Social Studies Education majors build a broad base of knowledge and skills across the social sciences and in pedagogy to teach 5th-12th grade students. You'll engage with faculty to learn economics, geography, history, political science, psychology and sociology through an interdisciplinary program that also offers the opportunity for global learning experiences. Future educators in the Social Studies Education program are prepared to serve middle and high school students with varying academic, social, and emotional needs while learning to create a curriculum with engaging experiences that will interest their own students. Field experiences occur three times throughout the program, including a full 16-week student teaching opportunity the semester before graduation.
For questions about the program, contact Rochelle Dyer at rddyer@stcloudstate.edu.
The Social Studies Education Master's degree is the only program in the state that is solely focused on Social Studies Education for in-service teachers who are interested in learning both content and pedagogy related specifically to the field in which they are currently teaching. These courses will bring new perspectives to the various content areas, including ideas on how to work with both state and national standards, and allow you to develop new instructional and assessment strategies for your classroom. Finally, you will have the opportunity to travel and/or study abroad at historic/civic sites both in the U.S. and internationally during summer sessions. Our Summer 2022 cohort includes the option to start with a trip to Alnwick Castle in the United Kingdom with two, three, or five-week options available.
This program is designed to accommodate teachers currently employed fulltime in their field and provides content course options that will give them the ability to teach Senior-to-Sophomore and/or College-in-the Schools courses at the secondary level offering a choice of Economics, Geography, History, or Political Science (government/civics). It also provides an option to choose an Education Technology Integration path if that better suits the needs of the student and their career. Additional certificates can be added to the master's degree to provide the ability to teach in more than one subject. The Social Studies Education Graduate Program application process will be opening soon! Contact Rochelle Dyer for additional information.
Course Offerings:
Core Courses (18 Credits):
SST 560 - Methods in Political Geography
SST 570/SST 640 - World Regional Studies
SST 630 - History and Political Problems in Social Studies
SST 640 - Trends in Teaching Economics
EDAD 620 - Law for School Leaders OR EDAD 633 - Assessment for School Leaders
SST 699 - Master's Culminating Project
Elective paths (18 Credits):
Choose a Single Content Area of focus in Economics, Geography, History, or Political Science
OR a Technology Integration focus OR mix-and-match your electives between content and education courses
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Program Requirements
Department of Geography and Planning
Geography and Planning Scholarships