Master of Arts Degree

Program Information

Appalachian State University offers Master’s Degrees in Romance Languages with specializations in French or Spanish Teaching. Within each language, candidates can specialize to focus on K-12 or College Teaching. The teaching Master's is a non-thesis option and involves 36 graduate hours (12 courses). Students may begin the degree in any term--summer, spring or fall.

Students in the program can study part-time or full-time on campus in Boone, but we also offer various options for working professionals and off-campus students who need online and/or evening courses. At least one class each semester is scheduled after 5pm, and students who live or work more than 1 hour from campus can participate in these courses via videoconference. Often, our evening classes are designed in a hybrid format where some of the coursework can be completed asynchronously online.

This combination of online and face-to-face meetings, together with summer course offerings, allows us to offer a high-quality, interactive program to students who are teaching or otherwise employed during the day.

Full-time on-campus students are eligible for graduate assistantships both in the department and across campus that provide valuable work experience for those interested in teaching and/or working in higher education.

Courses

Courses are distributed in three areas:

1. All students take two required LLC courses that are offered in alternate years:

  • Fall, even years: LLC 5601, Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition
  • Fall, odd years: LLC 5590, Issues in Teaching Foreign Languages and Cultures
  • K-12 candidates also take the Product of Learning: LLC 5525, a course which helps to structure the final project required for the degree.

2. All students take two professional education courses instructed by Appalachian’s Reich College of Education:

  • K-12 teachers take 2 courses focused on children and schools:
    • Advanced Topics in Diversity 
    • Teacher Leadership and School Improvement
  • Community College candidates select 2 courses for working with adults, such as:
    • The Adult Learner 
    • Higher Education Internship

3. All remaining coursework for the MA degree are “elective” courses. The elective courses are rotated through the fall, spring and summer.

  • K-12 teachers take 7 electives. 
  • Community College candidates take 8 electives.

Apply

If you are ready, begin the Online Application.