The Department of Science Teaching offers an interdisciplinary master’s degree program in the College of Arts and Sciences that provides students with comprehensive knowledge and skills in one or more of the STEM discipline-based content areas (biology, chemistry, Earth sciences, physics and/or engineering) and post-secondary STEM education. The master’s degree program serves a wide audience of applicants who aspire to deepen both their STEM content-area knowledge, as well as their understanding of discipline-based STEM education research focused specifically on college and university settings.

The program is designed for:

1. students who aspire to become undergraduate STEM instructors in community colleges,
2. those who seek additional preparation for admission into our doctoral program in college science teaching,
3. recently certified K-12 teachers who are currently teaching a STEM subject and seek a content-rich master’s degree necessary for permanent teacher certification, and/or
4. experienced STEM career professionals who wish to broaden or deepen their knowledge of STEM content and pedagogy.

Admission

The candidate for the M.S. in general science must have completed an undergraduate B.A. or B.S. degree in a relevant STEM content field (biology, chemistry, Earth sciences, physics and/or engineering) prior to admission.

Program Requirements

The degree generally requires a minimum of 30 graduate credit hours, of which 24 credits must be in one or more of the STEM content discipline areas and three credits must be in an approved SCI graduate course. The program may also include three credits of coursework requiring the student to prepare a comprehensive paper on a research topic selected by the student and approved by the program advisor.

Upon completion of coursework, the student is given an oral and/or written examination. The examination covers general STEM content, discipline-based STEM education research and the topic of the comprehensive paper.

See the course catalog for specific requirements.

Apply

Students who are interested in applying for admission are encouraged to schedule a campus visit or video conference to meet with faculty about their teaching and STEM education research interests. Applicants are required to complete the graduate program application available through the Syracuse University Graduate School. Applicants must submit GRE General Exam scores, and international applicants must also submit TOEFL scores for consideration.

Special Note: This master’s degree enables graduates to pursue STEM careers in higher education, the private sector, and government agencies, but does not lead to certification to teach science in K-12 schools. Applicants seeking New York State science teacher certification at the graduate level may do so through the School of Education. Information can be found at http://soe.syr.edu/academic/teaching_and_leadership/graduate/masters/science_education/default.aspx