Chemistry M.S. - Chemical Education Specialization (online)
The Chemical Education M.S. program is designed for in-service K-12 science teachers with a valid teaching license. The program requires course work (32 credits) that typically can be completed in two years. Of the 32 graduate level credits, 22 are in courses offered via distance learning (online). The remaining ten credits are in an action research course and a problem-based classroom application course, delivered on campus during the two consecutive summers students are enrolled in the program.
Why Pursue Chemical Education Research?
Several factors attract students and professionals to the area of chemical educational research. Some of these are to:
- Engage in the scholarship of learning and teaching
- Develop a practitioner's perspective through proven research based instructional practices
- Contribute to the field of chemical education by developing products, curriculum materials, assessments or other tools, which further enhance the teaching and learning of chemistry
Career Prospects for CER Graduates
Skills gained in chemical education research are widely applicable and open doors for the CER graduates in several areas that range from teaching to independent consulting. Chemical Education graduates develop specialized research skills tin addition to a strong content knowledge. These skills include use of appropriate statistical methods and software for quantities research, qualitative research methods that involve interviewing and observation of human subjects, and communication and presentation skills which are the heart of chemical education research (note that recruiting and working with human subjects for research requires specialized human subjects training, careful planning, a high level of organization, sensitivity and tact). Some of the areas in which CER graduates have been successfully employed include:
- Academia: as a faculty member in area of chemistry (Teaching and Research)
- Non-profit institutions: example RAND corporation, ACT
- For profit companies or institutions that include Textbook Publishers - Pearson, Willey, Web Assign
- Federal or state education policy
- School teachers
- Technical or Scientific writers (Textbook authors, Technical report developers)
- Independent Consultants
Online Courses
- CHEM 770: Atomic Theory & Bonding
- CHEM 771: Intermolecular Interactions & Phases of Matter
- CHEM 772: Thermodynamics
- CHEM 773: Equilibria & Acid-Base Chemistry
- CHEM 774: Kinetics, Nuclear & Electrochemistry
- CHEM 775: Organic & Biochemistry
- CHEM 778: Chemistry Teaching Strategies
- CHEM 788: Problem-based Classroom Application
On Campus Courses (required)
- First summer
- CHEM 776: Laboratory Development
- CHEM 777: Action Research in the Secondary Classroom
- Second summer
- CHEM 776: Laboratory Development
- CHEM 788: Problem-Based Classroom Application