The 2023 Charlotte Literacy Summit: Still time to register

Students applying for admission to the Advanced Literacy Instruction and Intervention AND the M.Ed. in Reading Education programs must have:
Students applying for admission to the M.Ed. in Reading Education are required to have all the of above PLUS:
Students can start the program any full term: Spring, Summer or Fall. Applications for Spring are due by Dec. 1 while Summer start applications are due by April 30 and applications for Fall start are due by Aug. 1 of that year.
Our undergraduate programs like the Minor in Reading Education are in-person and the majority of courses are face-to-face.
The M.Ed. in Reading and the Advanced Literacy Instruction & Intervention Certificate are both fully online. Courses are delivered in the Canvas learning management system with some instructors also using video meetings through platforms like Zoom. Early Entry students take master's level courses which are online.
Coursework for the Ph.d. program varies with a mix of face-to-face and online.
We encourage students to apply for scholarships and grants through the Niner Scholarship Portal.
There are two grants we encourage applicants and students to check out.
Successful completion of the minor, along with a passing score on the Praxis 5206 exam, will lead to a recommendation for a North Carolina add-on K-12 license in Reading.
The M.Ed. in Reading Education program qualifies graduates who hold a North Carolina professional educator's license for an Advanced North Carolina K-12 Reading Education license at the master's level. Graduates from the program who do not have a professional educator's license can earn the M.Ed. in Reading degree but will not be eligible for licensure at any level.
The Advanced Literacy Instruction and Intervention Certificate does not lead to any teaching certifications nor does the Ph.D. programs in Curriculum & Instruction.
The Minor in Reading Education program is designed for students already seeking initial licensure in another content area who wish to gain expertise in reading methods in the K-12 public school setting. The minor provides additional expertise in reading and literacy adding to the employablity of our graduates.
Many of the graduates with the M.Ed. in Reading Education who are already teaching move into teacher leader roles such as grade-level lead teachers or subject area chairperson while others become Reading Specialists or Literacy Coaches who work with teachers to improve literacy instruction through coaching, modeling, co-teaching and leading professional development. Some literacy specialists work with students in pull-out groups to support their literacy advancement. We now accept students who are not classroom teachers and do not have an initial teaching license and for those outside of the school setting there is a range of possibilities including tutoring and working with non-profits that serve children through out-of-school programs during the summer or after-school.
Graduates with from the Reading Strand of the Curriculum and Instruction Ph.D. program have a variety of career paths with many successfully entering academia in tenure-track positions while others move into leadership positions in school districts.
The program has better equipped me as a current literacy teacher and a future literacy leader. It has provided me with the opportunity to reflect on my own teaching practices and also practice first-hand new literacy research and strategies through case studies and projects. I have been able to grow in my confidence as a literacy leader and feel better equipped to support and lead my colleagues. --2021 graduate
Looking at data and making data-based decisions as guided by the assignments of this program helped me target students' needs in my current classroom. The way this program was designed helped me see my path as an educator going forward. --2021 graduate
The program has better equipped me as a current literacy teacher and a future literacy leader. It has provided me with the opportunity to reflect on my own teaching practices and also practice first-hand new literacy research and strategies through case studies and projects. --2021 graduate
This program allowed me to explore so many aspects of literacy from K-12 and has allowed me to offer more differentiation to my students and make my classroom a more equitable learning environment for every individual in my classroom. --2019 Graduate
I live and work in a rural school in Southeastern Illinois. Many of my students are significantly behind in reading and writing...and through the online Reading M.Ed. program at UNC Charlotte I gained knowledge in diagnostic assessments and evidence-based approaches to develop differentiated and targeted approaches to reading instruction that would reach my students where they are. --2019 Graduate
Applicants to the M.Ed. and ALII Certificate programs must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited university. Candidates are not required to have teaching experience, although teaching or work with K-12 students in literacy in our out of schools is highly recommended.
Programs costs depend on your residency status which is determined the State of North Carolina. Below is an estimate of costs for our M.Ed. in Reading Education and our Advanced Literacy Instruction & Intervention Certificate programs as of Feb. 2022:
Resident:
**For most up-to-date estimate of costs please visit the School of Professional Studies program website for the Advanced Literacy Instruction & Intervention Graduate Certificate
**For most up-to-date estimate of costs please visit the School of Professional Studies program website for the Reading Education, M.Ed.
The master's program is a two-year program for most students taking two courses per Fall and Spring term and three courses taking in two summer terms. The current course of study for students depends on what semester they start. See our Fall-Spring-Summer start sequence document for the classes students typically take depending on when they begin the program. We strongly encourage students starting the program to begin their first summer taking one or two courses. This lightens the courseload during the second Summer from 9 hours to 6 or 3 hours.
The courses for the master's with the semesters they are offered typically include:
Summer
Fall
Spring
Fall
Spring (final term)
We develop an Early Entry plan that is individualiized for each of our undergraduates who begins the Masters program while an undergraduate so early entry students do not follow the cohort sequence.
Students in the 12-hour certificate program take READ 6250 or READ 6255 and three other READ courses:
All coursework in the Advanced Literacy Instruction & Intervention Certificate can apply towards the M.Ed. in Reading Education at UNC Charlotte for students who wish to go beyond the certificate and earn their master’s degree.
Students may start the ALII Certificate any term--Spring, Summer or Fall. The program requires three semesters or one academic year to complete.
Here is a link to the current course sequence for our M.Ed. in Reading Education and ALII Certificate programs.