The MATESOL degree is intended to prepare candidates to be professional leaders in the many roles that teachers play: classroom instructor, peer coordinator, teacher preparation, curriculum and materials developer, program administrator, etc. To this end, the curriculum is designed to provide candidates with an understanding of the structure of the English language, a familiarity with the dominant theories of language learning/teaching, insights into how language proficiency is best developed in different individuals, and practical approaches and experiences that are central to the development of candidates as teachers of English as an international language.

Why Choose MATESL at Illinois?

Illinois was ranked in 2018 as the 37th most prestigious university in the world (Times Higher Education World University Ranking) and as the 7th Best Value University in the US by Forbes. Illinois is the home of 24 Nobel and 28 Pulitzer Prize winners.

A History of Excellence:

The first ESL course taught on campus was English for Foreign Students in 1947 by Helen Beveridge (Brennan). This was soon followed by additional courses and

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the creation of The Program in English for Foreign Students in 1955. The first language lab for English language learners was opened in 1956, and the official title of courses for these students was changed to English as a Second Language in 1965. The MATESL degree was first approved by the Illinois Board of Trustees in 1966, with the first graduate, Katherine Eaton, completing her degree in June, 1967. This makes Illinois MATESL the oldest existing degree of this type in the nation. Today, the program has well over 1,500 graduates, many of whom are teaching today across the globe.

An International Focus:

The University of Illinois has one of the largest international populations in the United States, with well over 10,000 students from abroad, representing 116 countries. We currently maintain over 400 cooperative agreements with international institutions in more than 60 countries across the globe.

Hands-on Experience:

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The large international population at Illinois means that the faculty, staff, and students in the MATESL program currently supervise over 1,000 international students each semester taking one of our 16 ESL writing, pronunciation, ITA, or elective courses. All of these ESL courses are taught either by Lecturers (many of them graduates from our program) or by students enrolled in the MATESL degree. This gives most of our students the opportunity to immediately put into practice what they are learning from their professors. This also gives many of our graduates vital employment experience needed to ensure excellent jobs in our field upon completing the degree.

Unparalleled Resources:

The Department of Linguistics is located in the Foreign Language Building, which sits directly on the Main Quad of the campus (seen in the first two images in this packet). Students in the MATESL program have access to both the Henry and Renée Kahane Linguistics Research Room and also the Helen Brennan Memorial TESL Library, which holds thousands of volumes related to teaching ESL and EFL. The department hosts a number of Laboratories and Research Groups as well as Reading and Discussion Groups focused on a variety of topics that any students may attend.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is home to one of the largest

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public university libraries in the world, with more than 24,000,000 volumes in over 20 area studies libraries across our campus. Our libraries include almost 1,000 databases on almost any topic imaginable. In addition to the many print and electronic resources, the Main Library includes resources like The Media Commons, a VR Lounge, a fully equipped Audio Production Studio, a fully supported Video Production Studio, and also self-use Audio and Video Booths. All of these are freely accessible to any student.

How to Apply

We look forward to all applications to the MATESOL program!  The details just below should answer many of your questions, but if you have more, feel free to email us at any time through the Departmental email address: linguistics@illinois.edu.  Details about 'how' to apply and what should be included in your application may be found on the page linked below.

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Background Requirements

• must completed a Bachelor's degree; an undergraduate major in linguistics, English, a foreign language, or education is generally recommended though other majors are also acceptable. 
• must present a grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate work.
• (for all English language learners entering the MA program) must have a score of 100 or higher on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT). These scores are required for all English language learners entering the MATESL program regardless of where they did their undergraduate work. Also, upon arrival on campus for their first semester's work, English language learners must take the UIUC English as a Second Language Placement Test (EPT). The results of this test will determine whether the particular student will have to take one or more English language courses in addition to the other MATESL courses required for the MATESL degree. 
• (all applicants) must have had two years of a foreign language or have become proficient in a second language in some other way. Furthermore, they must have taken an introduction to Linguistics. These prerequisites must be met prior to, or as soon as possible after the student's arrival on campus. Work done in meeting these prerequisites does not, of course, count toward the credits required for the degree itself.

Financial Aid

Nearly all of the UIUC MATESOL students are the beneficiaries of some form of financial aid for at least part of the time they spend working on their degree. Most degree candidates with native or native-like competence in English receive appointments as graduate assistants teaching English in the ESL Service Courses or in the Intensive English Institute  for at least two academic years. In addition, there are a limited number of library and laboratory assistantships open to MATESL students; the assistantships offered to English language learners require proof of near-native English speaking ability. If you are an English language learner applicant for a teaching job in ESL, you must present a TOEFL Speaking Score (or an equivalent score in IELTS) of 26 (or greater) for full consideration. 

The most common form of Financial Aid for the MATESOL program is in the form of a 33% Teaching Assistantship.  This means that students with the TA position will teach one section of ESL per semester (approximately 3 hours of teaching per week), with additional hours devoted to lesson preparation, grading, office hours, meetings, etc.  All Assistantships of at least 25% include a full waiver of the university tuition cost and almost all student fees.  They also include a monthly salary. 

