Education Program

Requirements for the Major+Licensure

Students must receive a grade of B- or higher in order for coursework to be counted toward licensure requirements. (A grade of C may be counted toward the major or minor without licensure).

Licensure candidates fulfill all of the same Education Studies major course requirements, but within the major, the choices of elective and cluster courses are determined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Early Childhood Education (EEC) regulations.

A. ED 150b Purpose and Politics of Education
All Education Studies majors are required to enroll in this capstone course during their junior or senior year. 

B. ED 165a Reading (and Talking Back to) Research on Education
Required research course to be taken in fall of sophomore or junior year. Students will review quantitative and qualitative research through disciplinary lenses. Students pursue some topic of inquiry by either reviewing and synthesizing educational research, or conducting some empirical research. Ideally, licensure candidates should take this course while engaged in a classroom teaching (pre-practicum) through ED 60a so that they can integrate research into their fieldwork.

C. Three elective courses in the focus cluster for all licensure candidates: Teaching and Learning In and Outside of Schools

For all licenses at any age/grade level:

  • ED 10a Introduction to Teaching and Learning (should be taken before other licensure courses numbered 100+)
    ED 100a/b Exploring Teaching (previous iterations of ED10a) may be substituted for ED10a

For elementary licensure (grades 1-6):

  • ED 101a Literacy, Literature, and Social Justice (grades PK-6)
  • ED 105a Structure, Concepts and Best Practices in Mathematics (grades PK-6)

For secondary licensure (grades 5-12)

  • ED 104a Pedagogy in the Disciplines (English, Math, History, Science)
    The subject area rotates each year; take the course for the specific licensure area when it is offered.
  • An additional teaching and learning course for secondary education that includes an ED 60a pre-practicum and is approved by the advisor.

For Early Childhood (infant, toddler, preK)

  • ED 101a Literacy, Literature, and Social Justice (grades PK-6)
  • An additional teaching and learning course for early childhood education that includes a pre-practicum, (e.g., methods) and is approved by the advisor.

D. Four additional electives courses from four clusters, as specified:

One in each of two other clusters, and two additional elective courses from any of the four clusters. Courses cannot be double counted to fulfill any requirements.

Education, Equity, and Social Change

  • ED 175a Teaching Multilingual Learners (2 credits) This course meets the Sheltered English Instruction (SEI) requirement for licensure.

Teaching and Learning In and Outside of Schools

Only required for Elementary licensure (grades 1-6)

  •  ED 101b Teaching Science and History for Social Change (grades PK-6)

Secondary licensure requires additional subject matter knowledge courses, and early childhood licensure requires additional fieldwork.

Human Creativity and Development

For all licenses at any age/grade level:

  • ED 125a Special Education: Teaching for Inclusion (2 credit course)
    Early Childhood licensure candidates may substitute PSYC 168b Disorders of Childhood for ED 125a

For Early Childhood and Elementary (grades 1-6) Licensure:

  • PSYC 33a Developmental Psychology

For Secondary, grades 5-12, Licensure:

  • PSYC 36b Adolescence and the Transition to Maturity

E. Applied Learning Requirement

  • ED 89a Internship Seminar & Internship

Licensure candidates fulfill this requirement as part of their student teaching internship. 100 hours of their required student teaching hours count toward the ED89a internship requirement. They attend the seminar course alongside other ED Studies majors.

F. Foundational Literacies

As part of completing the Education Studies major, students must:

  • Fulfill the writing intensive requirement by successfully completing ED 150b
  • Fulfill the oral communication requirement by successfully completing ED 165a, or any OC-designated ED Studies course 
  • Fulfill the digital literacy requirement by successfully completing ED 165a
G. Honors

Students who wish to be considered for honors in education studies will be required to complete a senior thesis. Students intending to do an honors thesis must discuss their potential topic with an education studies faculty advisor in their junior year. 

Please note that majors who intend to do an honors thesis involving empirical research are required to have completed a research course before their senior year.

To Declare the Major+Licensure:

A. review the requirements carefully

 B. request access to the ED Studies declaration worksheet (revised as of 1/10/2024)

C. download the declaration worksheet, read the directions (tab 1) and complete the worksheet (tab 2)

D. email the completed form to education@brandeis.edu

  • please use the subject line: ED Studies major+license declaration
  • we will also schedule a meeting for you with Prof. Rachel Kramer Theodorou, UAH, to select an advisor

 

Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL)

All elementary and secondary licensure candidates must pass the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) in Communication and Literacy Skills by August 1 prior to their senior year and attempt all other required exams by December 1 in fall of their senior year.

Elementary candidates must also take Foundations of Reading and General Curriculum 03 (two subtests of math and multi-subject).

Secondary candidates must also take subject-specific exams.

Please visit the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) website for complete information.