Program Overview

Program Structure

Courses are fully online and asynchronous. There are no prerequisites for the Second Language Education: TESOL program and you may take the courses in any order. While pacing of the courses is up to you, most students who are teaching full time find one or two courses per semester manageable. Our graduate courses are intensive, so taking more than two per semester is not recommended if you are teaching full time. According to SUNY Online guidelines, "A 3-credit 15 week graduate online course = 180 total hours", or approximately 12 hours per week of commitment to time on task.

Please see the Loading... for detailed program information.

Reminder: if you choose to independently pursue additional NYS certification in TESOL, you must first hold Initial NYS teacher certification in another area.

Required Materials

1. Completed online Graduate School Application – Apply Now
2. Official transcripts from all institutions of higher learning attended to be forwarded directly to SUNY Cortland Graduate Admission Office
   Note: Candidates for admission must present evidence of bachelor’s degree conferral prior to the start of their academic program.
3. Two letters of recommendation (submitted online with application); at least one letter must come from a professor or academic faculty member.
4. One essay: Please select one of the following prompts and respond in approximately 300 words:​

1. 1. Describe a significant project or commitment that you completed largely through your own initiative. What motivated you to persevere and see it through?
   2. Describe an experience interacting with someone whose linguistic or cultural background differed substantially from your own. What did you learn from the experience?
   3. Describe a time when you received feedback that was difficult to accept. How did you respond, and what did you learn from it?

Admissions Criteria

Preference will be given to:

• An undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above (on a 4.0 scale)

Note: Qualified applicants who do not meet the above requirement will be considered on an individual basis.

Required courses

The following courses (25 credit hours) are required for the TESOL program:

• ESL 503: Second Language Testing and Assessment
• ESL 522: Theory and Practice of Bilingual/Multilingual Education
• ICC 521: Grammar for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
• ICC 523: Integrating Technology in the Second Language Classroom
• ICC 620: Materials and Techniques for Teachers of English as a Second Language Through Content Areas
• ICC 621: Linguistics for Second Language Educators
• ICC 623: Second Language Acquisition: Theory and Research
• ICC 624 Methods of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
• ICC 685 Comprehensive Examination (1 credit)

Electives

Students must choose two electives (6 credit hours) from the following options:

• EDU 671 Issues in Foundations of Education
• ESL 504 Literacy in the Elementary School
• ESL 529 Special Topics (may be repeated provided the topic changes)
• FSA 510 Teaching the Special Education Learner in the General Education Classroom
• ICC 529 Special Topics (may be repeated provided the topic changes)
• ICC 629 Special Topics (may be repeated provided the topic changes)
• LIT 549 Literacy in the Secondary School

Other elective choices must be approved by the department.