Why an M.Ed.?
By joining ACE, participants don’t just get the chance to serve a school in need – they get professional preparation that will enable them to make a deep and profound difference in the lives of the children they serve. The ACE M.Ed. intensively prepares teachers by integrating graduate level coursework with an immersion teaching experience. Throughout their two years teaching in under-resourced Catholic schools, ACE teachers earn a cost-free Master of Education degree from the University of Notre Dame. Upon graduation, they are eligible for state licensure as a teacher.
If ACE teachers are teaching full-time, when do they take M.Ed. courses?
ACE teachers spend two summers living and studying with the larger ACE community at Notre Dame. The centerpiece of the summer program is an innovative teacher-preparation curriculum, taught by select faculty and experienced practitioners, combined with a supervised field experience in local public and Catholic schools. ACE teachers also take a limited number of distance-learning classes during the academic year which directly relate to their classroom teaching experiences.
What about licensure?
Once ACE teachers graduate from the University of Notre Dame with their Master of Education degree, they are eligible for certification in the State of Indiana in their particular developmental level and content area. The ACE Office of Professional Standards will work with ACE graduates in seeking licenses in other states.
Curriculum
All ACE teachers are placed into one of three developmental levels: Elementary School (2nd - 5th grade), Middle School (6th - 8th grade), or High School (9th - 12th grade). Middle and high school teaches are then placed into one of four content areas: English/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.
Below is the M.Ed Course Sequence based on development and content area. Note, if you hover your mouse over the course number, a brief description of the course will pop-up.
First Summer:
| ELEMENTARY (13 Credits) | MIDDLE or HIGH SCHOOL (11 Credits) |
| EDU 60020: Intro to Teaching (1) | EDU 60020: Intro to Teaching (1) |
| EDU 65302: Practicum (2) | EDU 65304,6: Practicum (2) |
| EDU 60060: Teaching in Catholic Schools (1) | EDU 60060: Teaching in Catholic Schools (1) |
| EDU 60102: Effective Elem Classroom Teaching (2) | EDU 60204: Foundations of MS Teaching (3) |
| EDU 60182: Teaching of Reading (3) | OR EDU 60256: Foundations of HS Teaching (3) |
| EDU 60132: Math in Elem. Ed (2) | EDU 606's: Seminar in the Content Area I (2) |
| EDU 60192: Science & Social Studies in ELEM (1) | EDU 60695: Literacy in the Content Areas (1) |
| EDU 63500: Integrative Seminar (1) | EDU 63500: Integrative Seminar (1) |
First School Year:
| ALL TRACKS (8 credits) |
| EDU 65950: Supervised Teaching (2 ea. Semester) |
| EDU 65930: Clinical Seminar (1 ea. Semester) |
| EDU 60410: Topics in Ed Psychology (second semester) (2) |
Second Summer:
| ELEMENTARY (13 Credits) | MIDDLE or HIGH SCHOOL (11 Credits) |
| EDU 60455: Development and Moral Education in Childhood and Adolescence (3) | |
| EDU 60312: Inclusive Teaching Practices in Elementary (3) | EDU 60324: Inclusive Teaching Practices in MS (3) |
| EDU 60162: Content Methods for Elementary Education (2) | OR EDU 60336: Inclusive Teaching Practices in HS (3) |
| EDU 60142: Reading & Lang Arts in Elem Ed (3) | EDU 607's: Seminar in Content Area II (3) |
| EDU 63500: Integrative Seminar (1) | EDU 63500: Integrative Seminar (1) |
| EDU 60875: Supporting English Language Learners I (1) | EDU 60875: Supporting English Language Learners I (1) |
| EDU 60112: Math in ELEM Ed II (.5) | |
Elective Options: EDU 60865 Blended Learning
Second School Year:
| ALL TRACKS (8 credits) |
| EDU 65950: Supervised Teaching (2 ea. Semester) |
| EDU 65930: Clinical Seminar (1 ea. Semester) |
| EDU 607's: Assessment in Content Area II (1 ea. Semester) |
| OR EDU 60172: Assessment in Elementary Education (1 ea. Semester) |