Today, the university’s Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts  announced a new partnership with Great Hearts Academies — a public charter system of academically rigorous, classical, liberal arts K-12 schools with campuses in the Phoenix, San Antonio and Dallas metro areas. By collaborating, both institutions hope to address the growing demand for well-qualified classical educators by offering a special tuition rate to Great Hearts teachers for the university’s new Master of Humanities program with a concentration in classical education or certificate of classical learning.

"The Master of Humanities with a concentration in classical education is an obvious next step for the University of Dallas, which is second to none in its depth of reflection on the classics and liberal arts education,” said Joshua Parens, dean of the Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts. “Great Hearts has recruited our undergraduates to teach in their schools for years. The Braniff Graduate School is poised to help form the next generation of teachers for classical schools of all kinds, public as well as private, secular as well as religious.”

The innovative 36-credit-hour graduate degree program includes online and summer coursework, as well as an apprenticeship (practicum) at the school where the student teaches. Students will work alongside a mentor teaching at local schools as they complete their coursework, also expanding their professional network.

Whether a student is currently a teacher, seeking to become a charter school headmaster or wanting to pursue advanced graduate studies, the program provides an integrated, classically based model for teachers to earn their master's degree. Students are fully engaged in the classical education ethos afforded by the university’s Core curriculum tradition. They learn from many of the nation’s finest classical educators, who, like themselves, strive to revitalize the education system today through a commitment to the classical, liberal arts model.

“The University of Dallas understands the need to revitalize post-secondary education in service to and preparation of those teachers who will renew K-12 classrooms across the country,” said Robert L. Jackson, chief academic officer of Great Hearts. “Great Hearts is eager to contribute to the classical education movement in this country through collaborative partnerships that train and equip K-12 teachers for an educational renaissance.”

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, there are an estimated 1 million students waitlisted to attend charter schools across the nation; Texas alone can claim more than 100,000 of these waitlisted students. Charter schools across the country lack a sufficient number of well-trained teachers and administrators due to the rapid growth of enrolling students. Now, charter schools are expanding their programs and training more novice teachers to handle the influx of students.

The first group of Great Hearts Academies teachers will begin their Master of Humanities with concentration in classical education on June 13, 2016, during a five-week summer term at UD..

To learn more about the classical education graduate program offered through University of Dallas, visit www.udallas.edu/classicaled. For more information on Great Hearts Academies, visit www.greatheartstx.org.