Foreign Language Teaching - Master of Arts

The Master of Arts degree in Foreign Language Teaching provides the aspiring foreign language teacher with the fundamental background and practical experience to teach a specific target language, while also offering current foreign language teachers opportunities to continue and enhance their education. With its focus on solid foundations in second language acquisition (SLA) and the intersection of SLA with the practice of foreign language teaching, this program prepares students to design lesson plans, courses, and curricula that support teaching for high levels of language proficiency. Students will be prepared to integrate technology effectively into the teaching of language and culture and work with faculty mentors to create a praxis-oriented experiential module that is designed to enhance the student’s plan of study and contribute substantially to preparation for career placement.

In addition to meeting the requirements of the University and of the College of Arts and Letters, students must meet the requirements specified below.

To be considered for to the Master of Arts degree in Foreign Language Teaching, an applicant must:

1. have the results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test forwarded to the College if the applicant is a native speaker of English.
2. complete the online application which includes an academic and personal statement.
3. submit three letters of recommendation, completed by instructors or supervisors familiar with the applicants work. Letters of recommendation must be submitted on official stationary with an original signature.
4. take one of the tests of English language proficiency described in the Graduate Education section of this catalog if the applicants native language is not English.

To be admitted to the program on regular status, an applicant must have a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from a recognized educational institution.

In addition, students who are non-native speakers of English are required to have fulfilled the university’s English language proficiency requirement as described in the Graduate Education section of this catalog by achieving a minimum score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of 100 (Internet-based), 250 (computer version), or 600 (paper version) or an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 7.5 or higher.

Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Foreign Language Teaching

The Master of Arts degree in Foreign Language Teaching is available only online and only under Plan B (non-thesis). A total of 30 credits is required for the degree. The student’s program of study must be approved by the program director. The student must meet the requirements specified below:

Due to cancellations of many international English language proficiency tests, MSU will be temporarily accepting the following tests for international students applying for fall semester 2022. In addition, MSU will be expanding the ability for students to receive provisional admission. If a provisionally admitted student is able to take a test that meets our regular admission standards prior to enrollment, we will update their admission status to regular.