All graduates of the University of Washington Bothell Master of Education Program are challenged to think deeply and critically about the complex nature of education. The program encourages students to be thoughtful, innovative, and ethical as they research questions central to their professional growth. Throughout the program students interact and collaborate with peers and colleagues from across the region, receiving further stimulation, inspiration, and support as they study and learn together.
The UW Bothell Master of Education Program consists of three major components:
- Core Courses
- Individual or Program Pathways and Electives
- Culminating Project
Core Courses
Students are introduced to the Master of Education Program with a series of three Core Courses (B EDUC 501, 502, and 504) in which they explore issues related to educational inquiry, professional leadership, processes of change, and understanding of self as teacher. Students engage in projects that help them reflect upon their own personal and professional growth. Students in the Individually Defined Pathway, must take all three core courses prior to the completion of 18 credits in the program.
Individually Defined or Program Pathways
Individually Defined Pathway
In consultation with their advisors, students in this pathway develop an Individually Defined Program of Study. Students can select courses from those listed in the Master of Education curriculum, courses outside of Education, and courses at other UW campuses. A maximum of 12 credits of graduate level coursework at the University of Washington Seattle may be taken by students with an advisor’s permission.
Program Pathways
Students in the M.Ed. Program may be pursuing specific Program Pathways in conjunction with their Master of Education degree. These Pathways will determine the courses they will complete during the course of the program and may affect the options available within the Completion Dossier. Some Pathways will include additional program requirements that are detailed in the linked web pages.
The Program Pathways are:
Completion Dossier
The M.Ed. Completion Dossier provides an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate comprehensive knowledge, skills, and dispositions associated with the program’s overall goals for academic learning and improvement of professional practice in education. The completion dossier ensures breadth of academic work and application of knowledge in each candidates’ work toward the M.Ed. degree, guided by the Education Program’s goals for the degree.
Content of the Completion Dossier
The Completion Dossier contains four sections:
(I) An introduction to the Completion Dossier, in which the student describes how four academic products and one application product to be presented in the dossier, taken as a whole, meet the Education Program’s learning goals as these are elaborated in the rubric for completion dossiers.
(II) Four substantive academic products, normally developed in conjunction with four different graduate courses. These products will often result from the three required core courses and one course related the student’s areas of specialization, but may include major academic products from other graduate courses as well. Students select four major academic products that they believe best demonstrate how they have met the program’s learning goals. Since these will normally be products that were originally developed for a graduate class, students have the option of using the product as it was originally developed for the class or making revisions that demonstrate additional learning. In either case, a draft that contains the original instructor comments should be included in the dossier.
Most substantive academic products will be individually written professional papers that demonstrate conceptual knowledge of topic area or issue relevant to education. With a total of four products in the dossier, however, students have some flexibility for including one or two alternative products, including, for example, a collection of smaller products illustrating a particular area of competence, a co-authored product (as might result from a group assignment), or a demonstration of accomplishments related to program goals using an alternate format. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the products that she or he chooses for the dossier demonstrate the required accomplishments related to the program’s five goals, as these are elaborated in the rubric for completing dossiers.
(III) One of the following products that demonstrate application of knowledge in the student’s practice:
A. National Board Portfolio Draft (for National Board Pathway only)
B. Professional Certification Portfolio (for Professional Certification Pathway only)
C. Practitioner Research Paper
D. Critical Literature Review
Procedures for preparing this part of the dossier vary depending on the option chosen by the student.
(IV) A reflection in which a student explains how the four academic products and the application product have contributed to professional learning and development in the program with reference to what the dossier signifies about you as a learner, educator, and professional committed to equity, diversity, and renewal in educational institutions.
Evaluating the Completion Dossier
No later than the first week of the quarter before graduation is planned (e.g., beginning of Winter quarter for a spring completion), the student must file a signed “Completion Dossier Plan” with the Education Program office. The plan specifies the four academic and one applied product that will be included in the product and must be signed by both the advisor and a second reader who is chosen jointly by the student and advisor and who has agreed to serve in this role. A copy of this form is included in Attachment 3. (NOTE: Students who were admitted to the M.Ed. program prior to Fall 2009 must obtain approval from their advisor in order to use the completion dossier instead of existing options for culminating projects.)
The Completed dossier must be submitted to the Education Program Office at least six weeks before the end of the quarter in which a student wishes to graduate. Each dossier will be read and evaluated by two members of the graduate faculty, typically the student’s advisor and one additional faculty member who is knowledgeable about the students areas of emphasis.
Evaluation of the Completion dossier involves scoring the dossier taken as a whole, not evaluating individual products, using the Rubric for Evaluating Completion Dossiers. A student will be considered to have passed the Completion Dossier requirement when a majority of the standards for each program goal are scored as proficient by both faculty members. When the two faculty members disagree on whether the student has passed, a third faculty member will score the portfolio independently, with the final decision reflecting the majority of the three readers.
If a student does not pass the Completion Dossier on the first attempt, he or she will have two additional opportunities to have the dossier evaluated. However, no two evaluations can occur in the same academic quarter, so that the student has sufficient time for the necessary substantive study and revision. A student must be enrolled for at least two credits in the quarter in which the dossier evaluation occurs.
To Whom does the Requirement for a Completion Dossier Apply
All students admitted to the M.Ed. program in Autumn 2009 or later must meet these requirements for a completion dossier in order to satisfy degree requirements. Contingent on advisor approval, students admitted to the program prior to that date have the option of completing under either the existing requirements for a culminating project or the new completion dossier. Advisor approval will normally depend on the extent to which students have already completed four substantive academic products in prior coursework which the advisor believes are largely ready for submission when the completion dossier plan is filed.