UHD offers a myriad of master's degree programs to complement its most popular undergraduate majors. The following is the second
in a series of graduate student profiles we will run throughout the year, all with
the aim of shining a light on both our exceptional Gator graduate students and their
respective programs. The result, we hope, will be to provide the reader a brief glimpse
into life as a graduate student at UHD. As you will see, all UHD graduate programs
are designed to captivate, educate, and graduate well-qualified students.
We also have many offerings that are designed for working professionals.
If interested, please contact a graduate program representative using the information
below.
In Person Office Hours: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Email Address: gradadmissions@uhd.edu
Phone: 713-221-8093
The promises we make to ourselves are the easiest to break, despite the fact that
they are, among all the many types of promises, the most important to keep. They do,
after all, inform our self-confidence and our sense of integrity. All too often, though,
we find excuses that we'd never use on a friend, loved one, or family member.
For those reasons, Dulce Martinez Rangel, a student of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program with a concentration in Curriculum and Instruction, is all the more impressive. "I promised myself that when my children were older, I would go back to school. Eighteen years later, here I am."
An alumna of UHD, Martinez Rangel, finished her undergraduate studies here in 2003 and got to work, holding several teaching positions in Aldine ISD. After nine years, she decided that she wanted to do more for her hometown community in the Cy-Fair area. But how?
The answer, like Martinez Rangel, impresses, as she and her sisters decided to open a childcare center.
"It was important to me because at that time in Cy-Fair that kind of service wasn't
available," says Martinez Rangel, referring to her center's dual focus on education
and care. Nine years later, Mon Petit Learning Center, serves 
children from infancy up to four years old.
And despite the challenges of building a business then sustaining it through the trials of a global pandemic, Martinez Rangel was determined to keep the promise she made to herself. And yes, she chose UHD in part because she studied here previously, but also because she would have the chance to work with Urban Education faculty on research. After all, she had spent the previous nine years gathering data on education in her own childcare center. Another reason was that UHD would allow her to study at a slightly slower pace and complete the program in three years.
Her researched thesis, "Got Standards? Choosing the Best Early Experiences in a Childcare Setting," explores factors that result in high-quality childcare so that such elements are clearly defined and, therefore, more easily implemented. The project incorporates her own professional experiences, data from Harris County regarding licensed childcare centers, as well as policy and standards information from accrediting boards and the state legislature.
As a result of this work, Martinez Rangel is more effectively able to incorporate cutting-edge best practices into her own teaching and business. Too, once published, teachers and childcare directors from Texas and beyond can draw on the knowledge she generated through her work. Apart from those benefits, she says she gained several professional competencies such as communication, incorporating technology in the classroom, and how to better apply for grant funding.
"At the beginning I was afraid," she says. "I had been out of school for so long that
I wasn't sure if I could [be successful in the 
MAT program]." She persevered, and Martinez Rangel says she feels the program strengthened
her resolve to make a difference. She also says the program and its rigor helped her
align her philosophy of education with what's in her heart. "I always wanted to make
a change and impact young children. I hope that, when my students think of me or their
time here, they say "She was a good teacher.'"
The Master of Arts in Teaching degree program at UHD is specifically designed to support existing teachers in advancing their expertise. Students completing the degree program will demonstrate competency in the following areas of knowledge:
- Characteristics and needs of learners in multicultural settings.
- Effective teaching practices that enhance student achievement for all students, regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or language spoken.
- Factors related to the development of effective teaching environments in urban classrooms.
- Classroom-based research methodology to support best instructional practices.
- Enriched understanding of academic content areas of language arts, social studies,
mathematics,
the natural sciences, English as a second language, and educational technology.