The Master of Arts
in Social Science (MASS) Program fuses the interests of nine different departments
from three colleges into graduate teacher training for the social sciences.
Appalachian State University's mission of educating teachers for its service
region is a high priority. MASS is unique among institutions of higher education
in North Carolina in dispensing two 18-hour disciplinary concentrations with
an emphasis in secondary and community college education, thereby meeting the
requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In the process,
MASS is emerging as a model of seamless education by strengthening the educational
connections among high schools, community colleges, and the senior institutions.
The two concentrations of
the MASS Program are:
Secondary Education Social Science "G"
Certification: A thirty-six hour non-thesis concentration that
meets the state requirements for "G" certification for high school
social studies teachers. Relevant courses are provided by the Departments of
Anthropology, Economics, Geography and Planning, History, Political Science
and Criminal Justice, and Sociology in combination with the required education
courses from the departments of Curriculum and Instruction, Library Science,
Educational Foundations, and Psychology. This concentration was reviewed by
NCATE/SDPI 1995-96 with only positive remarks noted by the visiting team. The
concentration is populated primarily by in-service teachers wishing to upgrade
their status.
Community College Teaching
Concentration: A thirty-nine hour non-thesis
concentration deriving from a multidepartmental response to
market demand that social science teacher preparation include two
disciplinary concentrations of eighteen hours each to enhance the
prospects for full-time community college employment. As the only
such designed program in the state, it has been developed through
the recommendations of the North Carolina Community College
Administration in Raleigh, and administrators of surveyed
community colleges.
The MASS Program results, in part, from the combining of
teacher training programs in most of the social science departments at Appalachian
State University, and therefore represents a progressive movement in educational
opportunities. Simultaneously, this multidisciplinary approach opens additional
opportunities for new kinds of innovative professional development, fusing the
interests of individuals, their communities, and North Carolina's educational
support systems.