Master of Education or Certificate of Advanced Study in Curriculum and Instruction (M.Ed.)

National Louis University's Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction is for those who want to improve curriculum design, instructional effectiveness and learner achievement.

Consider getting your Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction at National Louis University (NLU) if you:

  • Are interested in strengthening your instructional practices
  • Want to enhance your curriculum design capabilities
  • Want to increase and Improve learner achievements
  • Would like to expand your career options and increase your salary levels

Why NLU for Curriculum and Instruction

NLU has a long-standing reputation for its education and administrator training programs, and is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

Since 1886, we've trained thousands of Chicago-area teachers, and continue to graduate the majority of Illinois' Golden Apple Award winners — one of the most prestigious teacher honors in the state. Our faculty brings a wealth of practical experience and academic knowledge to the classroom, and our students are highly qualified — creating a unique depth to NLU's Master of Education programs.

Plus, NLU offers multiple entry and exit points in the program so you can combine full-time work with self-paced study. Our range of traditional, blended and online learning environments expand your study options even further.

What You Will Learn

Through coursework, practicum experiences and study with peers and faculty, you'll learn specific skills that can help you improve achievement levels in your learning environment such as:

  • How to identify a topic, generate a research question, and design an inquiry to obtain data.
  • How to collect, record and evaluate that data.
  • How to synthesize, organize and communicate your findings to a variety of audiences.
  • How to best use these results to improve your practice.

Concentrations

Students may customize their degree by choosing from a single topic area of interest. Concentrations are 18 semester hours, and include the following options:

ESL/Bilingual Education — meets the State of Illinois requirements to work in a Bilingual Education, ESL or Dual Instructional Program.

Health Education — prepares health educators to use their knowledge of health, health education and teaching skills in professional practice.

School Nurse — prepares registered nurses for the School Service Personnel Certificate Type 73 with a school nurse endorsement.

Science Education — designed for certified teachers interested in obtaining the State of Illinois middle school science endorsement.

Social Studies — appropriate for teachers who want to improve their knowledge and teaching of the new National Content Areas Standards in Social Studies.

Teaching for Conceptual Integration — for instructors who teach multiple subjects to the same group of students in grades K-6 and want to integrate concepts across subject areas.

NEW! Personalized Option — allows students to sample "mini-concentrations" before committing to a concentration, including the new 6 semester hour National Board Certification Preparation track. Mini-concentrations are available in:

  • ESL/Bilingual Education (4 options)
  • Health Education (3 options)
  • Science Education (3 options)
  • Mathematics Education (1 option)

Career Outlook

If you're a teacher, curriculum designer, or work in the education field, a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction can help deepen your expertise. Schools that want to succeed need teachers and curriculum specialists with the knowledge of innovative, effective instructional techniques and pedagogical best practices. With an Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, you can stay in the classroom but have a say in the curriculum and how it is taught; specialize in curriculum design for students with special needs or learning disabilities; or work as an independent educational consultant or textbook designer.

Admission Requirements

All applicants must meet NLU's general admission requirements. Refer to the appropriate application checklist.

Locations

  • CHICAGO DOWNTOWN CAMPUS

    NLU’s Chicago campus on South Michigan Avenue occupies five floors of the historic Peoples Gas Building. This landmark building, across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago and Grant Park, is easily accessible by train, bus and car and is surrounded by restaurants, parking lots/garages and shops.

    122 S. Michigan Avenue
    Chicago, IL 60603
    800.443.5522

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  • ELGIN

    Conveniently located in a fast-growing business district off I-90 and Route 31, NLU Elgin features 10 classrooms with high-tech media equipment; a computer lab with high-speed Internet access; two conference rooms; and comfortable student lounges. Parking is free at this recently remodeled and upgraded teaching site, which now includes wireless Internet access.

    620 Tollgate Road
    Elgin, IL 60123
    800.443.5522

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  • NORTH SHORE

    Opened in the summer of 2006, NLU North Shore at Skokie is a state-of-the-art modern campus located just off the Edens Expressway near the Old Orchard Shopping Center. The campus includes 44 wireless classrooms equipped with high-tech media equipment; four computer labs with high-speed Internet access, including a walk-in lab in the library; six conference rooms; a public café for beverages and snacks; a student welcome center; a library for research and study; and multiple, comfortable student lounge areas.

    5202 Old Orchard Road
    Skokie, IL 60077
    800.443.5522

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  • LISLE

    Located just minutes from the East-West Tollway (I-88), NLU Lisle features 42 wireless classrooms equipped with high-tech media equipment; four computer labs with high-speed Internet access, including a separate walk-in lab in the library; a café for beverages and snacks; a student welcome center; a library for research and study; conference rooms; and six comfortable student lounge areas with wireless access.

    850 Warrenville Road
    Lisle, IL 60532
    800.443.5522

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  • WHEELING

    Located in one of Chicago's major northwest suburbs, the newly renovated NLU Wheeling includes 20 classrooms with high-tech media equipment, four conference rooms, four computer labs with high-speed Internet access, large student lounge areas with wireless capabilities and interactive video capabilities, and an extensive research library. The site also houses the university library research collection.

    1000 Capitol Drive
    Wheeling, IL 60090
    800.443.5522

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  • FLORIDA (TAMPA)

    Established in 1988 and located in one of the city's major business districts, NLU's Tampa campus serves students in 13 counties in central Florida. In addition to six classrooms, the campus features a conference room, a computer lab with high-speed Internet access, an extensive research library and comfortable student lounges.

    4950 West Kennedy Blvd. #300
    Tampa, FL 33609
    800.366.6581 | www.nl.edu/florida

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  • WISCONSIN

    NLU's Milwaukee campus has a proud history of serving graduate students in education in southeastern Wisconsin. Nearly one in five certified Wisconsin teachers looks to NLU for graduate education programs – more than any other university in the state. In addition to classrooms with high-tech media equipment, the campus offers a state-of-the-art computer lab with wireless Internet access and an extensive IDS research library.

    12000 West Park Place, Suite 100
    Milwaukee, WI 53224-3007
    414.577.2658

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