces for all and meet the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Professional Standards for Teachers. 

Concentrations in English as a Second Language, Moderate Disabilities, and Severe Disabilities

​Graduates of the MSEd or EdS in Moderate Disabilities or Severe Disabilities are expected to demonstrate achievement in all areas of the program. Specifically, graduates will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following:

• Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment: Promotes the learning and growth of all students by providing high-quality and coherent instruction, designing and administering authentic and meaningful student assessments, analyzing student performance and growth data, using this data to improve instruction, providing students with constructive feedback on an on-going basis, and continuously refining learning objectives.
• Teaching All Students: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through instructional practices that establish high expectations, create a safe and effective classroom environment, and demonstrate cultural proficiency.
• Family and Community Engagement: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through effective partnerships with families, caregivers, community members, and organizations.
• Professional Culture: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through ethical, culturally proficient, skilled, and collaborative practice.

Concentrations in General Science

• Graduates demonstrate the disposition, knowledge and skills expected of professional educators articulated by state and national accreditation bodies.
• They design and conduct scientific inquiries to test scientific hypotheses, using appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data; develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence, communicate scientific procedures and explanations; and know how science, technology, and math inform each other and serve as mechanisms for inquiry into the nature of the universe.
•  They use “best practices” in teaching inquiry-based science and develop a balanced approach to hands-on science instruction using appropriate methodology and appropriate procedures as described in state standards.
•  They set high expectations and create a safe and collaborative learning environment to engage all students in their learning. They implement well-structured lessons with measurable assessments of learning and engage in ongoing reflection on practice.

Concentrations in Health/Social Emotional Education

• Graduates demonstrate expertise in health education content, able to conduct a needs assessment, plan and implement curriculum, assess student learning, coordinate school health, advocate for health education, and serve as a resource to the school, students and their families, and the community.
• They exhibit confidence in their ability to teach comprehensive skills-based health education as a component of coordinated school health; identify student risk factors and help young people reduce those behaviors to improve their personal health and academic performance. 
•  They utilize inclusive practices to create a safe and collaborative learning environment that fosters positive socioemotional development. They set high expectations for all students; implement well-structured lessons, with measurable assessments of learning; and engage in ongoing reflection on practice.
•  They advocate for health/SEL by conducting, implementing, and sharing the results of action research.

Concentrations in Mathematics Specialist

• Graduates have strong mathematical content knowledge and the skills to help students they teach in accessing and learning that content and support positive attitudes towards the subject.
• They understand and apply mathematical problem solving processes and construct rigorous mathematical arguments.
• They make connections among ideas in mathematics and other fields, using varied representations of mathematical ideas to communicate mathematical thinking and deepen students’ understanding.
• They embrace technology as an essential tool for mathematics, are proficient in computation, understand relationships among quantities, use measurement concepts and tools, spatial visualizations and geometric modeling and understand data analysis, statistics, and probability. Graduates who teach in the secondary levels, understand the concepts, techniques and applications of calculus and discrete mathematics.
• They utilize inclusive practices to create a safe and collaborative learning environment that fosters positive socioemotional development.
• They set high expectations for all students; implement well-structured lessons, with measurable assessments of learning; and engage in ongoing reflection on practice.

Concentrations in Principal / Assistant Principal

With guidance of the program chair, seminar leaders, faculty, and licensed, current practitioners in schools and districts within Massachusetts, candidates  demonstrate an ability to engage in site-based leadership that:

•  Promotes success for all students by establishing a high quality curriculum and evidence-based instruction,
•  Cultivates a shared anti-racist vision for effective schools,
• Ensures a safe, efficient, and effective culturally responsive learning environment, 
• Ensures the effective use of resources, 
• Promotes the involvement of all stakeholders, and
• Promotes the success of all students. 

Effective leadership is further evidenced through written reflections, key assessments, tasks assigned and field experiences documented in an e-portfolio and submitted via Tevera. Specifically, candidates must demonstrate the ability to: • Create a physically and emotionally safe school environment. • Ensure that curriculum is of high quality, standards-aligned, rigorous and culturally responsive. • Build a professional culture supportive of reflective practice, high expectations, and continuous improvement of skillfully implementing high quality curriculum which is standards aligned and exhibits target skills through evidence based teaching and learning. • Engage school communities including teachers, parents, district leaders, and community partners in ways supportive of the school’s academic and social justice mission. • Effectively implement effective plans, policies, procedures, routines, budgets, and operating systems, including technology, that are equitable, honor all students’ backgrounds, eliminate bias and address the full range of safety, health and social-emotional needs of students.

Concentrations in Reading & Literacy Instruction

Graduates of the MSEd or EdS in Reading and Literacy Instruction are expected to demonstrate achievement in all areas of the program. Specifically, graduates will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following:

• Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment: Promotes the learning and growth of all students by providing high quality and coherent instruction, designing and administering authentic and meaningful student assessments, analyzing student performance and growth data, using this data to improve instruction, providing students with constructive feedback on an on-going basis, and continuously refining learning objectives.
• Teaching All Students: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through instructional practices that establish high expectations, create a safe and effective classroom environment, and demonstrate cultural proficiency.
• Family and Community: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through effective partnerships with families, caregivers, community members, and organizations.
• Professional Culture: Promotes the learning and growth of all students through ethical, culturally proficient, skilled, and collaborative practice.
• Reading Specialist Licensure Subject Matter Knowledge Guidelines (SMK): set forth the subject knowledge expectations for teachers in Massachusetts to ensure that educators teaching reading have sufficient content knowledge to support their students.
• International Dyslexia Association Knowledge and Practice Standard for Teachers of Reading (KPS): set forth the knowledge and skills that all teachers of reading are expected to possess to advance students’ reading and writing profiles from a Structured Literacy Approach in the classroom, remedial, and clinical setting.