Stephen F. Austin State University

RDG Specialist

Steps for Admission and Registering for Courses on the Reading Specialist Degree Plan

  1. Apply for admission to graduate school and the Reading Specialist program. Make sure you are indicating "Reading Specialist" on the application to ensure that it is submitted to Dr. Vi Alexander, Reading Specialist graduate program coordinator. Admission to the Master of Education: Professional Reading Specialist program requires a valid permanent teacher's certificate or at least 18 semester hours of approved courses in education. Candidates must hold a PK-12 classroom teaching position in order to enroll in RDG 534 practicums.
  2. For clear admission to graduate school and the Reading Specialist Masters Program, an applicant must have an overall undergraduate grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale and a 2.8 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. In all cases, an applicant must be recommended for admission to the program by the Department of Elementary Education and the academic dean.
  3. Upon admission to the Reading Specialist program, complete the top part of the Master of Education: Professional Reading Specialist degree plan and email to Dr. Vi Alexander at valexander@sfasu.edu.
  4. Complete and submit the Advanced Educator Certification Tracking Form and email to cindytillery@sfasu.edu. A $100.00 Application Fee will be charged to your MySFA Account.
  5. Before registering for courses, contact Dr. Vi Alexander for advisement and removal of registration block.
  6. Register for courses specific to your degree plan.

Steps to Graduating on the Reading Specialist Degree Plan

  1. Admission to Candidacy must be completed after 12 hours of graduate credit. Complete form and mail to Dr. Vi Alexander, SFASU, P.O. Box 13017 or fax to 936 468-1701.
  2. Graduation Checklist

IMPORTANT! All graduate candidates in the Master of Education: Professional Reading Specialist Program should take special care to read carefully the guidelines outlined in the Stephen F. Austin State University Graduate Bulletin for the year in which they entered their program. It is the candidate's responsibility to become familiar with and adhere to the regulations for admission, academic policies, application for graduation, and general requirements for the Master's Degree - especially the Checkpoints for the Master's Candidate.

Financial Assistance and Grants for Reading Specialist Certification

Congress has created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program that provides grants up to $4,000 per year (maximum $8,000) to students seeking the Reading Specialist certification who intend to teach in a school that serves students from low-income families. If after reading the information at this web site, http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/, you meet the criteria and are interested, please contact the SFA financial aide office at SFA at 936 468-2403.

For a listing of schools identified as low-income schools go to http://www.tcli.ed.gov/.