College of Education

Return to: College of Education

Mike L. Dishman, Dean

678-839-6570

https://www.westga.edu/education/

College of Education Mission

Locally connected and globally relevant, the Mission of the College of Education is to prepare graduates for professional careers in diverse settings within three dynamic areas of focus: Teaching, Leadership, and Wellness.  With programs that range from undergraduate through doctoral study, the College of Education is committed to excellence in pedagogy, professional service, engaged partnerships, and applied research.

College of Education Vision

The College of Education at the University of West Georgia will be recognized for Innovation in Teaching, Leadership, and Wellness with programs designed to transform lives and contribute to the betterment of society.

Master of Arts in Teaching Degree

The Master of Arts in Teaching is available for those who would like to add a Georgia Educator Certificate to an existing undergraduate degree. The MAT in Secondary Education is delivered primarily online, with field experiences in public schools, and leads to a master’s degree with teaching certification in grades 6-12. The program is a good fit for those who are career changers, provisionally-certified teachers, or recent college graduates. Refer to the College of Education Department of Early Childhood through Secondary Education website for GaPSC-approved undergraduate degrees and their associated content fields in secondary education. The Special Education program accepts undergraduate degrees in any field. An additional 15-credit hour concentration area will be required for certification in special education.

Master of Education Degree

The Master of Education degree is designed for individuals seeking to expand and strengthen their professional preparation in knowledge and pedagogy. The College offers the Master of Education degree in college student affairs; elementary education; professional counseling (clinical mental health counseling and school counseling); instructional technology, media, and design (instructional technology and school library media); physical education; reading instruction; special education; and speech-language pathology.

Most majors consist of a minimum of 36 semester hours of course work. Students seeking the clinical mental health counseling or school counseling option in Professional Counseling require 60 hours.  Both the clinical mental health counseling and school counseling programs in Professional Counseling are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and designed to meet academic requirements for licensing as a professional counselor (LPC) in Georgia.

The Master of Education in Speech-Language Pathology is accredited by the Council for Academic Accreditation (CAA) in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.

Minimum University System admission requirements for master’s degree studies are as follows, but each department offering the master’s degree may set additional admission requirements.

Regular Admission

The student must hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university with an undergraduate major in, or prerequisites for, the planned field of study where applicable.

For most programs, applicants must have earned a minimum 2.7 undergraduate grade point average calculated on all work attempted in which letter grades were awarded. Contact the Graduate Studies Office for information concerning the graduate program to which you are applying. MAT scores are unacceptable for admission into the M.Ed. programs. Scores from the ETS PRAXIS or Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE) tests are unacceptable for admission into M.Ed. degree programs.

These are minimum requirements. Applicants should see program sections for specific program admission and exit criteria.

Students must have the recommendation of the major department to be accepted for admission. Certain programs require the Level-4 teaching certificate or its equivalent.

Specialist in Education Degree

The programs leading to the Specialist in Education degree are designed to provide a further specialization for instructional service and leadership personnel in fields of professional education and professional counseling. The degree requires completion of 27 semester hours after completion of the Master’s degree. The programs of study are planned to achieve a distribution for the student’s entire graduate program among the teaching field or area of competence, educational foundations, behavioral sciences, and electives.

The Specialist in Education degree is offered with majors in educational leadership; elementary education; instructional technology, media, and design (instructional technology and school library media); professional counseling; secondary education (biology, broad field science, business, chemistry, economics, English, history, mathematics, physics, and political science); and special education.

Students seeking an Ed.S. degree in elementary education, professional counseling, secondary education (biology, broad field science, business, chemistry, economics, English, history, mathematics, physics and political science), and special education should have previously completed requirements for a master’s degree in the same field. Typically, eligibility for the level-5 certificate, based on master’s-level work in the same field, must be established before admission to the Ed.S. program. Applicants must check with each program advisor to determine prerequisites needed for admission to the Ed.S. program. Courses taken prior to admission to an Ed.S. program will not count towards the hourly requirements of an Ed.S. degree program.

Only regular admission is used for the Education Specialist degree with the following minimum University System admission requirements being established: a master’s degree from an accredited graduate institution, a 3.0 grade point average on all graduate work attempted, and satisfactory test scores. Contact the Graduate Studies Office for information concerning the graduate program to which you are applying. MAT scores are not accepted for admission into the Ed.D. programs in School Improvement and Professional Counseling and Supervision. Scores from the ETS PRAXIS series or Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE) tests are not accepted for admission into Ed.S. degree programs. However, they may be required for certification. Each department offering the Ed.S. degree may set higher standards.

