Michigan State University Online Education Programs

With an online program, you can complete your coursework from the convenience and comfort of your home.

     Michigan State University has a Master of Arts in Education Program.  If you are a school administrator, coach, adult educator, or classroom teacher, this program is designed to help you improve your knowledge and skills and engage you in education.  Hundreds of educators from the United States and abroad have joined this program.  This master’s program is fully accessible all year round.  The courses are taught all year round by MSU tenure-line faculty from the college.  The educator can develop one or two areas of concentrations that focus on selected areas.  Some of these selected areas include technology and learning, special education, P-12 school and postsecondary leadership, sport leadership and coaching, literacy education, and science and mathematics education.  This program is only available online and without a thesis.  This program is very flexible for students who want to be involved in inquiry and learning that will improve their educational practice. 

     The MAED is a regular program from MSU, meets all requirements of MSU, and carries with it a regular diploma without reference to it being in an online format.  It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. 

     The requirements for the online program have to be finished within five years.  Students must complete a number of requirements.  Students must complete a total of 30 credits that are approved by the student’s academic advisor. 

     The Special Education Concentration is designed for teachers who want expertise in working with students who have special needs in the general education classroom.  The focus is on theory as well as issues that relate to the students with exceptional needs and to build supportive learning environments for all learners in inclusive classrooms.  To fulfill this concentration, students will need the following courses:  Teaching Exceptional Children and Youth in General Education Classrooms, Classroom and Behavioral Management in the Inclusive Classroom, and Methods of Instruction in Inclusive Classrooms.  Students who are in this program may also be interested in the following courses:  Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning, Educating Students with Challenging Behavior, Transition from School to Adult Life for Students with Disabilities, Technology and Literacy for Students with Disabilities, and Psychology of Classroom Discipline. 

     The Sport Leadership and Coaching Concentration is created for individuals who are working in school, community, and university sports programs.  It provides the opportunity to increase understanding of some of the key issues that are involved in educational athletics as well as develop one’s leadership and coaching skills.  The courses are three semester hours and they address administrative, legal, leadership, policy, psychological, physical, and sociological issues that relate to coaching and leadership.  The coursework will provide individuals with the knowledge in psychological, social, and biological sciences that are needed for administrators and coaches to conduct safe sport programs.  To fulfill this concentration, students must choose three out of the flowing four courses:  Sport Law for Administrators and Coaches, Psychosocial Bases of Coaching Athletes, Physical Bases of Coaching Athletes, and Promoting Positive Youth Development through Sport. 

      The Technology and Learning Concentration works to prepare administrators, teachers, and other educational professions for the use of technologies to support teaching and learning.  The courses focus on stimulating a deeper understanding of the role of technology and the creation of projects that are made to improve the technology skills of students.  Students must choose three courses from the following list in order to fulfill this requirement:  Learning Mathematics with Technology, Learning Science with Technology, Electronic Portfolios in Teaching and Learning, Technology and Leadership, Technology, Teaching and Learning across the Curriculum, Learning Technology through Design, and Creativity in Teaching and Learning. 

      The P-12 School and Postsecondary Leadership Concentration is for those who are currently working in schools or higher and adult education settings and is intended to enhance the education and leadership skills.  Its purpose is to provide experiences that promote the depth and breadth of knowledge, skills, and dispositions of its students.  Students are required to complete at least three of the courses from this list in order to fulfill the concentration:  Leadership and Organizational Development, Teaching, Learning, and School Restructuring, Issues and Strategies in Multicultural Education, Concept of a Learning Society, Adult Learning, Training and Professional Development, Adult Career Development, Teaching in PostsecondaryEducation, Case Studies in Educational Leadership, Budgeting and Finance in Higher Education, Sharing Leadership in Schools, and Urban School Leaders as Reflective Practitioners.  

     The Literacy Education has a concentration in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  This concentration requires students to complete at least three of the following courses:  Awards and Classics of Children’s Literature, Reading, Writing and Reasoning in Secondary School Subjects, Accomodating Differences in Literacy Learners, Advanced Methods for Teaching Language Arts, Methods of Writing Instruction, Children’s Literature and Film, and Teaching Literature Through Discussion in the Middle Grades. 

      The Science and Mathematics Education Concentration is created in order to help K-12 teachers to enrich the knowledge and skills they have in order to improve student learning in science and math.  The courses offered will update student’s background through recent research.  Students will be able to implement new practices that they learn into their classroom.  To fulfill this concentration, students must complete at least three of the following courses:  Teaching Subject Matter with Technology, Teaching School Mathematics, Teaching Science for Understanding, Inquiry, Nature of Science and Science Teaching, and Action Research in K-12 Science and Mathematics Classrooms. 

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