Graduate Certificate in Middle Level Education

Program Advisor: Stacy Martin, 803/323-2452

The 12-hour graduate professional certificate in Middle Level education will allow professional educators to gain pedagogical skills specifically focused on working with middle level students while providing the required add-on courses for middle level certification for those who meet the 15-hour content course and content exam requirements as outlined by the S.C. State Department of Education. Additionally, it will provide inservice teachers with the new S.C. DoE requirement of 3 hours in Content Area Reading & Writing in ML/SEC mandated by the Read to Succeed initiative (eff. 2016). This certificate program is appropriate for K-12, early childhood, elementary, and secondary educators seeking middle level add-on certification. The program provides students with the opportunity to expand their knowledge of effective strategies for working with young adolescents as advocated by the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE).

Enrollment is open to:

1. Certified K-12 Educators with a current license who meet the admission requirements below, and

2. Current students in good standing enrolled in the MEd Curriculum & Instruction, MEd Special Education, or MEd Literacy programs at Winthrop University,

Application Requirements

To be considered for admission to the Certificate program, applicants must submit the following:

Certificate-only seeking students:

• The online Graduate School application with the non-refundable application fee.
• Copy of current South Carolina State Department of Education Class III Professional Certificate or the equivalent from another state. 
• Official transcripts (sent directly to Winthrop University from the issuing institution) for evaluation.
• Minimum 3.0 undergraduate GPA OR an official score report for either one of the following tests:
• The General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Preferred GRE scores are 151 on the verbal reasoning section and 153 on the quantitative section.                     

         OR     

• The Miller Analogies Test (MAT). Preferred MAT score is 392.

Actively enrolled, degree-seeking Winthrop graduate students: 

•  The online Graduate School application with the non-refundable application fee.

Courses in the program are not sequential; therefore, once students have met the admission criteria, they may enroll in the courses during any semester in which they are being offered.

Required Program

MLED 600 — Philosophy, Organization, and Curriculum of the Middle School (3)

MLED 610 — Early Adolescence in Contemporary Society (3)

MLED 630 — Pedagogy and Assessment in the Middle School (3)

READ 645 — Content Area Reading & Writing in ML/SEC (3)

Total: 12 Credit Hours

Each of these courses will be offered in an online delivery format on a fixed rotation.