Curriculum and Instruction

Degrees:

Master of Arts, Plan A and B
Master of Science, Plan B
Specialist in Education
Doctor of Education

Elementary Education

Areas of Emphasis:

General Elementary Education
Reading Specialist
Early Childhood
Curriculum Director

Secondary Education

Areas of Emphasis:

Curriculum
Secondary Teacher Certification
Curriculum Director

Special Education

Specializations:

Advanced Specialist in Disabilities
Multicategorical Special Education K-12
Early Childhood Special Education

Areas of Emphasis:

Behavior Disorders
Learning Disabilities
Mental Disabilities
Gifted/Talented

Technology for Education and Teaching

K-12 Education

Program Description

The graduate programs in the Division of Curriculum & Instruction are designed to prepare individuals for leadership positions within schools, districts, and higher education. Programs within the Division of Curriculum & Instruction prepare individuals for roles related to classroom instruction, coordination of curriculum and pedagogical decisions, ongoing evaluations and assessment of students’ educational performance, and expanding the research and knowledge base related to “best practices” and effective instruction. The Division of Curriculum & Instruction is committed to assuring “highly qualified” reflective educational decision-makers as graduates of USD.

The Division of Curriculum and Instruction administers the Professional Development Center (PDC) at The University of South Dakota. The PDC is a collaborative program between area school districts and the School of Education. The purpose of the PDC is to develop the best learning environments for students and teachers. The PDC supports the learning of experienced and beginning teachers by creating settings in which novices enter professional practice by working with expert practitioners, enabling veteran teachers to renew their own professional development and assume new roles as mentors and teacher leaders. Both the mentor teachers and the newly licensed teachers are enrolled in graduate coursework in an education-related field at USD. At the end of the 15-month program, the new teachers have a full year of teaching experience and a master’s degree in education. The mentors have had a year of new experiences while working with new teachers and also at least 32 credit hours toward a graduate degree in the School of Education. In the PDC, mentors from the school districts and new teachers serving as graduate interns work together to exchange ideas, materials, teaching demonstrations and teaching technologies.

The University of South Dakota Regional Reading Recovery Training Center is located in the Division of Curriculum and Instruction. The Training Center is approved to train both Reading Recovery Teacher Leaders and Reading Recovery Teachers.

Division Chairperson and Graduate Director: Professor Garreth Zalud

Graduate Faculty

Sherrie Bosse, Assistant Professor, Ed.D., University of South Dakota. Specialization: Early Childhood Education.

Gapp, Susan, Assistant Professor, Ed..D. University of South Dakota. Specialization: Elementary Education

Lisa A. Hazlett, Professor, Ph.D., University of Kansas. Specialization: Adolescent Literature,
Middle/Secondary Language Arts Education.

Geralyn M. Jacobs, Professor, Ed.D., University of South Dakota. Specialization: Early Childhood Education, Early Literacy, Inclusion.

Mary Jones, Assistant Professor, Ed.D., University of South Dakota. Specialization: Indian Education

Loralee LaPointe, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of South Dakota. Specialization: Special Education

Kristine Reed, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Specialization: Secondary Education and Foundations.

Linda Reetz, Professor, Ed.D., University of North Dakota. Specialization: Teacher Education, Learning Disabilities.

Kevin Reins, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Wyoming. Specialization: Mathematics Education.

Maurine V. Richardson, Professor, Ed.D., University of Arkansas. Specialization: Reading and Children’s Literature.

Mary Ring, Associate Professor, Ed.D., University of South Dakota. Specialization: Special Education, Learning Disabilities.

William J. Sweeney, Professor, Ph.D., Ohio State University. Specialization: Special Education, Emotional and Behavior Disorders, Applied Behavior Analysis.

Don Versteeg, Instructor, Ed.S., The University of South Dakota. Specialization: Distance Learning, Telecommunications, Networking.

Rosanne Yost, Associate Professor, Ed.D., University of South Dakota. Specialization: Elementary Education.

Garreth Zalud, Professor, Ph.D., University of Georgia. Specialization: Reading, Reading Recovery, Early Literacy.

Admission Requirements in additional to those of the School of Education

For all the Master of Arts degree programs in Curriculum and Instruction:

Full Admission Status: The GRE General Test or Millers Analogy Test is required. A minimum combined score of 900 in the Verbal and Quantitative GRE sections or the Millers Analogy Test (M.A.T.) of 45 or above is required.

For the Master of Science degree program in Technology for Education and Training:

Full Admission Status: Minimum combined score of 900 on the GRE General Test Verbal and Quantitative sections is required. Students are also assessed according to work-related experience and other portfolio criteria established by the faculty.

For the Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction:

The GRE General Test or Millers Analogy Test is required. A minimum combined score of 850 in the Verbal and Quantitative GRE sections or the Millers Analogy Test (M.A.T.) of 45 or above is required.

For the Doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction:

A graduate GPA of 3.0.
The GRE General Test or Millers Analogy Test is required. A minimum combined score of 1000 in the Verbal and Quantitative GRE sections or the Millers Analogy Test (M.A.T.) of 50 or above is required.

For all degrees, additional requirements exist for international students.

- Subject to division approval, prospective students who do not meet all of the criteria above may be admitted on a provisional basis.

For Additional Information

The University of South Dakota
Division of Curriculum & Instruction
Delzell Education Building, Room 115
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: 605-677-5210
www.usd.edu/ci