Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies Degrees

Support the learning and development of young children from birth to age 8 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education in Early Childhood Education. As an educator in this critical stage of life, you will nurture children’s growth through responsive, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate practices. You'll design meaningful learning experiences that help children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally while fostering strong connections between home, school, and community.

Cultivate your leadership potential, foster your strategic decision-making skills, and gain the foundation to excel in a competitive landscape with a degree in Leadership and Learning Innovation. This degree provides students with a justice-oriented framework for leadership in a variety of education and industry settings. Graduates work in a wide range of fields, including nonprofit work, youth services, local and state government, and community outreach initiatives.

The Adolescents, Community & Education Minor is designed to introduce students to the benefits and challenges of working with children and adolescents in school and community settings. Coursework covers how adolescents learn, develop, and negotiate their unique and changing roles in a multicultural society, educational issues affecting adolescents today, and community internships in school and non-school settings.

In the Global Education minor, students learn to work with diverse international populations in the US and abroad. The curriculum covers challenges in global education, preparing students to address these issues through ethical and social reasoning. Additionally, students will be able to tailor their minor curriculum to more specific professional and academic areas of interest, such as schooling, human rights, and sustainability.

This minor explores the power of recreation and sport to enhance quality of life, instill meaningful social values, and create opportunities for healthy development in people of all ages. Coursework will build applied programming and administration skills, as well as examine the theory and socio-cultural context of recreation and sport, including issues of access and equity. Students with this minor are equipped to provide quality, inclusive, accessible leisure experiences in a wide variety of settings.

The Teaching Online by Design (TOBD) minor is designed to engage and prepare students on how to design and facilitate online courses/programs.

This minor provides a deep dive into current theories and practices of instructional design and teaching/learning in the field of online education. It further aims to prepare undergraduates for careers in online education involving all levels of education from K-12, higher education, government, and industry.

We envision a world in which children in Southern Arizona have access to high-quality education, and we are creating that world through our Humanizing and Culturally Affirming Teacher Program (HCAT). The HCAT program is a two-year, context-specific program that prepares teachers for the borderlands of Arizona, culminating in an M.Ed Secondary Education and Arizona secondary certification for grades 7-12. The program’s philosophy relies on critical analyses of teachers’ sociocultural, political, and economic positionalities.

A certificate in Inclusive Leadership in Sport and Recreation will develop student’s knowledge and skills specifically related to equity, inclusion, and justice in athletic and leisure contexts. Students will engage with faculty who have extensive practical experience in athletics, coaching, recreation, and physical education in flexible and engaging online course options that fit with any schedule.
 

The M.A. program in Languages, Literacies and Transformative Pedagogies (LLTP) focuses on theory, research, and practice around a broad definition of languages, literacies, and transformative pedagogies, encouraging critical inquiry to examine sociocultural issues within teaching and learning.

The graduate minor in Sport and Recreation Leadership (SRL) allows students with related academic and professional interests to choose courses that focus on issues of equity and justice in sport and recreation, policy analysis and implementation, coaching, administrative functions related to human resources, finance, and marketing, as well as general best practices in the field. SRL faculty have extensive practical experience in athletics, recreation, adapted sport, and physical education.

The Sport and Recreation Leadership MA program will prepare dynamic leaders in sports and recreation fields. Students will focus on issues of equity and justice in sport and recreation, policy analysis and implementation, coaching, administrative functions related to human resources, finance, and marketing, as well as general best practices in the field.
 

A certificate in Sport and Recreation Management will develop knowledge and skills in organizational leadership, policy analysis and implementation, as well as administrative functions like human resources, finance, and marketing. Students will engage with faculty who have extensive practical experience in athletics, coaching, recreation, and physical education in flexible and engaging online course options that fit with any schedule.
 

Teach Arizona is a fast-track, one-year MEd plus certification program for prospective high school or middle school teachers who have a bachelor’s degree and want to teach one of the following subjects: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, general science, Spanish, American Sign Language, Mandarin, French, English, history, political science, or economics. Teach Arizona students have the opportunity to complete a year-long student teaching internship during the program before stepping into the profession.

The Teaching and Learning M.A. program supports you in developing and expanding your teaching tools. In this 2-year program, you’ll learn the latest information about teaching and learning while specializing in an area that matches your interests. The program has a fully distance-based option with synchronous classes over zoom.
 

The doctoral program in Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies (TLS) prepares students to investigate and address a broad range of issues in teaching and learning. Emphasizing a sociocultural perspective, the program nurtures innovative ways of knowing, methods of inquiry, and approaches to problem-solving. Students are encouraged to focus their studies in one of our 7 focus areas but may customize a plan of study in agreement with their graduate committee to fit their interests and needs.