UB is a member in good standing of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), a national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The programs on our accreditation page have been awarded full accreditation by AAQEP through Dec. 31, 2028. Full accreditation acknowledges that a program prepares effective educators who continue to grow as professionals and has demonstrated the commitment and capacity to maintain quality.
Combined English, BA / English Education, EdM
The UB Teach English education program is an accelerated, combined degree program that allows you to earn an English BA and an English education EdM in five years. The program focuses on providing you with content expertise in English while preparing you to teach English at the adolescence level (grades 5 to 12).
On this page:
Why English and English Education at UB?
In this combined program, you will study in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the Department of Learning and Instruction in the Graduate School of Education. While in the Department of English, you benefit from a dedicated focus on the discipline of English; in the Department of Learning and Instruction, you learn how to bring English to life in the grades 5 to 12 classroom.
UB prepares highly-qualified teachers who lead their classrooms, shape students’ lives and positively engage with the communities they serve.
Students enrolled in this program will:
Discover the power and resources of the English language through literature, poetry, popular culture, film, the craft of writing, community engagement, and more.
Employ the skills of close reading, historical contextualization, and theoretical reflection in order to formulate compelling questions and to craft original essays.
Complete intensive clinical education experiences in collaboration with Western New York schools across diverse settings, while learning the nuances of the teaching profession.
Gain the skills, expertise and confidence to implement evidence-based practice in the classroom and co-teach alongside an expert teacher in a one-year residency.
Program Overview
Academic credential granted
Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Master of Education (EdM)
Certification option
Successful completion of program leads to an institutional recommendation for New York State initial and professional certification in English education
Grade levels
7 to 12 with 5 to 6 extension
Credits required for completion
145
Time to completion
5 years
Course delivery
On campus, online
Careers
English teacher
Editor/publisher
Film/arts critic
Grant writer
Experiential contact hours
Clinical experiences embedded in undergraduate and graduate coursework
A full one-year teaching residency in the final year of the program
This is a sample course schedule. These courses are subject to change. As a student in the UB Teach program, you must work closely with your advisor before registering for classes.
Recommended Courses
We recommend that you incorporate the following courses into your studies:
One Shakespeare course
One world or multicultural literature course
One genre or author course
Two courses in American literature surveys
Two courses in British literature surveys
Required Undergraduate Education Courses
CEP 400 Educational Psychology
ELP 405 Sociology of Education
LAI 350 Introduction to Education
LAI 414 Adolescent Writing across Curriculum
LAI 474 Teaching the Exceptional Learner
English BA Courses
Three 200-level English courses Suggested courses:
ENG 231 British Writers I
ENG 232 British Writers II
ENG 241 American Writers 1
ENG 242 American Writers 2
ENG 251 Short Fiction
ENG 252 Poetry
One course (3 credits) in criticism/theory Suggested courses:
ENG 301 Criticism
ENG 367 Psychoanalysis and Culture
ENG 369 Literary Theory
ENG 370 Critical Race Theory
ENG 371 Queery Theory
ENG 372 Feminist Theory
ENG 440 Film Theory
ENG 454 Literature and Philosophy
ENG 455 Cultural Theory
Three courses (9 Credits) in earlier literature (pre-1800) Suggested courses include:
ENG 309 Shakespeare Early Plays
ENG 310 Shakespeare Late Plays
ENG 317 Early British Drama
ENG 318 Eighteenth-Century Literature
ENG 322 Victorian Literature
ENG 332 Early American Literature
One course (3 credits) in breadth of literary study Chosen from among specified upper-level English courses that are grounded in perspectives or experience outside the literary mainstream.
Five additional courses (15 Credits) of which four courses (12 credits) must be at the ENG 300–400 level, and one course (3 credits) must be at the ENG 400 level Suggested courses include:
ENG 341 Studies in African American Literature
ENG 383 Studies in World Literature
ENG 405 Studies in Early Women Writers
Progression to Graduate Coursework
You will not apply separately to graduate study; instead, there are a series of progression points that you must meet.
Advancement to the graduate portion of the program requires that you:
maintain a 3.0 GPA
earn a “C” grade or higher in content courses (courses in the major)
earn a “B-” or better in all education and graduate-level coursework
English Education EdM Courses
ENG 501 Introduction to Scholarly Methods
ENG 502 Introduction to Critical Theory
LAI 512 Readings in Multicultural Literature *
LAI 513 Teaching of Literature *
LAI 536 Digital Composing as Literacy Learning *
LAI 537 Language, Diversity and Literacy *
LAI 552 Middle Childhood/ Adolescent Literacy Methods
LAI 580 Literature for Young Adults
LAI 595 Supervised Teaching 2
LAI 617 Methods of Teaching English in Grades 5-12
LAI 667 Field Experience
LAI 668 Supervised Teaching 1
LAI 674 Seminar in Teaching
LAI 698 Instructional Strategies in Secondary Schools
LAI 700 Capstone
*May substitute an English Education elective course with your advisor's permission.
Graduate-Level Electives
Two 500-level English courses Courses should be selected in coordination with the Graduate School of Education's Office of Educator Preparation.