Program Quickview
All of the master's degree programs described below prepare candidates for NYS initial and professional teaching certification in Adolescence Education (Grades 7-12) as a Specialist in English Language Arts (ELA) and are offered at the graduate level only.
- A minimum of 30 credits of coursework in English language arts.
- Undergraduate degree in a liberal art (BA) or science (BS).
- Meets All Coursework and Internship Requirements for BOTH Initial and Professional NYS Teaching Certification: In addition, you will need to pass the required state exams and complete the teaching requirements for professional certification.
- Shortest Program: Preservice teachers can complete the program in 15 months of full-time study (if starting in summer); certified teachers seeking additional certification in ELA may require less time.
- Focus on ELA Education: Includes four courses as well as internships (taken concurrently with English methods courses) that are specific to teaching English language arts.
- Focus on Teaching ALL Students: Includes courses on diversity, students with disabilities, and English language learners (ELLs); these required courses may be transferred in for certified teachers.
- Preparing for Technology-Rich Schools: Includes hybrid-online coursework in technology-rich teaching; options exist to take some courses online to experience this learning modality.
- Option to Add Specializations: With only a few additional credits required, you can pursue additional NYS certifications or advanced certificates that can strengthen your effectiveness with diverse learners and make you more marketable; see Opportunities for Additional Specializations.
Warner Programs that Prepare ELA Teachers
- MS Program (TE3): 39 credits, including field experiences and two student teaching experiences.
- MAT Program (TE4): 51 credits; same requirements as above plus 12 additional credits of graduate courses in English.

- NYS Certification in Teaching Students with Disabilities in Adolescence: Prepares you to better serve students with differentiated learning needs while qualifying you to teach in inclusive classes.
- NYS Extension to Teach English Language Arts in Grades 5-6: Qualifies you to teach your subject with younger children.
- Advanced Certificate in Urban Teaching and Leadership: Prepares you to teach and lead in racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse urban settings.
- Advanced Certificate in Digitally-Rich Teaching: Prepares you to make the best use of digital technology in your teaching.
- NYS Certification in TESOL: Prepares you to better serve English language learners in your classes and qualifies you to teach ESOL courses.
Licensure in other states. Review certification and licensure information for Warner programs.
- Leading to Professional Certification Only (PE1): Our most flexible option, including 12 credits of electives; allows for possible addition of Advanced Certificates in Digitally-Rich Teaching or Urban Teaching & Leadership, or taking some leadership courses that provide a jump start toward school leadership certification.
- Leading to Extension to Teach ELA in Grades 5-6 (PE5)
- Leading to NYS Certification in Teaching Students with Disabilities Grades 7-12 (PE6): To be able to better serve your students' diverse learning needs and to teach in inclusive classes (requires 35 credits including field experiences and one student teaching experience).

- Advanced Certificate (NE2): Fastest path; as few as 11 credits, including specialization courses, plus 50 contact hours of field experiences.
- MS Program (SE2): 32 credits, including 50 contact hours of field experiences; also leads to NYS professional teaching certification in your original area of certification.

Our Approach
Creating Effective ELA Teachers Who Can Inspire and Lead Change.

