Social Studies Education (Grades 7-12), M.S.

Program Requirements

The Social Studies Education master’s program requires 35 graduate credits. The program can be completed full time in one calendar year, including summer.

Students with no previous teacher certification may be required to take a series of liberal arts distribution courses to fulfill prerequisite requirements for certification. Many of these are usually fulfilled by previous undergraduate and graduate study, or can be completed after you start your master’s program (but before graduation). These requirements are determined by reviewing your transcripts during the admissions process; contact the department for more information. Incoming students without an undergraduate major in a social science area may be required to take additional history, geography, economics, or political science courses.

All students will take courses in the social sciences content and education, adaptive instruction, and education methods. Coursework areas may include:

  • Social Studies and Democracy: The Reconstruction of Education
  • Understanding Learning and Teaching
  • Literacy Across the Curriculum
  • International Education for Transformation
  • Assessment and Data-Driven Instruction
  • Methods and Curriculum in Teaching Social Studies

This includes two full-time student teaching placements in local urban and suburban schools, including one at the middle grades level (7-8) and one at the high school level (9-12). One of these placements will be in a high needs setting. All students will cap off their degree program with a master’s exam, thesis, or special project. More information on academic requirements available in the Syracuse University Course Catalog.