Master of Arts in Education

MAE: Specialty Area Requirements for Speech and Theatre

Candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree in Communication and/or Theatre disciplines.

Candidates must have a minimum 3.0 GPA in their major and a minimum overall GPA of 2.75 in all coursework.

At least one of the three letters of reference in the application must be from a professor in the student’s major who can speak to the candidate’s ability to succeed in graduate-level Communication or Theatre courses.  Other letters should reflect specifically on either the candidate’s academic strengths or the candidate’s potential to provide a positive influence on young people in a classroom setting.

Candidates must provide evidence (as displayed in the personal statement, letters of reference, and the candidate’s experiences) of the ability to work effectively with high school students.

Candidates must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and disposition for teaching.

Students wishing to be qualified to teach dual credit Public Speaking or Introduction to Theatre Arts with a community college or university in addition to their certification should complete a total of 18 graduate hours in the relevant discipline (COMM for Public Speaking, THEA for Introduction to Theatre Arts).

Speech and Theatre Faculty


GPA Sheet – Speech and Theatre

Please see your Speech and Theatre Education advisor (Dr. Jay Self) each semester to ensure smooth processing through the program.

Students seeking certification to teach in Missouri must have a 3.0 GPA or higher in their content area and professional classes (mostly education classes). The GPA sheet was created to help students keep track of the two GPA calculations and aid with advisement and enrollment. If students have any questions about their GPA, they should meet with their specialty area advisor.

Speech & Theatre: Download GPA Sheet (Excel file)