Language & Literacy

Curriculum

Ed.M. Program Requirements

Students in the Language and Literacy program take eight courses.* Four courses must be selected from Language and Literacy course offerings. Examples of courses students may take are:

• H700 From Language to Literacy (fall)
• H810W Models of Bilingual Education and Literacy Instruction (spring)
• H818 Reading Instruction and Development (fall)
• HT820 Introduction to Psychoeducational Assessments (fall)
• H860 Reading Difficulties (spring)
• H870 Reading Comprehension (spring)

A list of all Language and Literacy courses is available as a subset of the HGSE course catalogue.

Additionally, two courses must be selected from courses in Mind, Brain, and Education, Risk and Prevention, Human Development and Psychology, and/or other Language and Literacy courses. A list of courses can be found on the HGSE course catalogue. These courses deal with the relationships between reading, writing, language, cognitive development, reading and writing difficulties, and cultural foundations of literacy in children, adolescents, and adults.

The remaining two courses are allotted to elective courses, allowing students to take advantage of educational opportunities throughout the school and/or within the wider University. Please see "Cross-Registration" below for more details.

*This is the minimal course load needed to fulfill degree requirements. Students may choose to take up to five courses per semester without any additional cost. It is strongly recommended that students interested in taking more than a four course/semester load discuss their proposed schedules with their academic advisors.

Reading Specialist Licensure with Ed.M.

Within the Language and Literacy program, students who apply to and have been admitted to the licensure program may fulfill requirements established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for licensure as a Reading Specialist Teacher.

There are specific requirements for the licensure program that are somewhat different from the general Language and Literacy master's program.

Reading Specialist Licensure Requirements

To be eligible for admittance to the Language and Literacy Reading Specialist licensure program, a candidate must hold an Initial or Professional teaching license and must have at least one calendar year of teaching experience (i.e., August 2005 to August 2006) under that license in the subject or area appropriate to that license. Neither Preliminary nor Emergency certificates are eligible in this program. See the Massachusetts Department of Education's Laws and Regulations for further information on prerequisites for reading specialist licensure or for other information about licensure contact the HGSE Licensure Unit at 617-384-9262 or visit HGSE's Educator Licensure website.

The Reading Specialist licensure program provides a comprehensive program of courses and field-based experiences that align to the MA standards of professional and subject matter knowledge for reading licensure candidates. Students take courses that fulfill 32 credit hour requirements that include participation in at least 150 hours of field-based experience in local public schools.

The Reading Specialist licensure program course requirements are as follows:

H800 Reading Specialist Licensure Practicum (spring, 4 credits)
H801 Literacy Assessment and Intervention Practicum (fall, 4 credits)
H818 Reading Instruction and Development (fall, 4 credits)
H860 Reading Difficulties (spring, 4 credits)
H870 Reading Comprehension (fall, 4 credits)
HT820 Introduction to Psychoeducational Assessments (fall, 4 credits)

In addition, students select four (4) credits from the following course offerings:

H700 From Language to Literacy (fall, 4 credits)
H810C Reading and Writing in Secondary Schools and Beyond (spring, 2 credits)
H810F Children's Literature (fall, 2 credits)
H810G Adolescent Literature (fall, 2 credits)
H810W Models of Bilingual Education and Literacy Instruction (spring, 2 credits)
H810X The Social Context of Language Minority Learners (spring, 2 credits)
H830 Developing Reading Ability in Adults and Older Adolescents (spring, 4 credits)

Finally, students select four (4) elective credits from any HGSE or Harvard-wide course offerings.

Cross-Registration

Many HGSE students choose to take courses at other Harvard graduate schools (aka, cross-registering), including the Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Kennedy School of Government (KSG). Harvard's schools operate on different schedules. Therefore, remain mindful of school's individual calendars and deadlines: start of classes, vacations, and exams.

For more information about cross-registering at other Harvard schools, please visit: https://crossreg.harvard.edu/

HGSE Course Catalog

For more information about HGSE course offerings, view the entire HGSE course catalogue