Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages with Emphasis in Spanish

at MSM Group - University of Missouri-St. Louis USA

The BS in Secondary Education, with an emphasis in Social Studies, prepares students to teach in secondary school settings, grades 9-12. This program requires the selection and completion of required coursework in Social Studies and includes field and practicum experiences in high school settings, culminating in Missouri teacher certification.

Much of the discipline-specific coursework parallels the BA degree in History or the BA or BS degrees in Economics; however, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requires specific coursework for teacher certification.

The BA in Organizational Leadership is an interdisciplinary online degree completion program that provides an accelerated pathway to graduation for those who have an Associate’s degree or have completed some college courses, but have yet to complete their degree. The degree is designed to provide adult students with the knowledge, skills and credentials necessary to advance in a rapidly changing workplace and may be completed entirely online.

This program helps students understand theoretical and practical aspects of leadership across disciplines, while allowing you to focus on a specific Area of Concentration of interest or that advances your career goals.

The BS in Elementary Education, with an emphasis in TESOL, increases competency and confidence in integrating the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing into academic teaching for English language learners. TESOL courses cover general linguistics, second/foreign language acquisition principles, cross-cultural communication theories and practices, assessments with coping strategies and developing and implementing instructional materials with reflection. The instructional design for each TESOL course includes exploring students’ backgrounds and determining desired results using assessment strategies, enacting with or presenting the interactive activities with explicit language targets and expanding inquiry with guided reflection.

The master’s degree in Secondary Education is an accredited program appropriate for secondary teachers, specialists, department chairpersons, and those who work in informal learning or international educational settings. Candidates choose electives that will support their personal growth and development as an educational leader to impact the communities with which they work.

Diverse candidates will engage in a learner-centered environment committed to the success of historically marginalized and diverse students, research, and community engagement. Within diverse education settings, candidates will: advance pedagogical knowledge, recognize inequalities in educational opportunity, design differentiated assessments to inform practice, critically examine professional practice, and demonstrate commitment to ethical professional practice.  

It is important that both candidates and advisors plan ahead to ensure courses are taken when they are offered in the schedule. Programs must be planned with an academic advisor and meet the approval of the faculty advisor, adhering to the College of Education and UMSL Graduate School policies.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:

• Continually and systematically reflect on professional growth to enhance student learning.
• Integrate technology to create meaningful student learning within the context of a global digital society.
• Apply advanced content and pedagogical knowledge to create authentic and deep learning experiences.
• Extend learning science principles to design, implement, and evaluate curriculum based on learning standards.
• Create and foster effective working relationships with students, school colleagues, families, and community members to enhance student learning and well-being.
• Design and establish a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment that nurtures the intellectual, social, and personal development of all students.
• Utilize equitable frameworks and inclusive practices to expertly create a variety of instructional and assessment opportunities adapted to diverse learners to encourage all students’ critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

The MA in Museums, Heritage, and Public History joins theoretical and practical study at an advanced level to prepare students for careers in museums, heritage institutions, historic sites and societies, and related organizations.  The program works closely with cultural resources in St Louis, particularly the city’s many museums and historic sites.  We focus on community engagement, the interdisciplinary and cross-cultural study of material culture, interpreting and debating the past, new media and public education, and research in archival and material collections. Our graduates work in art museums, history museums, science centers, historic house museums, and other cultural institutions across the United States and internationally.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:

• Conduct original historical research based on disciplinary protocols
• Demonstrate competence in digital technologies utilized in the creation, presentation, and distribution of interpretive content
• Assess contemporary activities in the field of museums, heritage, and public history with reference to best practices
• Develop skills for communicating interpretive content effectively with public and professional audiences
• Demonstrate skills to become a competent professional and ethical contributor to museum, heritage, and public history collaborative settings
• Integrate community perspectives into professional museum, heritage, and public history products and activities

The M. Ed. Program in Special Education explores important core knowledge in Special Education. The program's primary goal is to empower professionals as thoughtful educators who use best practices when assisting and empowering students with disabilities. Research and data-based decision-making are emphasized throughout the program. Graduate students will apply learned and evaluated research into practice in their courses, and learn to analyze multiple types of assessment data. The M.Ed. Program in Special Education consists of an initial required core of courses, a concentration area corresponding to the chosen emphasis area, and a capstone or exit course block.

When graduate students are accepted into the program, their transcripts may be reviewed, as necessary,  to identify compliance with state education certification guidelines. Students who wish to be certified in the education of children with cross-categorical disabilities will be required to fulfill general certification requirements, as well as graduate coursework. Upon completion of this advanced degree, professionals will have developed an in-depth knowledge-base related to

• Various learning contexts within and outside of the school setting
• The multiple influences on educational practices in schools
• The characteristics and instructional needs of learners with disabilities
• Assessment strategies for monitoring instruction
• Instructional best practices
• Using research to inform practice in the classroom
• Diversity awareness
• Contexts that affect student learning
• The powerful interactions between setting events and specific learner outcomes
• A life-perspective of students with exceptional learning needs, both young children who transition into kindergarten and those transitioning into adulthood.

The M.S. in Computer Science has three different options to choose from, offering a wide range of career opportunities. All graduates will have a broad computing background and will be exposed to a wide range of technologies. They will also be prepared for team work, independent research, and technical reporting and presentations.

The BSBA, Marketing Emphasis degree program is a 120-credit-hour program that requires at least 48-credit hours be filled with business courses, of which a minimum of 18-credit hours need to be taken in Marketing courses.

The core business classes include financial and managerial accounting, legal environment of business, information systems concepts, business analytics and statistics, supply chain management, financial management, management and organizational behavior, marketing, and strategic management must be completed. Once you’ve completed your required courses, you can customize your degree with business electives, even selecting a minor, if you choose.

The BS in Information Systems & Technology is a 120-credit-hour program that requires 30-credit-hours of core businesses classes, 24-credit-hours of IST specific coursework, 6 hours of approved electives and 60-credit hours of non-business courses.

The core business classes include financial and managerial accounting, legal environment of business, information systems concepts, business analytics and statistics, financial management, management and organizational behavior and more. The IST required courses include managerial applications of object-oriented programming, information systems analysis, data networks and security, database management systems and information systems design.

The Department of Biology offers two ways of achieving the Master of Science degree. The first is a non-thesis option suitable for those who may already have extensive research experience, for educators who seek to upgrade their academic skills but do not require research experience, or for those who need to broaden their biological background. The second is a traditional apprenticeship in research leading to a written thesis. All students admitted to the graduate program are considered to be in the non-thesis program unless they have been accepted into an individual faculty lab. Starting with a common core, both the non-thesis or thesis option may be developed into a final degree program in either of two broad areas in biology: 1) Cell and Molecular Biology or 2) Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics.