Dr. Najwa Al-Housani, Acting Dean, College of Education, UEAU, asserted that the graduate programs offered by the College of Education in the United Arab Emirates University attract a large number of students,providing the labor market and the academic and educational institutions with cadres and professionals who hold postgraduate degrees. The number of students enrolled in the graduate programs for the academic year 2020-2021 is 203, 63 of which belong to the doctoral program,while 140belong to the master’s program representing 25 nationalities.
“The college is currently engaged in developing plans of cooperative and international partnerships with various master’s programs offered by several prestigious international universities in Hongkong, USA, and Finland, with the aim of exchanging experiences and improving the master’s programs. This shallenrich the quality of education students receive both academically and practically. In addition, the international academic accreditation the college has recently received from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) in the United States of America in 2021 will promote these partnerships resulting in a high-quality academic service”, she added.
Prof. Hassan Tairab, PhD Program Coordinator, College of Education, UAEU, stated that the number of doctoral programs currently offered by the college is five: Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education, Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics Education, Doctor of Philosophy in Science Education, Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Policy Studies in Education, and Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education. Moreover, the number of students enrolled in the doctoral program is 63,The majority of them are specializing in Leadership and Policy Studies in Education.
“The college has one admission cycle which starts in September of every academic year, and the interviews take place in March and April. The program takes full-time students 6 – 7 semesters and part-time students 7 -10 semesters. Students may join the doctoral program through either full or partial scholarships provided by the university according to specific admission criteria based on competition and the students’ academic standing. However, for the student to keep the scholarship, he/she must maintain a distinguished academic level”, he added.
Prof. Ali Shehadeh, MEd Coordinator, Collage of Education, UAEU, said that the college offers master’s programs in three main disciplines: Curriculum & Instruction, Foundations of Education, and Special Education. In addition to five sub-specialties in Curriculum & Instruction: English, Arabic, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The aim of these programs is to provide learners with a solid scientific foundation that enables them to apply the advanced educational experiences and skills, prepare a learning environment within whichthe learners are part of the educational practice’s primary focus, reflect on the educational practices and their impact on the learners, conduct educational research studies (quantitative and qualitative)that contribute to enhancing the educational process, and play leading roles in building effective partnerships with the entities, ministries, and research centers.
A note worth mentioning is that the number of students enrolled in the master’s program is more than 140 male and female students representing 25 nationalities. In each of the programs’ specialties, the student may choose to write an MEd thesis or submit a graduation project. In addition, students may join these programs either full- or part-time. Fulltime students could finish the program within approximately two academic years (i.e., five semesters including the summer semester), while it may take part-time students two and half years (i.e., six semesters including the summer semester), both may finish the program within a period that doesn’t exceed eight semesters.
A group of highly qualified professors and researchers who possess a long academic experience are teaching and supervising the MEd theses and graduation projects of the different programs offered by the College of Education. The college’s faculty members belong to more than 14 nationalities from all over the world, including a number of Emirati professors.
