Master of Science in Teaching English as a Second Language - TESL Education

at Kent State University USA

The Bachelor of Arts degree in History provides a well-rounded educational experience in which students have the independence and flexibility to explore and develop their individual interests while getting a solid grounding in different approaches to historical research, writing and analysis. The study of history offers insight into the complexity of the human experience by exploring the political, cultural, social, economic and environmental factors that have shaped the past and the present. The study of  history also offers training in a range of skills including how to find, evaluate, manage and synthesize multiple sources of information; how to think critically and analyze complex evidence; how to undertake independent research and manage time effectively; how to develop and present reasoned arguments supported by evidence; how to present information and arguments effectively in writing; and how to develop and deliver effective oral presentations. The skills and experiences gained through the study of history provide preparation for a variety of career tracks.

The History major is comprised of several elements. Lower-Division History Electives provide history majors with an overview of the major themes and developments in World history from human origins to the present and in the history of the United States from pre-colonization to the present. The required Historical Research Methods course introduces students to the main tools and techniques of doing history while providing them with the opportunity to develop and refine the skills of historical research, writing, and analysis to do well in their upper-division coursework. The History major also includes distribution requirements in two categories of upper-division courses. Area Studies Electives are a group of upper­ division history courses in which the history of a place (state, nation, or region) is the primary focus of the courses. Thematic Studies Electives are a group of upper-division history courses in which a specific topic or theme is the primary focus of the courses while the place and time period are secondary. The required Senior Seminar in History course is a capstone experience in which students develop, design, and execute their own original historical research project that utilizes primary sources and engages with current historical scholarship. Majors are also encouraged to do an internship in history for course credit to gain job experience and further strengthen their profile for their career after graduation.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Understand and apply a variety of basic historical methods.
• Find, use, and analyze historical evidence and communicate their findings in an effective manner.
• Obtain historical content knowledge and understand the connectedness of historical events and the wide varieties of human experiences.
• Understand history as a discipline based on interpretation with historical questions constantly being reframed and investigated.

The Master of Science degree in Geography prepares graduate students for careers in both the academic field and non-academic jobs in various private and governmental agencies, in areas such as urban/economic geography, social geography, physical/environmental geography, and geographic information technology. Students learn geographic thought, research techniques and topical specialties while preparing to conduct original research.

The Master of Arts degree in English offers students broad learning in English studies while providing concentrated study in one area. The English major comprises the following concentration:

The Concentration for Teachers is for educators interested in advanced study of literature and writing. Coursework focuses on current scholarship and approaches to literature and writing. While not a degree in literary and composition pedagogy, the concentration is designed to encourage the application of current literary and writing research to the work responsibilities of the practicing teacher.

Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to think critically about the literary texts they read and interpret.
• Demonstrate how to write coherently and clearly about research topics and other topics.
• Demonstrate an understanding on how disciplines are interconnected.
• Apply appropriate research methods to objects of study.
• Demonstrate effective teaching skills and knowledge of appropriate teaching theories, if on appointment.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art is a pre-professional program that develops students' conceptual prowess, technical competency and independent problem-solving to meet the challenges of a career or advanced study in the visual arts. Through studio critiques, the study of sophisticated art and design concepts, mastery of skills and technologies and critical analysis of historical and contemporary issues, students learn to analyze and evaluate visual art and to apply this knowledge to their own creative practice. Graduating students demonstrate their competence by producing a cohesive body of work presented in their senior thesis exhibition to a panel of faculty reviewers.

The Studio Art major comprises the following concentrations:

