The M.A. in Reading, which includes the Reading and Literacy Added Authorization and Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential, is a practitioner-centered program focusing on the interdisciplinary study of literacy from a variety of critical and sociocultural perspectives. Through these perspectives we emphasize culture and language in literacy instruction.<br>As a program, we follow the International Literacy Association's definition of literacy as identifying, understanding, interpreting, creating, computing, and communicating with visual, audible, and digital materials across disciplines and contexts (2018). Skills like Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, Comprehension, as well as literary response and critique, and writing/composition, are developed through the lens of cultural experiences, the use of socially-situated practices, and culturally sustaining materials. The Master of Arts degree program in Education with an option in reading/language arts is designed to provide professional and specialized preparation for classroom and resource teachers and consultants, diagnosticians and supervisors in reading clinics, schools, and community colleges. It enables graduates to do consulting and editing for publishing companies and to pursue advanced graduate study in universities offering the doctoral degree.<br>Reading and Language Arts graduate courses are designed to help teachers learn how to make curricular decisions about teaching reading and how to meet the needs of students with varying language communication backgrounds. Students pursuing a degree or credential in Reading and Language Arts also learn to inspire other teachers to upgrade the reading/language abilities of students through demonstrations of effective reading strategies.<br>Literacy coaches in schools, Instructor at a community college, Educational literacy consultant in private and public settings<br>Diagnostician in reading clinics, Resource teachers in schools and community literacy centers,Consultant for publishing companies