SMTC Masters of Science in Natural Science - Natural Science Education Concentration (NED)

Program Information: 

The SMTC Masters of Science in Natural Sciences - Natural Science Education concentration is limited to students accepted into the Teton Science School Residency Program. The first year of study is at the Teton Science School site and the second year is at the University of Wyoming campus. Fifteen designated credit hours will be completed through the Teton Science School Residency Program. For the remaining 15 credit hours on the UW campus, students will work with a 3-member faculty committee to design a balanced program of study in selected science content, science pedagogy, and related coursework. The MSNS Natural Science Education (NED) concentration is intended for individuals pursuing careers as environmental and natural science educators in non-public school settings.

The MSNS-NED program must include 30 hours of course work with:

• 15 hours through the Teton Science School (TSS) Professional Residency in Environmental Education program
• 15 hours from the University of Wyoming, including 6 hours designated by SMTC
• Completion of a Plan B paper
• A current teaching certificate is not required for this program. 

Short Course Descriptions  

Plan B Paper Guidelines

Environment & Natural Resources (ENR) Dual Major or Minor Degree Option

CERTIFICATION OPTION
Participants in the certification option earn a Secondary Biology Teaching Certification. The Office of Teacher Education oversees this portion of the students program. This option adds an additional year of coursework on campus and requires 8 weeks of student teaching. For additional information and a transcript check contact the Office of Teacher Education at (307)766-2230.

Teaching Certification Information

Courses taken on TSS Campus

Fall Semester

Field Science Teaching (2)
*Community Ecology of the Greater Yellowstone (3)
Principles of Place-Based Education (3)
Teaching Practicum (2)

Spring Semester

Winter Ecology (2)
*Ecological Inquiry (3)
Advanced Instructional Strategies (3)
Teaching Practicum (4)

Summer Session

*Environmental Ed Professional Residency (4)
*Advanced Elements of Field Ecology Course Design (3)
 
* Courses applied to UW MSNS-NED Degree program

UW Campus Courses (year 2)

One Research course from the following:
               EDRE 5550 Action Research (3)
               EDRE 5600 Educational Research One: Survey (3)
               EDRE 5640 Introduction to Qualitative Research in Education (3)
And:
               NASC 5650 Place-Based Learning, Cognition and Assessment (3)

How to Apply: Teton Science School, Kelly Campus - First Year

A)      If you are applying to the program for the first time, then we ask that you apply to both TSS and UW. You can find the instructions on how to apply to TSS here. Please note that when submitting materials to TSS they will need two official copies of all transcripts and a proof of bachelor’s degree – the reason for two copies is that one of them gets sent to UW after they have accepted you into their program. For instructions on how to apply to UW, please proceed to B.

B)      To apply to UW, please fill out the brief information form here. After you have submitted this information, the UW Admissions Office will send you an email with a username and password that you will use to access the rest of the application. The email will also contain a link to the application.

C)      The application has ten parts – you do not need to fill it out in one sitting and can save the application and come back at any time to finish it or to make changes. You must fill out the queries that have a red bar next to them. The rest of the information is voluntary, but it is helpful if you fill out everything so that we don’t have to contact you later for that information. Completed applications are due by March 15, 2013.

Please Follow These Instructions Carefully

1. Personal Information – Name, contact information, etc.
2. Application – for “Site” you must select “Outreach”. Even though the application will not require you to select this before you move on to the next part of the application, it is very important for SMTC purposes and will prevent complications later when you try to register for classes.
3. Academic Information – for “Program of Study” you must select “Natural Science MS – College of Education (Natural Science Educ)”. Under “Start of Term” select whatever term you anticipate beginning classes in. Please note that the only time you can start classes is in the Fall term. Do not put anything under the “Additional Areas of Interest” drop down.
4. Sensitive Information
5. Residency Information – it will ask you what state you are currently a resident of and which state you graduated high school in. Even though TSS students receive in-state tuition, do not put that you are a Wyoming resident unless you actually are one. 
6. Post-Secondary Information – this section asks you where you graduated from college. If you went to a community college for any class, you must include that information here as well. Even if your community college classes were transferred over to the college that you received your bachelor’s degree from, we must have official transcripts sent from that community college. You can also self-report your GPA and GRE scores* on this page. If accepted, then TSS will send one of the copies of your official transcripts to UW.
7. Inquiry and Payment Information – this section asks how you heard about the program that you are applying to and the reasons for applying. Additionally, there is a one-time $50 application fee that you must pay for your application to be processed.
8. After you have paid the fee, another screen will pop up where you can upload documents. For your first year at TSS, we do not require you to upload any documents.
9. The next screen is a place where you put your recommender information. TSS requires three letters of recommendation, but UW does not require any until your second year.  
10. Finally, there is an Admissions Agreement at the end of the application that you must agree to before hitting “Submit”.

