Master of Arts in Urban Education Studies
Part of the legacy of people like Ella Baker and Septima Clark is a faith that ordinary people who learn to believe in themselves are capable of extraordinary acts, or better, of acts that seem extraordinary to us precisely because we have such an impoverished sense of the capacities of ordinary people. If we are surprised by what these people accomplished, our surprise may be a commentary on the angle of vision from which we view them.
Charles Payne, I’ve Got the Light of Freedom
The Yale Urban Teaching Program is a one-year program that integrates advanced graduate work with preparation for teaching in an urban setting. Candidates complete an intensive program of study (the equivalent of 13 courses over a 14-month period), and gain both a Master of Arts in Urban Education Studies and a State of Connecticut Initial Educator License for Grades 7 to 12. The program is cohort-based and all candidates start in the beginning of June. The program runs full-time until the following summer.
The subject areas offered are the following:
English
History/Social Studies
Spanish
Math
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
General Science
Our Approach
Our academic program provides ways of thinking about and enacting a wide range of teaching approaches through an intense combination of theory and clinical teaching experience. In particular we seek to:
• Generate a deeper understanding of content,
• Build a developmental understanding of students incorporating new understandings of the work of cognitive and social psychology
• Support an emergent interdisciplinary analysis of the social context of teaching,
• Develop a wide range of instructional strategies for urban adolescents
• Promote effective problem solving for learning.
Who We Want
The Yale Urban Teaching Program is looking for candidates who possess a relentless commitment to the academic achievement of urban students along with the disposition to build trusting relationships. While some candidates will possess previous teaching experience, others will come with a new interest in education and a commitment to New Haven.
Financial Aid
The Yale Urban Teaching Program Fellowship fully funds the course of study and pays an additional stipend during the year of enrollment ($25,000 in 2008-2009). Ten Fellowships are available with preferences given to candidates in Science and Math. All candidates admitted into the program are automatically awarded the Fellowship, and there is no separate application. No financial information need be submitted with your application.
Teaching Committment
In return for the Fellowship, graduates commit to teach in a New Haven Public middle or high school for a period of two years following the completion of their degree, and to become a part of a corps of teachers dedicated to significantly improving the achievement of the students in the classrooms and in their schools.
