[Availability: the St. Louis Home Campus and the Online TESOL program]

8 courses (24 credit hours) of required coursework PLUS 3 courses (9 credit hours) of elective coursework

• TESL 5030 - Linguistics for Language Learning and Teaching (also required for Missouri ELL Certification)

• TESL 5230 - Theories of Foreign and Second Language Acquisition (also required for Missouri ELL Certification)

• TESL 5139 - Instructional Methods for Language Classrooms (also required for Missouri ELL Certification)

• TESL 5220 - Lesson Planning and Curriculum Development (also required for Missouri ELL Certification)

• TESL 5311 - Language Assessment (also required for Missouri ELL Certification)

• TESL 5350 - Sociolinguistics (also required for Missouri ELL Certification)

• TESL 5730 - Materials Development in Language Classrooms

• Three credit hours of practicum, with options including:

  • TESL 5040 - Practicum in English Classrooms [1-3 hours] (also required for Missouri ELL Certification)

  • TESL 5041 - Tutoring in English [1 hour]

  • TESL 5042 - Initial Practicum in English Classrooms [1 hour]

[Availability: the St. Louis Home Campus and the Online TESOL program]

8 courses (24 credit hours) of required coursework PLUS 3 courses (9 credit hours) of elective coursework

• TESL 5030 - Linguistics for Language Learning and Teaching

• TESL 5230 - Theories of Foreign and Second Language Acquisition

• TESL 5139 - Instructional Methods for Language Classrooms

• TESL 5220 - Lesson Planning and Curriculum Development

• TESL 5311 - Language Assessment

• TESL 5350 - Sociolinguistics

• TESL 5710 - Teaching English Grammar OR TESL 5720 - Teaching English Pronunciation

• Three credit hours of practicum, with options including:

  • TESL 5040 - Practicum in English Classrooms [1-3 hours]

  • TESL 5041 - Tutoring in English [1 hour]

  • TESL 5042 - Initial Practicum in English Classrooms [1 hour]

[Availability: our programs in Uzbekistan, our program in Kazakhstan, and our program in Greece]

8 courses (24 credit hours) of required coursework PLUS 3 courses (9 credit hours) of elective coursework

• TESL 5030 - Linguistics for Language Learning and Teaching

• TESL 5230 - Theories of Foreign and Second Language Acquisition

• TESL 5139 - Instructional Methods for Language Classrooms

• TESL 5220 - Lesson Planning and Curriculum Development

• TESL 5311 - Language Assessment

• TESL 5350 - Sociolinguistics

• TESL 5710 - Teaching English Grammar

• Three credit hours of practicum, with options including:

  • TESL 5040 - Practicum in English Classrooms [1-3 hours]

  • TESL 5041 - Tutoring in English [1 hour]

  • TESL 5042 - Initial Practicum in English Classrooms [1 hour]

Electives

• TESL 5730 - Materials Development in Language Classrooms

• TESL 5740 - English for Academic Purposes

• TESL 5760 - English for Specific Purposes

[Availability: the St. Louis Home Campus and the Online TESOL program]

DESE requires that candidates seeking the ELL Certification have a permanent Missouri elementary or secondary certificate 

7 courses (21 credit hours) of required coursework

• TESL 5030 - Linguistics for Language Learning and Teaching

• TESL 5230 - Theories of Foreign and Second Language Acquisition

• TESL 5139 - Instructional Methods for Language Classrooms

• TESL 5220 - Lesson Planning and Curriculum Development

• TESL 5311 - Language Assessment

• TESL 5350 - Sociolinguistics

• Three credit hours of practicum, with options including:

  • TESL 5040 - Practicum in English Classrooms [1-3 hours]

  • TESL 5041 - Tutoring in English [1 hour]

  • TESL 5042 - Initial Practicum in English Classrooms [1 hour]

DESE also requires that candidates have completed the following three pre-requisite courses: 

• Psychology of the Exceptional Student (SPED 5860)

• Teaching Reading and Writing in the Content Areas (CMAT 5380)

• Differentiated Reading and Writing in the Content Areas (CMAT 5390)

If you need any of these three pre-requisite courses you may take them at Webster University and use them as electives toward your MA in TESOL degree.

