Bilingual Education, M.S.

General Requirements

• Students are responsible for meeting the program and College requirements in effect at the time they officially register in a program leading to licensure at Chicago State University regardless of when they were admitted to the University.
• Admission to the degree program is contingent upon good academic standing and acceptance by the department.
• Formal admission to the College of Education as a degree-seeking student in a pre-professional program is based on current COE requirements.
• Graduation requirements include a minimum of 33 credit hours of the student’s course work completed at the 5000-level; including courses identified to meet content area designation requirements, as approved by the program in consultation with the department for the specified content area designation.
• No more than two grades of C may be applied toward the degree.
• A full academic schedule of courses for graduate students is nine semester credit hours (6 hrs. during summer). Exceptions to this policy may be made only with the approval of the department.
• Candidates must abide by all College policies stated in this catalog, unless exceptions are processed through established department, college, and university procedures, documented in writing.
• Completion of all master’s degree requirements, including the Candidate Work Sample Capstone Project, must be completed within six years.

Admission Requirements

• Provide two transcript(s) as evidence of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, and that the final 60 credit hours of undergraduate and/or graduate courses demonstrate a minimum GPA of 3.0.
• Credit towards required courses in the program will only be awarded for grades of C or higher.
• Submit proof that undergraduate coursework meets a minimum grade of C threshold in the following general education requirements:
  • Three credit hours in each of composition II, speech, college-level mathematics, Art Appreciation, Music Appreciation, Political Science, U.S. History, Geography, biological science, physical science, earth/space science (at least one science course must include a laboratory). General Education course requirements for licensure are subject to change by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Contact the Office of Teacher Licensure for more information at https://www.csu.edu/collegeofeducation/licensure.htm.
  • One course which incorporates multicultural or global perspectives

Program Completion and Graduation Requirements

• General program completion and graduation requirements include completing an application for graduation with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in all required and elective courses in professional education and the designated content area, as well as completion of the following addition licensure requirements:
  • Pre-clinical and clinical fieldwork forms documenting 100 clock hours are submitted to the Office of Field Placement. A summer practicum can be completed to make up missing field hours.
  • Field Practicum and Student Teaching Clinical Experiences successfully completed.
  • All College of Education and Program Assessments submitted in the LiveText by Watermark courseware domain, including the Candidate Work Sample (edTPA) Capstone Project and Professional Portfolio.
• Illinois State Board of Education licensure examination / assessments, including the Content Area Test for the discipline. Proof of passing must be submitted to the academic program by announced due dates PRIOR to permission given to register for the final Student Teaching clinical experience course.
  • Spring Semester Student Teaching - October 15th in the prior Fall Semester as part of the Application for Student Teaching Process.
  • Fall Semester Student Teaching - March 15th * in the prior Spring Semester as part of the Application for Student Teaching Process * Extensions to June 30th can be granted with program approval.
  • All requirements are met for state licensure as mandated by the Illinois State Board of Education, in consultation with the Office of Teacher Licensure.

Master’s Degree in Bilingual Elementary Education with Initial Licensure

The number of credits varies depending on the option:

• Bilingual Elementary Education Option: 60 credits
• English as a Second Language (ESL) Option: 57 credits