Nov 01, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Education, B.A./M.Ed. Early Entry Program


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About the Program


Undergraduate students enrolled in the fall of their junior year are invited to apply for Early Entry to select Arcadia University School of Education Master’s programs. Upon acceptance to the graduate program, student’s can begin taking up to two specified graduate courses as early as spring of their junior year.

 

Graduate Programs options for Early Entry

Students may select to apply to one of the following M.Ed. programs:

●       M.Ed. with a concentration in Literacy Studies: TESOL and Reading (with certification paths for ESL and Reading Specialist PK-12)  

●       M.Ed. with a concentration in Secondary Education (with certification paths in  (Biology, Chemistry, English, General Science, Mathematics and Social Studies)

●       M.Ed. with a concentration in Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity in Special Education

●       M. Ed. with a concentration in Integrative STEM Education

 

M.Ed. with an individualized concentration consisting of multiple certificates (Autism,     Applied Behavior Analysis, Infant-Toddler Mental Health, ESL, STEM)

 

Students will not be accepted for early entry into SOE graduate programs not listed above.  

The Advanced Behavioral Analysis (ABA) program has its own Early Entry program.  For information on the ABA Early Entry program, please go here.

 

Tuition

Students in the School of Education Early Entry Master’s program have the opportunity to earn up to six graduate credits at no additional charge during their undergraduate years, as part of their full-time tuition fees. Graduate credits earned while paying undergraduate tuition must be completed during the traditional undergraduate academic year (Fall/Spring).  Students may also enroll in summer semesters to earn graduate credit towards their M.Ed. program.  Tuition for summer graduate courses, however, is billed at the prevailing part-time graduate credit rate. 

 

Undergraduate Degree 

To have an undergraduate degree conferred at Arcadia, students must complete all of their undergraduate program requirements and have earned a minimum requirement of 120 credits (see your program’s respective undergraduate degree credit requirements for details).  However, graduate courses completed as an undergraduate student, which are not used to complete an undergraduate major, may be transcribed to an Arcadia graduate degree provided no less than 120 credits remain on the undergraduate transcript.

 

Graduate Degree (M.Ed.)

Up to six graduate credits earned through the Early Entry Master’s program will be transferred to your graduate transcript once you enroll in an M.Ed. program at Arcadia University, if they meet the following conditions if they were taken and passed while an undergraduate student; and not applied to the undergraduate degree . 

 

The courses you are eligible to enroll in are specified, by graduate degree program, in the table at the end of this document.  You may not transfer any other graduate courses taken at Arcadia while an undergraduate toward your graduate degree.  Students are encouraged to talk to the director of the graduate program they are interested in as part of the Early Entry program  and to the Chair of the SoE , who will serve as the Early Entry advisor.  Students, however, will not be assigned a graduate advisor until they have officially enrolled in a graduate program at Arcadia.

  

As a student taking courses for a graduate degree, it is important that you become familiar with all graduate education policies. Graduate policies can be found at: 

https://www.arcadia.edu/academics/colleges-schools/graduate-undergraduate-studies/graduate-academic-policies. 

 

Additional graduate School of Education policies can be found at: 

http://catalog.arcadia.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=11&ent_oid=269&returnto=374

 

Instructions for Applying to the School of Education Early Entry Master’s Programs

Applicants complete and submit an application form through the Office of Enrollment Management. Application fees are waived for students applying to the Early Entry Master’s program. Application must be received by the deadline to be considered.  Incomplete applications are not reviewed.

 

Program Admission requirements:

  • Current matriculated Education major or minor

  • GPA of 3.0

  • Junior standing minimum (enrolled for and/or has completed 80+ credits)

 

Application for Admission Process

 

STEP1

  • Review the Program Admission requirements. Only applications that meet requirements will be reviewed.

  • Select the M.Ed program from the list of program options. Consult with the Program Director of that program or your undergraduate advisor if you need more information.

  • Contact faculty references to ask if they will provide a recommendation for your graduate application. You will need two faculty recommendations. Once your application is submitted, the faculty member will receive a link to an electronic form to complete the recommendation. A recommender can also provide a letter of recommendation to be sent directly to the Office of Enrollment Management.  

 

STEP2

  • Complete the application:

    • When you open this application link you will select sign up so you can create a new account that will be used for this application only.  Your current Arcadia sign on credentials should not be used.  Create a new account.

    • When asked for your program, choose M.Ed. from the drop down 

    • Choose the correct concentration from the five program options (see above).

    • If your M.Ed. program option includes a certification path and you wish to pursue the certification, select the certification area.

    • For your entry term, select Spring 2023.

    • Provide your faculty reference email contact information on the application form. The Office of Enrollment Management will send email notification directly to the references you list as soon as your application has been submitted.

    • An essay question prompt is part of the application. You should type your answer in a separate document and upload it to the application.

    • Application fees are waived for Early Entry Master’s program students.  In the text box labeled Waiver Code, enter “free”  for the fee waiver to be applied.

    • Submit the graduate application with the Office of Enrollment Management by the deadline.

  • Communicate and plan a follow up contact with your references.

    • Confirm they have received a recommendation form

    • Confirm they have submitted it or a letter to the Office of Enrollment Management .  

 

STEP3

  • Complete applications are reviewed by the School of Education Admissions Committee.

  • Notification of the admission decision should occur within 14 days of the Application closing deadline.

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