D)      Admissions decisions are made by TSS during the first year. If you are accepted into their program, you will automatically be accepted at UW. 

* GRE scores are not required for your first year at TSS. 

How to Apply: University of Wyoming, Laramie Campus - Second Year 

A)      If you are applying for your second year to complete the MS in Natural Science - Natural Science Education, then the first step is to email the SMTC Office Associate to let her know that you plan on applying. The Office Associate will then work with Admissions to unlock your graduate application. You need to email the Office Associate by February 1st, 2013 to let her know of your interest. 

B)      You will receive an email once your application has been unlocked. You can then enter your username and password here to complete your application.

C)      The application has ten parts – you do not need to fill it out in one sitting and can save the application and come back at any time to finish it or to make changes. You must fill out the queries that have a red bar next to them. The rest of the information is voluntary, but it is helpful if you fill out everything so that we don’t have to contact you later for that information. Because this is the second time you are entering the application portal, some of the information may already be filled out for you. Please double check each section to ensure accuracy. Completed applications are due by March 15, 2013.

Please Follow These Instructions Carefully 

1. Personal Information – Name, contact information, etc.
2. Application – for “Site” you must select “Main Campus”. Even though the application will not require you to select this before you move on to the next part of the application, it is very important for SMTC purposes and will prevent complications later when you try to register for classes.
3. Academic Information – for “Program of Study” you must select “Natural Science MS – College of Education (Natural Science Educ)”. Under “Start of Term” select whatever term you anticipate beginning classes in. Please note that classes for this program only start in the Fall term. Do not put anything under the “Additional Areas of Interest” drop down.
4. Sensitive Information
5. Residency Information – it will ask you what state you are currently a resident of and which state you graduated high school in. Even though NED students receive in-state tuition, please do not put that you are a Wyoming resident unless you actually are one. 
6. Post-Secondary Information – We should already have copies of your official transcripts on file from your first year application. However, in this section you can also self-report your GPA and GRE scores* on this page – we prefer that you do so that we can make our admission decision in a timelier manner. If accepted, then we will require official test scores to be sent at that time.  Please make sure that you take the GRE no later than February 1^st, 2013.
7. Inquiry and Payment Information – this section asks how you heard about the program that you are applying to and the reasons for applying. Since you paid the application fee the previous year, please email the SMTC Office Associate when you get to this part so that we can waive the application fee. You will receive an email from the Office Associate once the fee has been waived.
8. After the fee is waived, another screen will pop up where you can upload documents. This is where you can upload unofficial test scores (again, official test scores will need to be received by UW when they are available for full-admit into the program) a current resume, and it is also where you need to upload the Writing Sample for our program, which can be found here.
9. The next screen is a place where you put your recommenders information. The SMTC requires four letters of recommendation – three that can be from anyone with whom you have worked professionally, and one that needs to be from a TSS faculty member in support of you joining our program. When you get to this screen, please click “Add New Recommender” and then fill out the fields that follow – the system will then send an email to your recommender with the form that they need to fill out and submit. If your recommenders would prefer to fill out hard copies of the form, it can be found here. Please have recommenders submit any hard copies to the SMTC Office Associate. If you prefer to use the three recommendations that you used for TSS, you may do so and Tracy can forward them to SMTC, however we must have a fourth recommendation from a TSS faculty member.
10. Finally, there is an Admissions Agreement at the end of the application that you must agree to before hitting “Submit”. Before you hit the submit button, please make sure that all of your application materials have been uploaded. These materials include: unofficial GRE scores*, writing sample, current resume, and four letters of recommendation (one which must be from a TSS faculty member).

D)      Once all application materials have been received, three different reviewers will go over the application. All applicants will be informed of the committee’s decision by April 15, 2013.