• The Ceramics concentration offers students the opportunity to hone their command of ceramic material to create both artistic and functional forms. Students find new ways of practicing an ancient craft, drawing on both traditional and contemporary thought and practice. In addition, they investigate practices from around the world for a global context in understanding the medium.
• The Drawing concentration cultivates foundational through advanced observational, conceptual and experimental processes to enable students to explore ideas across media and disciplines. All majors in the School of Art are able to complete a sequence of drawing courses to strengthen their drawing as a tool for visual thinking and recording. The concentration encourages advanced students to work with a wide range of approaches and to pursue drawing in diverse contexts.
• The Glass concentration challenges students to explore glass as a creative medium, both technically and conceptually, within the broader context of contemporary art. In addition to the fundamentals of glassblowing, students learn glass casting, slumping, fusing, flameworking, enameling, cold-working and assembly. Both interdisciplinary and mixed media approaches are actively encouraged.
• The Jewelry, Metals and Enameling concentration guides students in developing their own artistic signatures by exploring historical and contemporary concepts. Students are able to absorb a range of techniques and technological processes, using such specialized equipment as 3-D printers and large-scale Ferro enameling kilns.
• The Painting concentration is rooted in observation and technique while stimulating abstract, conceptual or material-driven ideas about painting and contemporary art practices. The curriculum supports a variety of specific approaches to painting — including collage, figural, landscape and abstraction — while simultaneously promoting an interdisciplinary approach and emphasizing engagement with contemporary practices. Advanced painting students work in consultation with faculty advisors to pursue individual directions and interests.
• The Print Media and Photography concentration introduces students to all traditional print forms as a foundation for conceptual approaches. Students are able to learn print techniques such as intaglio, lithography, relief, silkscreen and large-format digital printing. In addition, students can explore traditional and experimental photography and develop print matrices. Students learn how to develop printed and photographic works of art through layering, problem solving and thoughtful material applications.
• The Sculpture and Expanded Media concentration encourages proficiency in foundational methods of making-modeling, carving and assembly. The concentration is a springboard for students to learn how to communicate ideas through sculptural works. Although sculpture classes are rooted in the history of object-making, new forms of sculptural practice (installation, time-based practice, sound and kinetic works) are all part of a comprehensive three-dimensional program.
• The Textiles concentration fosters creative thinking, critical inquiry and development of technical facility. Students study the artistic and cultural legacy of textiles in conjunction with historic and contemporary practices. Components of the program are the traditions of textile making (built on repetition, geometry and order) linked with digital design and technology. Students learn felt-making, surface design, screen-printing and weaving (hand-manipulated, loom-controlled and digital).

The Bachelor of Science in Education degree in Integrated Mathematics prepares students for teacher licensure in grades 7-12. Students complete most of their content coursework during their first three years; methods coursework typically begins during the spring of their third year. During the final year of the program, candidates complete remaining content courses, mathematics teaching methods courses and a year-long placement in a local school district, which concludes with 13 weeks of student teaching in the spring.

Students are required to complete Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification (BCII) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background checks.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Successfully pass the Ohio Assessment Exam.
• Demonstrate understanding of the content and pedagogy of required IMTH courses.
• Successfully plan three types of lesson plans: conceptual, procedural, and relevance to teaching mathematics.
• Successfully complete student teaching.
• Create a unit plan in secondary mathematics.
• Model 5 problems of antiquity in Desmos or Geogebra.
• Fulfill the requirements of edTPA

The Master of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences–Neurosciences is an inter-institutional program that allows students to complete research projects under the guidance of a neuroscience faculty member at Kent State University, Cleveland Clinic and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). Students complete a common set of core courses that cover fundamental principles in neuroscience, from the cellular/molecular to the systems level. Students also complete elective courses tailored to their chosen subdiscipline. Areas of research focus on the neurosciences include behavioral neuroscience, sensory neuroscience, developmental neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases.

The Master of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences–Neurosciences is offered in consortium with Cleveland Clinic and Northeast Ohio Medical University.

Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:

•     Publish their research in peer-reviewed journals.
•     Demonstrate the ability to teach undergraduate students.
•     Seek employment after graduation in fields that reflect their area of training.

The Master of Urban Design degree expands on traditional architectural, landscape architecture and planning education with an understanding of the processes of urban development, and with the skills required to the physical shaping of urban places. The degree seeks to develop knowledgeable specialists who possess significant ability to identify opportunities in the urban environment an the sensibility to provide for design solutions to the most complex problems encountered.

Faculty work in close collaboration with students through rigorous curricula focused on the application of research in the design of layered and mutually reinforcing systems and public spaces.

Projects range from neighborhood plans to large scale urban and regional initiatives engaging cultural and environmental concerns. Project locations are often in Cleveland and similar regional cities, but they address far-reaching global concerns. Students can engage in applied research in the re-design of “Cities Growing Smaller,” systemic approaches to the development of urban environments, considerations of place and identity and the place-making potential of infrastructure. Further directions include the design of cities and neighborhoods that promote physical and mental health, studies of sustainable infrastructures that support sustainable ecological systems, the adaptation of traditional models of urbanism to changing conditions, and the future of urban economies as it relates to physical place-making.

Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to build abstract relationships and understand the impact of ideas based on research and analysis of multiple theoretical, social, political, economic, cultural and environmental contexts. This includes the wider range of media used to think about urban and regional design, including writing, investigative skills, speaking, drawing and model making.
• Develop an ability to utilize the technical instruments of the urban design field including: legal instruments, urban systems and their organization, the role of these varied elements in the implementation of design and their impact on the environment. This is inclusive of understanding and abilities at a range of scales from local to regional design and the implications of policy and design decision making at these ranges of scale.
• Manage, advocate and act legally, ethically and critically for the good of society and the public. This includes collaborative, professional and leadership skills, especially in the public arena.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology is for students who wish to acquire in-depth training in archaeology and biological anthropology. The program is more structured in terms of course requirements than the B.A. degree in Anthropology and provides students with methods and theory that will prepare them for graduate school and future careers in the discipline.

The Anthropology major comprises the following concentrations:

• The Archaeology concentration provides students with in-depth training in analysis and field opportunities, as well as coursework in archeological theory and cultural ecology. The program emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of archaeology. Students take courses in geography (GIS mapping and satellite imagery), geology and mathematics; and have the option of  chemistry or physics courses, depending on interests and aspirations. The program features hands-on training using the latest technologies, including morphometric analysis, material properties testing, artifact replication, digital recording and mapping equipment. Areas of specialization include experimental archaeology, Old World Paleolithic archaeology and North American archaeology.
• The Biological Anthropology concentration trains students in aspects of evolutionary theory, human evolution and human variation. Coursework includes studies of living primates, their anatomy, behavior, ecology and conservation. Laboratory work for genetics, endocrinology, bone biology and neurobiology are available for undergraduate training. Additionally, the freshmen human evolution laboratory enhances the learning process in the biological aspects of human nature.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Acquire a foundational view of human cultures and an extensive knowledge base of diverse human behavior
• Demonstrate broad skills in social, physical and biological sciences.
• Understand how social scientists think and apply their findings.

Graduates of the Archaeology concentration will be able to:

• Learn how anthropologists investigate the past combining the methods of social and natural scientists.
• Demonstrate comprehension of anthropology’s special role in making archaeology (particularly the study of the ancient Americas) come to life and become relevant for them.
• Gain a special appreciation of archaeology’s other mandate—the need to conserve the precious heritage of the archaeological record, both in the New World and the Old World.
• Demonstrate thorough knowledge of general chemistry and/or physics,  fundamental mathematics, as well as specific areas of geology and geography.

Graduates of the Biological Anthropology concentration will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of biological anthropology as the most relevant evolution science, the one which gives them an appreciation of their place in nature.
• See the two dimensions of human evolution and adaptation: a global one (modern human variation) and a deep temporal one (human origins). Both dimensions require an appreciation of the neo-Darwinian theory of evolution, which includes both the process of natural selection and the roles which genetics and developmental biology play.
• Demonstrate thorough knowledge of general chemistry and fundamental mathematics, as well as specific areas in the biological sciences.

The Master of Arts degree in Biology is for students wishing to gain additional knowledge in any area of the biological sciences. This is a non-thesis master's degree designed for secondary school science teachers, individuals looking for additional background or preparation for professional school (e.g. medicine, dentistry or Ph.D. programs) and those seeking employment in life science industries in a non-research capacity.

The Biology major includes the following optional concentrations:

• The Biological Data Analytics concentration combines required courses in data analytics and elective options in biology to provide students with the understanding of the type of data collected while conducting biological research and how to analyze it.
• The Cellular and Molecular Biology concentration provides a heavy focus on cell-to-cell interactions and signaling pathways to give students a deep understanding of the cellular and molecular processes that occur within cells and physiological systems.
• The Environmental Biology concentration provides students with a balance between better understanding the relationships between organisms and the environment and how this balance can be sustained through environmental management and conservation.
• The Medical Biology concentration provides students with a deep understanding of physiological systems and the mechanisms that underlie various disorders and disease pathologies.