Beginning August 1, 2024, teachers must also pass the English to Speakers of Other Languages Praxis test.

The MA in TESOL program requires nine credits (three courses) in elective coursework.

TESOL students are recommended to take other available TESL courses when available to use as elective courses.  These courses are:

• TESL 5730 Materials Development in Language Classrooms (required for K–12 emphasis, but recommended elective for ESL/EFL emphasis)

• TESL 5710 Teaching English Grammar (required for ESL/EFL emphasis, but recommended elective for K–12 emphasis)

The following courses are others to consider as elective courses.  Please check the Course Schedule Toolkit for availability. 

• COMM 5XXX (any graduate-level Communication Arts course)

• EDIN 5XXX (any graduate-level Education and Innovation course)

• EDTC 5XXX (any graduate-level Educational Technology course)

• EPSY 5XXX (any graduate-level Educational Psychology course)

• INTL 5000 Intro to International Relations

• INTL 5510 Theories of International Relations

• INTL 5800 Globalization

• MEDC 5000 Media Communications

• MEDC 5311 Media and Culture

• MEDC 5360 International Communications

• READ 5190 Advanced Studies in Language Development and Acquisition

If you identify another graduate-level (5000-level) course that you would like to use as an elective, please discuss that with your advisor to seek permission.

The Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate is embedded into the MA in TESOL program for TESOL students at the Uzbekistan locations. TESOL students in the ESL/EFL Education emphasis or International Education emphasis may add the TEFL Certificate to their program and receive the TEFL Certificate along with the MA in TESOL (an additional graduate fee will be assessed for adding the TEFL certificate).

The TEFL Certificate may also be completed as a stand-alone program. All students pursuing the TEFL Certificate will be considered degree-seeking students and will have the option to pursue the MA in TESOL with an emphasis in ESL/EFL Education within 5 years from the start of their TESOL coursework.

Starting in 2023, the course requirements for the TEFL Certificate have been aligned to the core courses for the TESOL program. This ensures that all students in the TEFL Certificate program participate in the same program-wide assessments.

Required Coursework for TEFL Certificate (21 credit hours)

• TESL 5030 - Linguistics for Language Learning and Teaching

• TESL 5230 - Theories of Foreign and Second Language Acquisition

• TESL 5139 - Instructional Methods for Language Classrooms

• TESL 5220 - Lesson Planning and Curriculum Development

• TESL 5311 - Language Assessment

• TESL 5350 - Sociolinguistics

• Three credit hours of practicum, with options including:

  • TESL 5040 - Practicum in English Classrooms [1-3 hours]

  • TESL 5041 - Tutoring in English [1 hour]

  • TESL 5042 - Initial Practicum in English Classrooms [1 hour]

If you have completed a prior graduate degree (MA, MAT, etc.) in Education, in Humanities, or in Social Sciences, talk to your advisor about a sequential master's degree.  If you qualify, you can complete your degree with fewer courses (and save money).

• The TESOL program allows candidates in MA programs to transfer in a maximum of nine credit hours of graduate credit (this usually equates three courses) into a master's program at Webster University.

• The TESOL program has only allowed a maximum of 6 credit hours of transfer of credit to be used for elective courses. This is to ensure that all TESOL students take the same core of required TESOL courses, which have been aligned to the TESOL Standards and to state ELL requirements.”

• If a course was used for credit as part of a prior degree, it may not be transferred in and used for the MA in TESOL.

• If you want a prior course to count as a required course for the MA in TESOL, you will need to supply a syllabus from the course. A course description is not enough and links to websites will not be accepted as syllabi.

• Please note that you may not combine transfer of credit with a sequential master's degree.