Early Literacy Instruction [Graduate Certificate]

Location(s): In-person/hybrid

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

The Graduate Certificate in Early Literacy Instruction is for certified Elementary teachers who wish to further their reach in education by focusing on teaching literacy in grades K-8.

You will learn to examine, administer, and evaluate informal and formal literacy assessments for K-8 students. You will learn developmental aspects of language learning and its relationship to emergent reading, research the relationship between reading and writing processes, and apply age-appropriate classroom management and evaluation procedures.

Program Admission

Admit Terms and Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Summer, Fall, or Winter. See Application Deadlines.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.

Program Requirements

Applicants must also meet the following program requirements:

Hold a valid teaching credential. This requirement may be waived for international applicants who do not intend to teach in the United States.

Application

Your application will be submitted using GradCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application.

- Go to 2023-2024 GradCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Winter 2025.

- Go to 2024-2025 GradCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2025, Fall 2025, or Winter 2026.

Domestic Applicants Within the application, follow the instructions to submit an official transcript from all previously attended institutions.

International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.

For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.

Department Information

Teacher Education 313 Porter, 734.487.3260

Wendy Burke, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information

Linda Lewis-White, PhD, 313 Porter, 734.487.3260

Degree Requirements: 12 hours

RDNG 503 Meeting Individual Needs in Elementary Literacy Education: Mandatory for MDE Certification Renewal 3 hrs
RDNG 656 Language Development, Literacy and the Young Child 3 hrs
RDNG 658 Reading and Writing and the Inquiry Process 3 hrs
Choose one course from the following:
RDNG 630 Literacy Instruction in a Multilingual Society 3 hrs
RDNG 654 Integrating New Literacies in Reading and Writing Instruction 3 hrs

Critical Graduation Information

Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

Graduate Certificate requirements must be completed within three (3) years of first enrollment in a course applicable to the certificate. Dually enrolled students (certificate and master’s program) must complete both degrees within six years of first enrollment in the master’s degree.

In the event a student does not complete the graduate certificate degree requirements within three years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are the minimum requirements for all graduate certificate degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.

A graduate certificate must require a minimum of 12 credit hours.
No more than six credits of independent study courses and 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined may be applied to a graduate degree.
Residency Requirement - For students admitted to a graduate certificate program, at least nine graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the program must be earned at EMU. Students completing multiple certificate programs must have a minimum of 9 unique credit hours per certificate.
Application of completed certificates toward prior degree credit - Only credits from one completed graduate certificate may be applied to a master’s or specialist degree in a relevant field of study, as determined by the Graduate School and with the approval of the degree-granting academic department, and be included in the residency hours of the master’s program.
The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.