MBCNews - MBC Continues to Master Art of Graduate Studies

MBC Continues to Master Art of Graduate Studies

By Dawn Medley

2009-03-31

Experienced educators looking for ways to strengthen their classroom practices will soon spot a well-known acronym at Mary Baldwin College. The MEd, or master of education, was recently added to the college’s offerings and students can enroll now for summer courses beginning May 27.

“The MEd is a respected and familiar term in education,” said Nancy Krippel, dean of adult and graduate studies. “There are people looking specifically for an MEd, and this enhances our excellent teacher training program.”

The MEd is Mary Baldwin’s third graduate degree, building on the success of the college’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and Master of Letters/Master of Fine Arts in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance (MLitt/MFA). The college’s graduate teacher education programs will now be more clearly defined:

MAT:Designed for people seeking initial teacher licensure in the state of Virginia. It is a broad-based liberal arts approach that includes entry-level courses and consists of 41 credit hours. Students can add on special education and gifted education endorsement in the MAT program.

MEd:A professional degree directed toward those who are already licensed teachers or are not seeking initial licensure (museum educators, nature interpreters at parks, etc.). MAT’s Track II will be phased out in favor of the MEd, continuing until approximately 65 people who are currently in the program complete their degrees. MEd students can choose from four areas of emphasis and electives within MBC’s graduate programs for a total of 33 credit hours.

Mary Baldwin’s program is distinguished from many colleges and universities that offer an MEd by its four areas of concentration:

Environment-Based Learning

Leadership

Special Education

Gifted Education

The MEd will be available in MBC’s adult and graduate centers in Staunton, Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke, and South Boston. The Environment-Based Learning focus will remain a summer program offered on the Staunton campus.
“The MEd program is another example of how we are dedicated to making good teachers better. The phrase we’ve used for many years, ‘Taking teaching to a higher lever,’ continues to strengthen at Mary Baldwin,” said Carole Grove, who serves as director of the MAT and MEd programs.