Graduates of Harrison Middleton University Master of Arts in Education degree program are eligible to take the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments exam. Go to www.aepa.nesinc.com for registration information.

Degree Program Requirements
The Master of Arts in Education degree program consists of 36 graduate credit hours, which include:

The Master of Arts in Education is an interdisciplinary study of the idea of Education. The focus of the program is to develop a sophisticated knowledge of subject matter, the skills needed to become conversant with systems of analysis common to other bodies of subject matter, and to many different endeavors. By using a combination of the Great Books of the Western World and more traditional textbooks about education, the Master of Arts in Education degree program ensures that students acquire the breadth of knowledge that is the hallmark of an excellent liberal arts education while exploring the educational environment in today’s world. Some of the topics students explore include: the means and ends of education, the kinds of education: physical, moral, liberal, professional, religious, the training of the body and the cultivation of bodily skills, the formation of a good character, virtue, a right will: the cultivation of aesthetic taste, the improvement of the mind by teaching and learning, the profession of teaching: the relation of teacher and student, the means and methods of teaching, the nature of learning: its several modes, the order of learning: the organization of the curriculum, learning apart from teachers and books: the role of experience, the acquisition of techniques: preparation for the vocations, arts, and professions, education and the state, historical and biographical observations concerning the institutions and practices of education. Major authors who speak to the idea of education include: Plato, Aristotle, Montaigne, Rousseau, Dewey, Mill, Kant, Hobbes, Montessori, and Adler.

Upon completion of the Master of Arts in Education degree program, graduates will be able to design, implement, and complete a self-directed program of study in the liberal arts. They will have achieved the ability to think critically about major ideas in Western thought and to engage in rigorous discussion about fundamental questions of human existence. Successful completion of the master’s program requires, and in turn enhances, mastery of critical, analytical, synthetic, creative, and problem-solving skills through discussion and essay writing. Design and completion of a culminating thesis, practicum, or field project demonstrates an ability to carry out sustained library or field research on a designated topic as well as to synthesize and apply knowledge and skills acquired in the course of study. Specifically, the master’s level student will be able to construct logical, coherent, well-supported, creative, and compelling verbal and written arguments; to identify, analyze, evaluate, and exploit textual ambiguity while exploring complex ideas; and to develop synthetic arguments that draw upon multiple strains of thought. The hallmark of graduate study is a student’s ability to draw profound conclusions and create original insights that move beyond the text.