Children’s Literature (MA) / Teaching (MAT)

Faculty

Please see Children’s Literature and Teaching program for faculty list.

Description

Combine your love of literature with your calling to teach. Become certified for elementary, middle or secondary levels. Begin introducing today's great works to tomorrow's great readers.

Study the art and illustration of a children's book, then share it with a child using the innovative “Whole Book Approach.” Examine the roots of fantasy for young readers to understand the appeal of Harry Potter. Consider touchstones of young adult realistic fiction to create your own original curriculum. Discover new nonfiction as you integrate common core standards into your own inventive teaching.

Whether in a public school classroom, an experimental charter school, or on a private school campus, your degree uniquely positions you to bring to together the child and the book in deeply engaging ways. Surround yourself with the extensive children's literature community at Simmons and in Boston. You already know the power of literature to change lives – use it well.

Simmons's innovative dual-degree program prepares students for teaching licensure while simultaneously providing a concentration in a chosen area of liberal arts. Students work simultaneously toward both degrees and, upon successful completion of the program, are certified as elementary, middle, or high school teachers. Full-time students can complete the program in approximately two years. Part-time students must complete the program within six years of enrollment. MAT/Liberal Arts graduates are well positioned for leadership roles as department heads, lead teachers, or curriculum coordinators.

Learning Outcomes

Students leave Master of Arts (MA) in Children’s Literature with an extensive theoretical context and a broad knowledge of contemporary literature for children and young adults. In graduating, they have:

Developed a critical voice and demonstrated the capacity for original argument;
Analyzed literature for children and young adults;
Assessed and interpreted scholarship in the field of children’s and young adult literature;
Applied critical perspectives across genres in children’s and young adult literature;
Understood historical works, contexts, and influences in the field;
Valued the diversities of human experiences (re)presented in literature for children and young adults and in the scholarship in the field; and
Demonstrated individual and collaborative leadership.

The Simmons College Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) to lead to initial teaching licensure in Massachusetts.

Requirements for entry into program

Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. All grade point averages are considered, but a B (3.0) average or higher is preferred.

Costs

Including financing and fellowships / assistantships

$1035 per credit hour (Children’s Literature)

Activity Fee $52 per semester

Delivery Mode or Modes Available (full-time, part-time, locations, technologies, etc.)

In collaboration with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Simmons offers all four graduate programs in Children's Literature onsite at The Carle. This includes our M.A. in Children's Literature, M.F.A. in Writing for Children, M.A. in Children's Literature/M.F.A. dual degree, and M.A. in Children's Literature/M.S. in Library Science dual degree offered in collaboration with Simmons's School of Library and Information Science program at Mount Holyoke.

Degree requirements

60- to 64-credits (depending on the length of student teaching)

Core, Pre-requisite, and elective course requirements and progression, etc.

Please refer to the specific Teaching program requirements.

The following Children's Literature courses are mandatory:

CHL 401	Criticism of Literature for Children	4
CHL 403	The Picturebook	4
CHL 413	Contemporary Realistic Fiction	4
CHL 414	Fantasy and Science Fiction	4

Electives:

History Electives

CHL 411/ENGL 511	Victorian Children's Literature	4
CHL 418	Australian Children's Literature	4
CHL 419
CHL 424	Nonsense Literature for Children:_Structured Absurdity, Subversion, &_Certain Creatures of the Sea	2
CHL 427	Special Topics: Folk & Fairy Tales	2
CHL 428	Myth Patterns /Chl	4

General Electives

CHL 404A	Children's Poetry on Trial : You'll Be_Judge, You'll Be Jury	2
CHL 415	A Whole Book Approach to Picturebook Art_& Design	2
CHL 419B	Genre Study: Humor	2
CHL 420	Project Thesis/Tutorial	4
CHL 421	Children's Book Publishing	4
CHL 422	Editing the Children's Book Manuscript	2
CHL 430/CHL 431	Writing for Children I	4
CHL 434	The Child & The Book	4
CHL 436A	Nonfiction: Narrative	2
CHL 436B	Nonfiction: Expository	2
CHL 450	Independent Study	4
CHL 451	The Reviewer	2
CHL 513	Survey Lit for Chl & Yng Adlts	4
	Summer Symposium and Institute

Capstone, placement, internship, practicum, etc.

Please refer to the Teaching program for details.

Concentrations, specializations, etc.

(See following section)

Licensure, certification, etc.

1. What level of license are you seeking?

Elementary (1-6)

Middle (5-8)

High (8-12)

2. Which student-teaching experience are you interested in?

Semester-long practicum (36-credit program)

Full-year internship (40-credit program)

3. If you will pursue a license at the middle or high school level, which subject matter will you teach? (Please see below for a list of approved subjects) The MAT program at Simmons is approved by DESE to lead to initial teaching licensure for the following fields and grade levels:

Elementary Education (1-6)

General Science (5-8)

Middle School Humanities (5-8)

Middle School Mathematics/Science (5-8)

Earth Science (5-8 or 8-12)

English (5-8 or 8-12)

History (5-8 or 8-12)

Biology (5-8 or 8-12)

Chemistry (5-8 or 8-12)

Spanish (5-8 or 8-12)

French (5-8 or 8-12)

Mathematics (5-8 or 8-12)