Advising Elementary Education MSED Frequently Asked Questions

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You may find your bill by going to the My Missouri State > “University Account- Billing" card.   

From this page, you will be able to access your account, make payments, view your account information, account summary, etc. If you have questions, you may contact Financial Services. 

We encourage all students to complete a FAFSA. If you have questions about your financial aid package, please schedule an appointment with a Financial Aid counselor. You can review your financial aid offers in your My Missouri State > Financial Aid and Scholarships card.   

During the fall and spring semesters, full time status for graduate students is 9 semester hours. Part time is 5 hours. During the summer semester, full time is 6 hours, part time is 3 hours.    

When you meet with your advisor, you and your advisor will select classes for the upcoming semester, and you will be given complete registration instructions. You will register for classes online through the My Missouri State > Registration Card.  

• You can find how-to videos and registration resources here.   

Professional education classes in the ELED MSEd program are offered online. In addition, you will complete a 60 hour practicum (SEC 783) and full-time student teaching (SEC 784) in a classroom that fulfills certification, 1st to 6th grade. Full-time student teaching follows the classroom teacher’s full-time contracted schedule. There are some courses that do have seated options. This can be discussed with your advisor.  

If you are interested in obtaining a provisional certificate for the purpose of teaching while completing the ELED MSEd program, you may apply for a provisional certificate if all the requirements below have been met: 

• You have been offered a full-time contract to teach in a classroom in the grade level which you are seeking certification for (1st - 6th grade).  The job offered must be in a Missouri public school district or a private school that is accredited by an agency recognized by DESE.   
• You must be within 12-15 hours of completing your ELED MSED program  
• Provisional certificates are an agreement between the hiring school district, student, MSU & DESE. 

If you are teaching full time, you will need to fill out the following forms: 

• Classroom Verification Form – Complete this as soon as you obtain your teaching position. 
• Teacher of Record form – Complete this the semester before student teaching. 

The Praxis exam must be attempted prior to student teaching Register for the Praxis through the Praxis website. Many testing centers require additional sitting fees, and many assessments are available online.  

MOVECHS fingerprinting and background check is required for the ELED MSED program.  

Students must complete the MOVECHS fingerprinting requirement in their first semester of the MSU program. MSU cannot use fingerprints and background checks from other institutions.  

• Results can take 1-2 weeks to return to MSU from the time of fingerprinting and can be seen in your My Missouri State > My Student Records card > “Test Scores” page.   
• If you are no longer under the purview of MSU teacher education programs, you will be removed from the MOVECHS database and will need to fingerprint again upon return.

Practicum (SEC  783) includes an internship in a classroom in your content area (1st - 6th grade). Students will register for SEC 783 like any other MSED class. A field placement specialist will email you regarding your placement. You may not receive your placement until the semester begins.  

Student Teaching (SEC 784) is a full-time, 40-hour per week, commitment in a school district. You will apply for student teaching by February 1 for the upcoming fall semester and August 1 for the upcoming spring semester. A field placement specialist will secure a placement based on your district preferences indicated in your student teaching application. If a placement cannot be found in your preferred districts, a field placement specialist will contact you with further directions.  

If you have a full-time teaching job in the content and grade level for which you are seeking certification, you can complete the internship and student teaching in your classroom (this requires approval).  

Yes, you will still register for both the internship (SEC 783) and student teaching (SEC 784) courses. On your student teaching application, you will note the district and school where you are working on a provisional certificate. You will complete all the course requirements for SEC 783 and SEC 784. 

Near the end of your program of study, you will register for ELE 772, Research Seminar in Elementary Education. In this course, you will complete a research project. You should consider research topics (relating to teaching in your content area) during the semester before taking this course. This course is beneficial to be taken while you are getting classroom experience. This could mean during SEC 783 practicum or SEC 784 student teaching, or while subbing.  

While enrolled in ELE772, you will complete the comprehensive exam requirements for your program.  

The MSED program does not require a thesis.  

Students must earn a B- or higher in all graduate coursework.  Additionally, in accordance with Missouri State University Graduate College policy, a student becomes ineligible to continue in the graduate program if they earn more than 9 semester hours of grades of "C+" or lower in graduate courses taken as part of the degree program.