Admission
Location: Online
Start Term: Fall, Spring and Summer
General Master's Degree Admission Requirements
Multilingual Education M.A. - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Admission Deadline
For the best possible admission, enrollment and orientation experience, we recommend that you complete your application by these dates, which are approximately 60 days before the start of each term:
- Summer term: March 15
- Fall term: June 15
- Spring term: Nov. 15
You can still apply after these dates, but if the date has passed please contact the Admissions Coach for support to apply and begin classes in the upcoming term. View the UNC Academic Calendar for the start dates for upcoming terms.
Please note: An Asian Studies B.A. and Multilingual Education M.A. — Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) accelerated (4+1) program is available.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must apply to the Graduate School at the University of Northern Colorado before the program area reviews the applicant’s request for admission. Failure to submit all required materials will delay the evaluation and screening of your application.
Each applicant must:
- Possess a baccalaureate degree from an Institutionally Accredited college or university or a comparable degree from a foreign institution.
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better (on a 4.00 scale) for the most recent degree earned or current degree in progress.
- If you are still completing your bachelor's degree at the time you apply, admission will be based on your current cumulative GPA, and you will need to re-submit your official transcript (showing your conferred degree and final GPA) during your first semester. If your final GPA fell below 3.00, you will be given additional requirements as defined by the academic program that must be met within one calendar year to remain enrolled at UNC.
- If you have completed a master's degree, or at least 18 credit hours towards a master's degree, the GPA of your master's work will be used.
Take the following steps to be considered for admission:
Step 1: Complete the Application
Complete the online application.
- Answer the application questions.
- Send your requests for letters of recommendation.
- Request three (3) academic or professional letters of recommendation from those who can attest to your academic potential and abilities. You will be asked to supply information for your recommenders in the application.
- Submit the application and pay the non-refundable application fee.
- Domestic Students: $50 non-refundable application fee
- International Students: $50 non-refundable application fee
- The Graduate School is waiving application fees for all current UNC students and alumni! (The waiver applies only to the UNC Graduate School application.) Click for details.
Once you submit your application you will be assigned an Admissions Portal, allowing you to upload supplemental items, as listed below, and track your application through the admissions process.
Step 2: Request Transcripts
Request one official transcript from any Institutionally Accredited college or university where a bachelor’s degree or higher was earned or is in progress (if you have earned multiple degrees, bachelor’s level or higher, an official transcript is required from each college or university where a degree was conferred). If you received a degree from UNC, you do not need to request a transcript from UNC. The Office of Admissions reserves the right to request that applicants provide official transcripts from other colleges or universities as needed. Applicants who have earned or are directly pursuing a higher degree from a regionally accredited institution without receiving a bachelor’s degree (e.g., PharmD) may be eligible to apply to the Graduate School without the conferral of a bachelor’s degree.
Exceptions: If an applicant intends to use Veteran’s Education Benefits, an official transcript from all colleges or universities attended will be required in order to maintain compliance with Veteran’s Affairs policies.
Official transcripts from U.S. institutions should be sent via mail directly from the educational institution in an unopened, sealed envelope or through an electronically secure digital program from the issuing institution.
Mailed transcripts should be sent to:
University of Northern Colorado
Office of Admissions
Campus Box 10
501 20th St
Greeley, CO 80639
Electronic transcripts from U.S. institutions should be sent directly from the educational institution to: grad.admissions@unco.edu.
The Office of Admissions does not accept email, scanned or PDF transcripts directly from applicants. All official transcripts, submitted as part of the application process, are retained by UNC and not returned to applicants or admitted students.
UNC retains submitted transcripts, from institutions other than UNC, for admitted students for up to five years after graduation or date of last attendance at UNC. Transcripts provided by applicants who were not admitted, denied admissions or did not complete their application are destroyed after one (1) year. The Office of Admissions will make every attempt to use previously submitted transcripts if they are within these timeframes. However, if the Office of Admissions cannot locate previously submitted transcripts, the transcripts fall outside the timeframes listed above or they are considered illegible, applicants must provide new transcripts.
