The Literacy Faculty within the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UNLV have developed areas of emphasis for Masters Degree in Literacy Education (M.Ed). Each emphasis area has unique requirements and is part of the Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. The Emphasis areas in Literacy Education are as follows:

Master's of Education in Children's and Young Adult Literature (K-12)
The Masters Degree in Literacy Education, emphasis in Children’s and Young Adult Literature is designed to enhance students’ understandings of the field of children’s and young adult literature by providing experiences with reading and interpreting literature, investigating literary theories and their relationships to children’s and young adult literature, and exploring the roles of literature in the elementary, middle, and secondary school curriculum. This degree is intended for classroom teachers and literacy specialists to provide the necessary knowledge, skills and dispositions for success in their roles in education. The coursework in this emphasis area engages students in rigorous academic study of children’s and young adult literature, and is committed to developing discriminating readers, creating teachers that have the knowledge and skills to utilize literature across the curriculum, and to enable them to recognize and take advantage of the influence literature can have on young people’s minds and educational experiences.

Master's of Education in English Language Arts
The Masters Degree in Literacy Education, emphasis in English Language Arts, is designed for teachers and other educators working with adolescents and young adults at the middle and secondary school level. This emphasis area provides teachers with a broad base of knowledge about the teaching and learning of adolescents and young adults; a concentration in the pedagogy of English Language Arts, and Literacy more generally; and, an opportunity to extend content knowledge through graduate-level English Studies coursework.

This is a time of increasing standardization and testing, when the complexity and diversity of youth, youth culture and adolescent literacy have never been more apparent, when the definitions of literacy and ‘the literary’ are expanding and mutating, when technology and the media are reshaping our use of visual and written language, as the global community becomes ever more interconnected. It is critical that English Language Arts educators and their students develop the critical knowledge, skills and perspectives that will prepare them to meet the literacy demands of democratic life in 21st century. The Masters Degree in Literacy Education, emphasis in English Language Arts, will contribute to such development.

Master's of Education in Library Science
The Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Library Science is offered for those individuals wishing to increase their knowledge in the research that informs school librarianship at the elementary and secondary levels. Coursework involves weaving research with practice in the areas of collection development, cataloging, reference materials, technology, children’s and young adult literature, and school library administration. Licensed teachers may apply these courses toward an endorsement in school librarianship for the state of Nevada.

Master's of Education in Literacy Education
The Masters Degree in Literacy Education, emphasis in General Literacy Education Specialist is designed to allow students maximum flexibility in their coursework, providing opportunities for students to concentrate on a particular area within literacy education, or take courses across a wide range of topics within literacy education. This degree is designed for classroom teachers to expand their instructional practices and theoretical understandings of literacy education in elementary and middle school classrooms.

Master's of Education as a Reading Specialist
The Masters Degree in Literacy Education, emphasis in Reading Specialist is designed for elementary, middle or secondary school teachers to develop a knowledge base in literacy education and prepare them for the responsibilities associated with the position of reading or literacy specialist in their respective schools. Reading specialists provide an important service developing teachers’ instructional abilities, while working with readers challenged in their literacy development. The coursework in this area of emphasis is designed to help teachers develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will help them provide instructional experiences that will help children from diverse backgrounds be successful in school and beyond. In addition, reading and literacy specialists serve as literacy instructional leaders who are respected for their pedagogical knowledge and instructional practices, and can support the development of classroom teachers in their literacy instructional needs.