The WRD department offers a Graduate Certificate in TESOL, which may be completed by students in an existing DePaul graduate program or by students who wish to complete only the Certificate. Made up of courses in the programs of Writing, Rhetoric, & Discourse, Bilingual-Bicultural Education, English, and Modern Languages, the Certificate prepares students to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) to adult learners in the United States and abroad. The Certificate may also be attractive to faculty at non-U.S. institutions who wish to come to the U.S. for education in working with second language learners.
Course Requirements
Course List | Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
| 4 |
BBE 526 | THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ESL AND WLE | |
MOL 454 | THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS/CURRENT RESEARCH SECOND/FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION | |
BBE 466 | FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION | |
BBE 510 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION AND CULTURE (when topic is relevant) | |
BBE 560 | SECOND, WORLD AND HERITAGE LANGUAGE ACQUISITION | |
WRD 512 | TOPICS IN LANGUAGE (when topic is relevant) | |
| 4 |
WRD 543 | TEACHING ESL WRITING | |
WRD 544 | TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE | |
WRD 550 | TOPICS IN TEACHING WRITING AND LANGUAGE (when topic is relevant) | |
| 4 |
WRD 507 | GLOBAL ENGLISHES | |
WRD 514 | SOCIOLINGUISTICS | |
BBE 510 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION AND CULTURE (when topic is relevant) | |
| 4 |
ENG 400 | STRUCTURE OF MODERN ENGLISH | |
ENG 401 | HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE | |
ENG 408 | STYLISTICS | |
ENG 478 | TOPICS IN TEACHING (Grammar for Teachers) 1 | |
WRD 512 | TOPICS IN LANGUAGE (when topic is relevant) | |
WRD 546 | PEDAGOGICAL GRAMMAR | |
| |
Students completing the Master’s in Bilingual-Bicultural Education can complete the Certificate program by taking their Theory and Sociolinguistics courses in BBE and their Methods and Language Structure courses in WRD; they must complete all requirements for the BBE program to receive the Master’s degree. Students in the Master of Arts in English (MAE) may complete their Language and Structure requirement in English; any two additional courses form the list above will count for credit in both MAE and the TESOL Certificate. For Students in the MA in WRD, a maximum of two courses (8 credits) from MOL or BBE may be counted as credits toward the MA in WRD degree.
Students who are concurrently completing any other graduate degree program at DePaul must work with their program director/advisor to determine if TESOL Certificate courses will count toward their degree requirements.
Admission Requirements
Applications are accepted at any time, and students may begin the program at the start of any academic quarter. The program is open to both non-degree seeking students and students concurrently enrolled in a DePaul graduate degree program. All applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree.
There are two processes for applying to the program, depending on the status of the applicant.
Current graduate students in any DePaul program should write a personal statement of 300-500 words describing their interest in the certificate, prior experience in TESOL or related fields, and professional goals for pursuing the certificate. Email the statement to the TESOL Coordinator, Professor Jason Schneider.
Applicants who are not currently enrolled as DePaul students should apply online, and be prepared to submit the following:
- an LAS graduate admission online application
- transcripts from all schools attended
- a personal statement of 300-500 words describing their interest in the program, prior experience in TESOL or related fields, and professional goals for pursuing the certificate
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