CMS/W offers a concentration in education, with the option earn their Massachusetts initial teacher licensure.
Students who complete the concentration will have a better understanding of both instructional practice and schools and other learning environments as systems. Concentrators go on to careers in teaching, education research, and education technology, but they also bring a deeper understanding of teaching, learning, apprenticeship, and mentorship to any field: human development is central to success and progress in all of society’s endeavors.
Students interested in Education Technology are encouraged to minor or major in Comparative Media Studies.
Concentration in Education
The concentration in education introduces students to issues of teaching and learning in schools, universities, and informal learning settings.
The two-course Introduction to Education sequence provides a survey of issues in K-12 schooling related to history, policy, instruction, and assessment. Students in these courses spend 25 hours per semester observing and working in local schools.
Other courses in the concentration investigate education technology, games, informal learning, instructional design, and human psychology.
The Concentration Consists of 3 Subjects
CMS.586J Introduction to Education: Looking Forward and Looking Back on Education
and/or
CMS.587J Introduction to Education: Understanding and Evaluating Education
and one or two of these subjects:
| CMS.524/STS.024 Thinking on Your Feet: Dance as a Learning Science |
| CMS.590J Design and Development for Games and Learning |
| CMS.591J Education Theory and Practice I |
| CMS.592J Education Theory and Practice II |
| CMS.593J Education Theory and Practice III |
| CMS.594 Education Technology Studio |
| CMS.595 Learning, Media, and Technology |
| STS.014 Embodied Education: Past, Present, Future |
| 21A.150 Teaching and Learning: Cross-Cultural Perspectives |
| 9.00 Introduction to Psychological Science |
| CMS.S61 cs.forward(): Trace the Past to Plot the Future (Fall 2023) |
| CMS.S61 STEAM Learning Architecture (Spring 2024) |
| CMS.S61 STEAM Learning Architecture (Fall 2025) |
Teacher Licensure Program
MIT’s Scheller Teacher Education Program (STEP), in conjunction with Wellesley College, offers undergraduates a pathway to earning a Massachusetts Initial Teaching License in secondary math or science.
To be eligible for an Initial License, students must:
- Meet subject matter requirements for the intended area of licensure (e.g., high school biology) via a major, minor, or other qualifying coursework.
- Take 6 classes:
- CMS.586
- CMS.587
- CMS.591, CMS.592, CMS.593. These must be taken in the same academic year in conjunction with a student teaching placement. Permission of Instructor and Licensure Program Manager is required to enroll.
- EDUC 325 (a Wellesley College course offered at MIT in the spring semester)
- Complete a year-long apprenticeship as a student teacher in a local middle school or high school classroom
- Pass state assessments that evaluate subject matter knowledge and teaching skills
For more information about the program, please visit the Teacher Licensure page on the STEP website or email step-management@mit.edu.