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Master of Education in
Literacy

This program is designed for educators who wish to bring systematic change to schools seeking to improve or enhance reading instruction. You will learn how to develop a supportive curriculum that helps students and teachers meet important reading milestones.

Total cost at ACE

$8,210

(tuition + fees)

Compare with other institutions*:

$18,900

University of Phoenix

$25,092

Concordia University

$20,424

Capella University

*Based on information provided on each institution's website as of August 2018

Applications due January 4 for January 7, 2019 Term

View Tuition Details

Key Features

  • Relevant Coursework: This program was designed to incorporate best practices in literacy development for diverse P-12 students.
  • Focused Coursework: This 31-credit online program includes 28 credits in literacy courses. You will learn about all aspects of literacy including literacy for exceptional learners, intervention strategies for reading difficulties, and how to implement literacy in context.
  • Flexible: Study on your schedule. Our online format allows you to plan your coursework around your life.
  • Comprehensive Approach: You will learn how to directly impact students through curriculum and program creation. You’ll also study how to provide professional development at school and district levels to help other teachers enhance reading instruction.

For more information about this program, view the College Catalog. You can also ask questions anytime via chat.

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See Student Experience

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Understand Admission Requirements

Understand Admission Requirements

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Department Chair

Tiffany Hamlett, Ph.D.
Administrative Faculty and Chair,
Department of Teaching and Learning

Dr. Tiffany Hamlett has worked in higher education for eight years in various educational fields. Her background includes early childhood education, curriculum development, and research methods. In addition, she serves as a reviewer for Social Development and the Southern Early Childhood Association. She is particularly interested in studying developmentally appropriate practice, lifespan development, and constructivist teaching practices.

A Degree You Can Count On

We are, and have always been, regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. This accreditation guarantees that our programs meet certain levels of quality standards.   

A Note About Licensure:

While this program provides a comprehensive understanding of the intended program outcomes, it does not lead to licensure, certification, or endorsement. ACE offers several programs that do provide a pathway to licensure, certification, or endorsement and they can be found here.

Home / Teaching and Learning / M.Ed. in Literacy

Tuition

M.Ed. in Literacy

Total Tuition

31 semester credits x $235 per credit

$7,285

Fees

$50 Application Fee

$775 Technology & Library Fee ($25 per credit)

$100 Program Conferral Fee

$925

Total Program Cost*

$8,210

*This is an estimated value of the cost for tuition and fees. Amounts may vary depending on number of transfer credits applied to the selected program hours, the pace and satisfactory completion of the selected program credit hours, receipt of scholarship and/or grant amounts, and adjustments to tuition or fees as described in the Catalog Right to Modify Tuition section.

State of California Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF)

It is a state of California requirement that a student who pays his or her tuition is required to pay a state-imposed assessment for the Student Tuition Recovery Fund. For more information and to see if you must pay the state-imposed assessment for Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) click here.

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ACE General Admission Requirements

  • Complete and submit all application components including the admission application, including the enrollment agreement, and payment agreement.
  • Submit the nonrefundable application fee.*
  • Provide official transcripts from a regionally accredited institution indicating successful completion of the level of education required for entry to the program.**

*The application fee is valid for one year from date of submission.
**Additional evidence may be required to fulfill state requirements, including but not limited to verification of professional experience, test scores, or an interview.

Program Admission Requirements

M.Ed. in Literacy

  • Bachelor's or Highest Post-Baccalaureate degree earned
  • Minimum Grade Point Average 2.75 on a 4.0 Scale for full admission
  • Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.50 on a 4.0 Scale for Provisional Admission*
  • Documentation of at least an initial teaching license (in the state the applicant resides), school service personnel license, or a school services certificate 
  • If applicants do not have a teaching certificate, they may document their teaching status by providing evidence of full-time teaching assignment from an individaul in a supervisory capacity or from a human resources official of the school at their current employment

     

*Applicants whose overall GPA, or GPA in the last 60 hours is below 2.50 will not be admitted to the degree program

International Transcript Requirements

All applicants must submit to the Admissions Office official, sealed college transcripts from each institution attended.

  • Transcripts that are international and/or not in English must be evaluated through an NACES-recommended agency.
  • Texas applicants may only submit evaluations from agencies approved by the Texas Education Agency.
  • International applicants must request the course-by-course evaluation. The evaluation report must show that the non-U.S. education is equivalent to the education/accreditation level required for the program.

English as a Second Language Applicants

All applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate competence in the English language as demonstrated in one of three ways:

  1. Submission of an official transcript showing a degree from a United States secondary school or regionally accredited college/university.