Applicants with academic credentials from outside the U.S. will need to follow the requirements for submission of foreign transcripts. Click on the Transcripts tab for information about international transcripts.
Step 3: Note About the GRE
This program does not require GRE scores.
Step 4: Supplemental Items
Log back into the Admissions Portal to submit the following:
Statement of Goals: This should address your potential as a graduate student and future professional goals. The statement should be 500 words or less.
Once you apply to the UNC Graduate School and your application packet is complete, your application will be reviewed by the Graduate School and then sent to the faculty/program for an admission recommendation. The timing of the admission decision depends on each individual program’s deadline and review process.
International applicants (non-U.S. citizen/non-U.S. Permanent Resident) please refer to the International Admissions Requirements page for further information about submitting transcripts, English proficiency scores, passport copy and financial documentation.
For More Information
For more information about the admission process, please email the Office of Admissions at grad.admissions@unco.edu or call 970-351-2881.
Accelerated (4+1) M.A. in Multilingual Education-Tesol
Motivated students may seek to complete the requirements for the B.A. Asian Studies and M.A. Multilingual Education, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in five years. To obtain both degrees, students must complete all the requirements for the B.A. in Asian Studies, either with a ,Liberal Arts Concentration described in the Undergraduate Catalog (120 for Liberal Arts) and all of the requirements for the M.A. Multilingual Education, TESOL described in the Graduate Catalog (30 credit hours). However, the accelerated B.A./M.A. program involves shared credit hours shared between the Bachelor's and Master's programs, so the total number of credit hours to complete the accelerated Master’s program is 141 for students.
Completing the requirements for both degrees is made possible by taking double-counted B.A./M.A. credits (ECLD 592, ECLD 523, and ECLD 594) during the Junior and Senior years (paid for at the undergraduate tuition rate) and graduate-level credits (online – graduate-level tuition rate) in the summer following the Senior year and completion of the undergraduate program. While this is the most efficient route, students may also elect to complete the program at a slower pace. Students remain eligible for financial aid as an undergraduate; any Graduate School aid is not available until students are admitted as a Graduate student.
To be fully admitted to the MAT program, students must graduate with a cumulative GPA at 3.00 and above for the BA. Students then take the remaining 7 graduate courses: ECLD 504, ECLD 510, ECLD 601, ECLD 510, ECLD 605, ET 640, and SRM 600 to complete the MAT program.
Accelerated M.A. TESOL 4+1 Timeline
BA Asian Studies Majors in Accelerated MA TESOL 4+1 Program take 9 out of the 28 University-Wide Credits for the BA at the 500 levels in junior and senior years.
Students take the following as undergraduate electives:
Multilingual Education M.A. – Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)— 30 Credits
Students complete the remaining 7 courses after graduation. See completion plans below.
Required Credits — 24 credits
| ECLD 504 | Field Experience in Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Education | 3 |
| ECLD 510 | Practices in ESL/EFL Instruction and Assessment | 3 |
| | |
| ECLD 590 | Communication and Technologies for Multilingual Education | 3 |
| or | |
| ET 525 | Learners and Curriculum in the Digital Age | 3 |
| or | |
| ET 640 | Applications of Multiliteracies | 3 |
| | |
| ECLD 592 | Second Language Acquisition Theory | 3 |
| ECLD 594 | Foundations of Language and Linguistics for ESL/Bilingual Educators | 3 |
| ECLD 601 | Language, Linguistics, and Education | 3 |
| ECLD 605 | Seminar in Multilingual Teaching and Learning | 3 |
| SRM 600 | Introduction to Graduate Research | 3 |
Elective Credits — 6 credits
Choose Two
| ECLD 523 | Academic Language/Literacy Development for Diverse Learners in School Settings | 3 |
| ECLD 593 | Language, School and Society | 3 |
| ECLD 596 | Effective Instruction in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education | 3 |
| ECLD 602 | Teaching Culturally Linguistically Diverse and Bilingual Learners | 3 |
| EDSE 679 | Interventions for Students with Cultural and Linguistic Differences | 3 |