Students who declare the Biology major with no concentration will select their area of specialization in consultation with an academic faculty advisor.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Understand advanced biological concepts beyond the scope of the typical undergraduate degree and to increase the depth of their knowledge through coursework and hands-on experiences.
• Apply scientific principles and appreciate work outside of their particular field.
• Effectively communicate about science with colleagues as well as those outside of the student's area of expertise.
• Develop the necessary laboratory skills that will allow testing of hypotheses.

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology provides broad training in the theories and methods that sociologists use to understand contemporary social issues and problems. Students are encouraged to think critically as they examine issues ranging from small group behavior to global social movements. The core curriculum focuses on social inequalities, social psychology and health and illness. In addition, the program offers courses on a variety of topics that include urban living, deviant behavior, religion and family.

Sociology students are increasingly interested in courses that prepare them for meaningful careers that change the world (Seemiller and Grace 2016). One only needs to look at Black Lives Matter or the Sunrise Movement to see evidence of this generational disposition. Sociology, as a discipline, provides students with rigorous coursework on social inequality and social change, and helps students find careers in government, teaching, community organizing, non-governmental organizations and social work.

Sociology students may apply early to the M.A. degree and double count 9 credit hours of graduate courses toward both degree programs. See the Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program policy in the University Catalog for more information.

The Sociology major comprises the following concentrations:

• The Family and Life Course Sociology concentration introduces students to the cultural, political and historical realities and changes in families across the lifespan. Courses examine issues such as gender socialization, dating and romance, cohabitation, marriage, divorce, parenthood, domestic violence, death and dying, family diversity and family policy. This concentration is relevant to students interested in careers in health care promotion, public health, family counseling, long-term care institutions, program planning, community education and policy analysis.
• The General concentration is for students who either choose not to pursue a specialization within the major or wish to pursue an individualized program of study (through sociology electives) that does not align with the substantive concentrations.
• The Medical Sociology concentration introduces students to the relationship between society and health. In this concentration, students study the impact of social, cultural, political and economic factors on health (and vice-versa). Courses in this area examine issues such as health behavior, physical and mental illnesses, doctor-patient interaction, medicalization, health care reform, health care delivery and health policy. This concentration is relevant for students interested in careers in administrative and program planning related to medicine, mental health, social services, patient advocacy, mental health facilities and nursing homes.
• The Social Change and Social Justice concentration trains students to recognize the conditions and contexts of social stasis and social upheaval; promote understanding of how and why social movements succeed or fail; and cultivate an interest in public sociology. Students in the concentration are encouraged to pair traditional course work with an internship or other experiential learning opportunity.
• The Social Inequalities concentration examines how social structural factors, such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, social class and sexuality relate to power, social status, wealth, income, health and morality. Courses in this area examine issues of poverty, race and ethnic inequality, sexism, age discrimination, neighborhood segregation, labor market processes and income disparity. This concentration is relevant for students interested in careers related to human or social services, nonprofit and community organizations, research and government agencies and human resources.
• The Social Problems, Deviance and Crime concentration examines a variety of social problems with special emphasis on types of behavior that are inconsistent with social norms, challenge to social order and are illegal. This concentration also examines the role of morality, public opinion, politics, government, law, and institutions of social control in the definition of, as well as the response to, social problems, deviance and crime. While containing some overlap with other concentrations in the Criminology and Justice Studies major, the sociological perspective here suggests important commonalities across the studies of crime, deviance and social problems, as well as the relevance of broad sociological themes, including critical inquiry, empirical research and increased awareness of social context. This concentration provides relevant preparation for students interested in further study in the areas of public safety, social policy, social services and civil service and graduate studies in law or social science. It can also be a convenient and constructive resource enabling a double major between Sociology and Criminology and Justice Studies.
• The Sociological Social Psychology concentration introduces students to the sociological approach to social psychology. Courses in this area examine theoretical perspectives that link structural factors such as gender, social class and race to individual factors and behaviors such as self-concept, identity, deviance and mental health. Courses typically include an overview of specific sociological topics such as socialization, emotions, social influence, group conflict and decision-making, prejudice and discrimination, status and power and interpersonal relationships. This concentration provides a foundation for students interested in careers or graduate work that focus on the many connections between individuals and the groups to which they belong.