Non-Degree Initial Teacher Preparation Programs Policies and Procedures

1. Candidates must have a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university.
2. Candidates must meet the following requirements for admission to teacher education:
   1. Overall minimum GPA.
   2. For elementary, art, and music, a grade point average of 2.7 overall from last conferred degree.
3. Completion of the required GACE Educator Ethics Assessment.
4. The candidate must present to the program advisor a copy of all transcripts and other documentation required by the program.
5. The program advisor will develop a program of study to be signed by the candidate and the department representative. This program of study will be valid for three years.
6. Candidates must complete the majority of courses required in the program of study at University of West Georgia. Curriculum, methods, and internship/practica must be taken at University of West Georgia. All internships and practica sites will be located in the University of West Georgia area.
7. Staff Development Unit (SDU)/Professional Learning Unit (PLU) credit may be accepted for meeting certain program requirements. The most commonly used are: Introduction to Special Education, and Teaching of Reading and Writing. SDU/PLU will not be accepted to meet teaching field (content) requirements.
8. Candidates must earn a grade of C or higher in all courses and maintain a 2.7 term GPA.
9. A limited number of graduate courses, not to exceed 3 (9 semester hours), used for initial certification may be counted toward a Master of Education. Check with individual departments for specific requirements.
10. Graduate candidates who were previously enrolled, but have not been in attendance for three semesters must apply for readmission with the Graduate Studies Office and with the College of Education and meet Teacher Education requirements in place when readmitted.

Retention

In addition to the specific requirements for admission to teacher education, the candidate must meet the following requirements for retention in teacher education programs.

1. Demonstrate knowledge, attitudes, and skills appropriate for the various stages of the preparation program.
2. Maintain the minimum grade point average needed for admission to the program.
3. Earn a grade of C or higher in each course and maintain a 2.7 term GPA.
4. Successfully complete each field experience undertaken prior to the next step in the sequence, including exhibiting responsible professional behavior at the field placement sites and in interactions with peers, faculty, and students.
5. Exhibit professional conduct as outlined in the Code of Ethics adopted by the Professional Standards Commission. 

Program Completion Requirements

Candidates are eligible for the Georgia educator certificate only upon successful completion of the teacher education program and a passing score on the appropriate certification tests as required by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.

Candidates must meet the following requirements for successful completion of the teacher education program:

• Complete specific program requirements as outlined by the approved program of study.
• Complete with a grade of B or higher SPED 3715 or departmental approved alternative to meet the special education requirement of Georgia House Bill 671.
• Earn a grade of C or higher in each course and maintain a 2.7 term GPA.
• Complete successfully all field experiences, including exhibiting responsible professional behavior at the field placement sites and in interactions with peers, faculty, and students.

Internship/Practicum Fee

A course-related fee is associated with internships and practicums to include student teaching, block, and other experiences in educator preparation programs at the University of West Georgia. The fee, which was endorsed by the University of West Georgia Student Government Association is applied to costs associated with field experiences (including supervision travel and mentor teacher development).

COE Early Learning Center 

The College of Education (COE) Early Learning Center, is a state-of-the-art early childhood research and demonstration facility. The Early Learning Center is dedicated to four goals: a) to increase the community’s capacity for inclusive early childhood care and programming, b) develop models of best practice, c) build family and community partnerships, and d) identify and join a collective group of experts to promote the health, safety, and developmental needs of young children. The Early Learning Center currently houses the following programs for children, ages birth to eight, and their families: 

- UWG Pre-Kindergarten Program (Bright from the Start Georgia Pre-K) 

- Early Childhood Makerspace and Coding Lab 

- Early Childhood Student Research Lab 

- Early Childhood Assistive Technology Lab

- Play Therapy 

- Well Start for Early Learning 

- Suri the Spider collection of social-emotional educator and family resources.

Innovations Lab

The Innovations Lab is a state-of-the art hub for experimenting with new technologies (e.g., VR goggles, 3-D printers, digital robots, artificial intelligence etc.). In addition to providing an interactive learning space for UWG and P-12 students, the Lab offers training and exploration for educators and other professionals who wish to integrate emerging technologies into their profession. We have opened a mobile version of the lab, partnering with school districts’ technology funding to bring innovation directly to their door. The Lab helps us bridge the funding gap between rural and non-rural schools by bringing curricular enhancements to rural schools in the West Georgia region for reduced or no costs.

Comprehensive Community Clinic (CCC)

The CCC provides services in speech and hearing, counseling, and academic tutoring (math and literacy) to community clients of all ages, typically serving over 450 clients each year. Our graduate students deliver therapy as clinicians in speech, hearing, and counseling, and teacher education students serve as literacy and math tutors - all under the guidance of on-site faculty. Costs to clients are very reasonable and scholarships are available.  The CCC includes 3 satellite clinics, including rural and remote areas.

Fusion Center

The Fusion Center serves as our hub for COE Entrepreneurial Initiatives, providing financial, logistical, and operational support. It also houses our STEM Education activities, including state competitions and summer training opportunities for educators and P-12 students.

UWGLive Simulation Lab

UWGLive offers simulations for all programs and many external constituents in a variety of mixed-reality, virtual environments. We now hire and train our own interactors and create our own scenarios, which allows us to offer simulation experiences to other universities and professional clients.

Wolf Wellness Lab

The Wolf Wellness Lab is an experiential learning space for the students and faculty of the Health and Community Wellness and Physical Education programs. The Wolf Wellness Lab partners with local, state, and national partners with initiatives related to program evaluation, grant and research-based initiatives.

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