  2. Submission of a transcript from a secondary school or college/university whose country uses English as a primary means of instruction, including, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand.

  3. Submission of an official minimum score on the paper-based or internet-based TOEFL exam.
    • The minimum TOEFL score required for the paper-based Test (PBT) is 550, and for the internet-based (iBT) Test is 80.

    • Applicants to the Texas M.Ed. in Educational Leadership program must submit scores from the internet-based (iBT) TOEFL An overall score of 80, and a score of 26 on the speaking section is required.

    • The testing agency must send test scores directly to American College of Education.

Admissions Appeal Process

Applicants have the right to appeal admissions decisions. Begin the process by filling out the admissions appeal here.

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Courses

Explore the classes you'll take to fulfill this program's 31 semester credit requirement. For more information, a complete list of requirements, and course options, see the College Catalog.

Literacy Courses

(28 semester credits)

This course prepares students to implement a schoolwide leadership initiative to improve a comprehensive range of literacy skills. Specific principles and theories of reading instruction are evaluated in relation to currently employed practice so teachers can immediately strengthen instruction. Students examine the scientific research base underlying different models of reading instruction. Special attention is given to curriculum mapping, alignment, and the development of an implementation plan to strengthen literacy.
This course builds key concepts and principles related to phonemic awareness and phonics, shaping an emerging understanding of the connection between language and the written code. Essential components of effective reading instruction will be explored using a Response to Instruction (Rtl) model. Learners will analyze critical elements of emerging skills to foster the use of appropriate strategies across developmental stages, content areas, technology, and diversity issues in learning to read.
This course integrates literature and literacy applications for developing communications skills across disciplines. Specific examples from secondary classrooms explore the paradigm shift to rigorous and relevant study of real-world applications to prepare students to use language effectively, developing an appreciation for the world beyond the classroom as found in writings and through the use of other literacies in relation to significant historical events and global perspectives. Principles and methods of inquiry to foster critical and creative thinking are utilized to examine methods for introducing core ideas which have shaped understanding from past eras to present day.
This course examines issues related to integrating communication skills to enhance fluency, vocabulary development, and comprehension in a variety of text structures and literacies across content areas. Utilizing core concepts, reading skills will be used to build connections between and beyond disciplines of thought, extending into real-world applications. A range of instructional strategies for assessment, intervention, and enrichment will be evaluated as to their effectiveness for supporting engagement and motivation for use in modes of language. Key dimensions for the development of differentiated instruction will promote blending of resources from the school environment, community and abroad, including the use of technology.
This course examines the use of language and modes of communications through content specific examples of literacy in context, promoting connectedness in and across the disciplines, focusing on the transferrable skills of analyzing, determining and developing, researching and creating, and classifying and generalizing. Utilizing content-specific illustrations, learners examine major components of effective reading to support conceptualization of knowledge in real-life application infusing learning with rigor and relevance. Prioritizing essential elements of thought characterized in a discipline, learners connect prior knowledge to authentic assessment options.
This course focuses on ways to integrate linguistic understanding into the genres of literature by blending skills and content to deliver an enhanced learning experience based upon relevancy. Skills are scaffold to support comprehension through application of theoretical models in practice. By integrating linguistics in literature, teachers learn to build lessons with depth of thought.
Exploring the impact of 21st century skills on traditional literacies, this course disseminates characteristics of the new literacies including visual, digital, critical, economic, and scientific as they influence sustainable learning in content areas while instruction shifts to accommodate these differences. By building connections and layering curriculum, this course probes effective frameworks to deliver a range of instructional options to brand the cognitive and affective domains.
Supporting the needs of all students requires understanding the range of unique issues facing those with identified exceptionalities. This course investigates the causes and their impact on student learning in relation to effective research-based strategies.
This course examines assessment approaches for diagnosing reading needs and methods for identifying, prescribing, and evaluating intervention plans based upon specific data. An embedded field experience targets developmental and age-appropriate instructional strategies to support struggling readers across diverse populations.
The Capstone Experience is designed for candidates to demonstrate and document the impact of their knowledge and competencies gained throughout, and as a result of the Master of Education in Literacy.

Research Courses

(3 semester credits)

This course enables students to become informed consumers of research and to develop skills to prepare them to carry out action research in their schools and organizations. An emphasis is placed on providing students with knowledge they can apply in determining whether particular research findings are relevant to their leadership and instructional practices and to distinguish between trustworthy and non-trustworthy research. The course places action research within the context of various types of research and examines research in terms of basic concepts and various purposes, methods, data, and paradigms. Emphasis is placed on how research can become a vital and relevant tool for educational and organizational leaders.
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