Today’s English language arts classrooms are about so much more than conventional reading and writing. English is not just a set of skills taught in the classroom; it is a set of social practices used to “read the world” in school, at home, and in our communities. We prepare candidates to approach teaching the English language, literature, and literacy with a critical social analysis of the diverse communities in which their students live. Our candidates recognize their students as individuals who bring rich histories, interests, and passions to the classroom and learn to provide opportunities for students to read and write about issues that intrigue or concern them.
As we live in a diverse and increasingly globalized world, the ways of communicating have become more and more complex. Our graduates develop strategies for designing instruction to prepare their students for success in this complex world—an important task facing United States education. Our faculty and candidates integrate technological and media literacy as both tools and social practices. Graduates learn to effectively draw upon a variety of media to enhance English language arts instruction while also encouraging students to express their own ideas and identities. And, their students become problem solvers and effective communicators who are proficient in English and master the appropriate learning and thinking skills, communications skills, and technology skills needed to excel in our 21st century landscape.
In an era of standardized testing and accountability, it is important to understand these realities, how they impact instruction, and how teachers can react to the demands while meeting the needs of every student. Our program prepares teachers to exceed Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts. Additionally, our graduates create a sense of community and foster strong language and literacy skills for all students, including those learning the English language or with other learning needs.
Our program is committed to issues of diversity and equity. Throughout the program, our candidates learn to construct classroom environments that promote social justice. They develop the courage and conviction to lead struggles for social justice, in-depth knowledge of English language arts, and the skills and understanding needed to help students from every background develop to their fullest potential. They develop sensitivity for what is appropriate for the age/grade level they teach, for the children and families they serve, and the communities in which they teach. And, they lead efforts to advocate for full inclusion for students with disabilities in general education classrooms as part of their efforts to reform schools.
The Warner Advantage
Preparing Graduates to Innovate, Advocate, and Elevate.
- Become an ELA teacher who can create learning opportunities that are inviting and accessible for all students – engaging with cutting-edge research and educational innovations.
- Be challenged to be an agent of change, who can effectively introduce new ideas and practices that will enhance students’ learning and address current inequities.
- Leverage the reputation of a leading research university to strengthen recognition of your degree.
- Network with the best and the brightest future colleagues.
- Make yourself stand out when applying for teaching positions by pursuing additional specializations for a few additional credits.
- Learn from an accessible, supportive faculty of researchers and accomplished practitioners who will prepare you to become adaptive experts in today’s K-12 schools.
- Shorten your path to a doctoral degree by earning transferable credits.
- Benefit from a guaranteed 50% scholarship.
- Take advantage of online learning options that help reduce trips to campus.
- Be ready to teach the school year following enrollment, as the program can be completed in as little as 15 months, even by teachers new to the profession.
All About Experience

East High School Partnership
Our students have the opportunity to observe and learn from the reforming of an urban high school. As the Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) for East High School, we are overseeing a radical transformation affecting all aspects of the school – including how to support students’ literacy learning.

National Writing Project
Warner students can take advantage of the Genesee Valley Writing Project, led by Warner faculty member Joanne Larson. This collaborative school- university partnership seeks to improve the teaching and learning of writing in PK-16 education, using a teachers-teaching-teachers model. The summer institute can also be taken for credits by interested Warner students.

Center for Learning in the Digital Age
Faculty member and program director Jayne Lammers – also an associate director of the Warner Center for Learning in the Digital Age – is helping to lead Warner initiatives related to the use of digital technology in informal learning spaces. The Center offers numerous opportunities to learn about and leverage digital technologies for education.
Career Opportunities
Advancing Education and Your Career to the Next Level.
Unlike graduates of an undergraduate teacher preparation program, our graduates will have already met all the coursework requirements for NYS professional teaching certification. This means they will only be required to complete three years of teaching and some state exams in order to obtain this additional level of certification – a NYS requirement within five years of beginning a teaching job.
At the same time, some of our graduates have chosen to pursue careers other than teaching in K-12 public schools. These include teaching in private schools and other educational settings, including informal and after-school environments, community-based organizations, and private industry.

Faculty
An Accessible, Supportive Faculty of Researchers and Accomplished Practitioners.

Associate Professor (Clinical), Assistant Director Center for Urban Education Success, Director GRADE Program
LeChase Hall 392
(585) 210-9754
Valerie.Marsh@warner.rochester.edu
Core Program Faculty
Mary Jane Curry, PhDJoanne Larson, PhD
Carol Anne St. George, EdD
Additional Program Area Faculty
Scholarships
Making Warner Affordable.
Byron Williams Teaching Scholarships – Guaranteed 50% Tuition Savings
All new students starting their master’s programs in teacher education leading to New York State teaching certification are guaranteed a minimum 50 percent tuition scholarship, provided they commit to teach in a United States school for a minimum of two years after graduation.

Try Us Out
Get a Taste of What Warner Has to Offer.
- Horizons Summer Enrichment Program: A six-week, full-day summer program for K-8 students in the city of Rochester that takes place on the University of Rochester campus and provides its students with meaningful literacy learning opportunities in an informal context.
- East High: This Rochester City School District secondary school is undergoing major transformation under the oversight of the University of Rochester as an educational partnership organization and has instituted several initiatives to support literacy learning.
- East Irondequoit Digital Conversion: A K-12 partner school that has incorporated iPads into student learning and implemented a district-wide Learning Management System (LMS) to transform teaching practices.
Contact admissions to arrange for a visit or learn more about opportunities for non-matriculated students.
