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Education, B.A./M.A. Options (5-Year)

Program Description

The Department of Education BA to MA builds on our successful undergraduate major by offering several options leading to a Master’s of Arts degree. For years, the traditional school-as-factory model has set the tone for most teacher education programs. In contrast, La Salle’s Master of Arts in Education program offers unique alternatives that view each child as an individual learner with needs that often can’t be met through an industrialized approach to education. This assembly-line method of schooling encourages teachers to ignore individual differences and the interlocking parts of a child’s education. Worse still, it causes them to think in terms of stereotypes of grade, label, and subject.

La Salle-prepared educators are not semi-skilled production workers. La Salle-educated teachers command a comprehensive understanding of the child or adolescent as a very individual learner. They know how to keep the differences of their students in mind and they know how to develop state-of-the-art instruction that works in the “real world” of the school. This focus on the individual as learner is the very embodiment of the expert teacher.

La Salle-educated teachers also are grounded in analytic techniques that promote their ability to analyze the meaning and effects of educational institutions, develop critical understanding of educational thought and practice, and provide resources for the development of educational policy-making skills. This develops genuinely reflective professional practitioners who are capable of leading and innovating rather than merely following orders.

This 5-year program allows students to dive deeper into these techniques, creating a better and more complete educator. Students may apply for any of the Five-Year/MA programs upon admission to LA Salle as an undergraduate, or decide later in their program, prior to earning their bachelor’s degree, to pursue a Five-Year/MA program. Our 5th year students are also able to use up to three undergraduate courses (9 credit hours) towards their Master’s, enabling them to finish with just one additional year of school.

We hope you are interested in applying. To apply, please fill out the Five Year Admissions Requirements form to get started. 

UG/Grad Dual Counted Courses

The following Undergraduate classes may be double-counted toward the 5-year BA/MA program, up to a total of 9 credits.

Undergraduate Course Graduate Equivalent
EDC 307 (6 credits) EDC 602 AND EDC 613
EDC 401 (6 credits) EDC 602 AND EDC 613
EDC 306 EDC 604
EDC 326 EDC 604
EDC 224 EDC 604
EDC 324 BLS 601

Why Take This Major?

In addition to the various reasons for pursuing an Education major, the 5-year BA/MA options in Education offer the following advantages:

  • BA/MA students will be able to earn an advanced degree in only 5 years of college.
  • BA/MA students will be able to “double count” some upper-level undergraduate courses for both their BA and MA.
  • BA/MA students will continue to be eligible for financial aid and housing during their 5th
  • Students with their M.A. in Education are placed into a higher salary bracket at many places of employment.

Program Goals

As students progress through the program, each will gain skills in the following areas:

Professional Learning Stance 

  • Address practice through the lenses of learning and inquiry stances  
  • Develop critical habits of mind to address assumptions of practice by evaluating and interrogating significance, perspective, evidence, connection and supposition  

21st Century Communication Skills  

  • Use effective and articulate expression of thoughts and ideas effectively using multiple modalities and technologies in multiple and diverse settings   
  • Use active and effective listening skills to surface underlying meaning, values, attitudes and intentions  
  • Infer message effectiveness and impact before, during and after delivery  

Social Justice and Leadership  

  • Engage in respectful collaboration to address professional and community issue 
  • Display an awareness and sensitivity to ethnically, linguistically, cognitively, physically, socially diverse group 
  • Demonstrate a belief in educational equity ​