There is a separate financial aid application process for each academic term. Fall and Summer applications are processed together, usually in March or April of each year. Spring applications are processed typically on October or November of the previous year. Please check back at this webpage from time to time, to see if new financial aid forms are posted for a forthcoming semester.

All newly admitted MATESL students are automatically considered for financial aid for their first semester of study. There is no separate financial aid application system as part of the admission application. After arrival, all MATESOL students must re-apply for financial aid each semester, regardless of any guarantee of longer-term awards (e.g., in the admission letter). This re-application allows MATESL students to indicate if they wish to teach a different class.

The Department welcomes applicants from other campus degree programs.

General Degree Requirements

The program of study leading to the MATESOL degree requires candidates to complete a minimum of 40 hours with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or higher (B or better). Twelve of the forty hours must be taken from 500-level courses (that is, graduate only). These forty hours may include up to eight hours of thesis credit (EIL 599).  In addition to coursework, students must complete either a Comprehensive exam for each of the required courses or a Master's Thesis (more information on these below).

Core Course Requirements: 32 Hours

Elective Courses: 8 Hours

Applicants must satisfy prerequisites for entry into the program. All applicants for admission to the MATESOL Program must have taken a college level introduction to linguistics and must have at least two years of a foreign language. In addition, applicants must have also taken a basic course in language teaching methods and materials. These prerequisites may be satisfied by courses taken after becoming a student at the university, if necessary; however, credit for courses taken to satisfy curriculum prerequisites does not count toward the 40 hours necessary for the MATESL degree itself.

Comprehensive Exams or The Master's Thesis

As noted above, all students must complete either the Comprehensive Exams or a Master's Thesis in order to graduate from the program.  This decision is partially made based on your own preferences (some people definitely have no interest in a thesis), but the option to do a thesis is also determined by your performance in the program and your continuing satisfactory progress on that thesis.

Comprehensive Examination

Approximately one-half of the students in the MATESOL program compete the degree requirements by successfully passing the Comprehensive Exams.  See here for Comprehensive Examination details.  

MATESL Thesis Option

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For students who have a strong interest in research (whether theoretical or pedagogical) completing a thesis would be an excellent goal.

For information pertaining to the MATESOL Graduate Program Thesis Option, please refer to the links below:

• What do you need to do?  Thesis Information
• When would you need to do it? MA Thesis Checklist 
• What have other MATESL students done?  There are many great samples of theses written by graduates from our MATESOL program available on the MATESOL Library website.

Additional Thesis resources (items with * are books available in the MATESOL library)

• MA Thesis Information from Graduate College
• Writing in the Social Sciences:  A very nice brief handout
• * Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research Methods in Education (8th ed.). New York: Routledge.
• *Mallinson, C., Childs, B., Van Herk, G. (2018). Data Collection in Sociolinguistics: Methods and Applications (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
• *Pearson Casanave, C., 2014). Before the Dissertation: A textual mentor for Doctoral students at early stages of a research process. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• *Pearson Casanave, C. (2020). During the Dissertation: A textual mentor for Doctoral students in the process of writing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• *American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th Edition). 

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Additional Possibilities with your MATESOL Degree

Many of our MATESOL students take advantage of other educational opportunities while on campus that can easily be incorporated into their time in our program.  A few of them are linked below:

• Specialization in Writing Studies (see below)

• Graduate Minors

• Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning Certificates

Specialization in Writing Studies

Within the pedagogical and research tracks, candidates may choose to use their elective units to develop a Specialization in Writing Studies (SWS), an option approved jointly by Linguistics and the Center for Writing Studies (CWS). The requirements for such a specialization are the following:

Course Requirements

1. ENGL 505/C&I 563 Writing Studies I
2. ENGL 506/C&I 564 Writing Studies II
3. EIL 445 Second Lang Reading and Writing

Research/Elective Requirements

1. Candidates who qualify for and choose to write a master's thesis under MATESOL guidelines (See Master's Thesis document)
   • must include on their thesis committee, as thesis director, a MATESOL faculty member affiliated with CWS;
   • must focus the thesis on a topic related to pedagogy, administrative problems, or research on a writing-related topic in the context of second language research. Students may develop and test instructional materials, design and evaluate an administrative procedure or program, or design and conduct a research project;
   • must prepare a formal proposal describing the research, to be submitted to a MATESOL faculty member affiliated with CWS for approval at least six weeks prior to the start of the project;
   • must deposit the Master’s Thesis in the Writing Studies Office within two weeks of completion; and
   • must complete all requirements stated in the Master's Thesis document

2. Candidates who do not write a master's thesis may choose one of the following two options:

   Option A: take one additional non-MATESOL course in Writing Studies, chosen from the list approved by CWS and DEIL for the specialization in Writing Studies (see page 2 for this list)

   Option B: conduct a Master’s Project by completing a four-hour EIL 591 independent study under the direction of a MATESOL faculty member affiliated with CWS. The EIL 591 independent study must result in a Master’s Project that, when completed, would be deposited in the Writing Studies Office within two weeks of its completion. The Master's Project must be related to pedagogy, administrative problems, or research on a writing-related topic in the context of second language research. Students may develop and test instructional materials, design and evaluate an administrative procedure or program, or design and conduct a research project.