We believe that strong literacy skills—reading, writing, speaking, and listening—are necessities for all people and that all people can learn literacy skills. Thus, we choose to adopt a structured and explicit approach to teaching literacy skills, while taking into account the developmental continuum on which students learn. Our graduate students recognize how access to services and equity issues play a critical role in reading achievement.

Read our Vision & Mission Statements

What we offer

Sacramento State’s Master of Arts in Language and Literacy is a 30-unit graduate program designed for administrators, classroom teachers, or specialist teachers of language and literacy for pre-kindergarten through adults. You will receive field experience and a venue to research your own literacy, as well as find answers to many of the literacy questions that plague all effective reading teachers. Coursework includes clinical experience with extreme reading difficulties.

Students in the program have the opportunity to be recommended to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) for the Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential upon completion of EDLL 306 (Field Experience in Language and Literacy Leadership).

The program is offered in a hybrid setting with 70% and 100% online options.

Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential

The Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist (RLLS) Credential in California is issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). For information, please see the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing’s website: California Commission on Teacher Credentialing – Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential (CL-537)

Who we are

We are literacy specialists.

We are Professors who have done their graduate work in the field of literacy.

We serve in many capacities:

• Teach the courses in the program and
• Research within a literacy specialization
• Guide coursework and thesis/projects
• Advisors to the students in the program
• Including academic advising, student disposition evaluations, skill performance evaluations, etc.

Faculty	Role	Specialty	Email
Dr. Marcy Merrill	Program Director, Professor, Literacy Clinic Coordinator	Writing and dyslexia, Comprehension, Teacher education	merrills@skymail.csus.edu
Dr. Porfirio Loeza	Professor	Reading Comprehension, Fluency, Foundational skills, Socio-cultural linguistics, Teacher Education, Cultural Anthropology	loeza@csus.edu
Dr. Chris Boosalis	Professor	Speech impediment, Multilingual education, Research Methodology,Bilingual or Bicultural Education, Multiple literacies	chris.boosalis@csus.edu
Dr. Mat Espinoza	Professor	Literacy leadership and research, General literacy	espinosa@csus.edu
Dr. Albert Lozano	Professor	Literacy practices & instruction, Foundational skills, Bilingual or Bicultural education/TESOL, Gifted Education	lozano@csus.edu
Dr. Rochelle Perez	Professor	Multiliteracies, Research	r.perez@csus.edu

Program Benefits

• Develop research-based skills and knowledge related to the teaching of reading and writing to learners of diverse backgrounds
• Apply knowledge about the role of academic language, motivation, background knowledge, concept information, and vocabulary development in reading and writing
• Use initial and ongoing assessment as the basis of reading instruction
• Demonstrate proficiency in understanding literacy-related research
• Understand the context for global literacy discourse as we examine multi-literacies to enhance learning
• Know how to apply literacy strategies to instruction, assess learning, and share this knowledge with practitioners

Career Paths

Earning a Master’s Degree in Language and Literacy Education will provide you with opportunities to make a greater difference in the field of literacy.
As an educator, this degree will provide you with opportunity to read and do scholarly research in the field, and it will help you understand more about students and the practice of teaching literacy. This degree can positively impact your salary, your potential marketability, and may open doors in the field of literacy you may not have expected.

You will leave ready to assume such roles as:

• Literacy coach
• Teacher
• Administrator
• Professional developer
• Instructional designer
• Leadership roles in national, state, and county language arts, education, literacy
• Community literacy worker
• Reading diagnostician

Program Handbook

Program Handbook

Course Sequence

The Master's of Arts in Language & Literacy is a 30-unit graduate program designed for administrators, classroom teachers, or specialist teachers of language and literacy for pre-kindergarten through adults.

Each semester has a max of 2 required classes, making it easier for working professionals to complete.

Note: At completion of all requirements plus EDLL 206B course, the student can be recommended to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) for Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential

Year	Fall	Spring	Summer
1	200 | Practicum in Decoding & Fluency 201 | Practicum in Comprehension	205 | Psychology & Sociology of Literacy Instruction 207 | Advance Practicum in Reading Difficulties	203 | Teaching & Assessing Writing 206 | Leadership in Literacy
2	202 | Language & Literacy Development in Multicultural Settings 250 | Educational Research	209 | Literature for the Diverse K-12 Classroom – Models & Strategies 503 | Culminating Experience (Thesis/ Project) *206B –Field Experience in               Language Literacy Leadership

Language & Literacy Clinic

The Language and Literacy clinic is a core component of the Master's Degree program at Sacramento State and the Reading Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential (RLLS). The clinic is one of several clinics run through the Center for Counseling and Diagnostic services in the College of Education.

The Language and Literacy clinic provides free services to the community in the area of literacy assessments and intervention work with clients in the area of literacy. Further, it serves as a hub for the fieldwork in the Master's Degree program. Graduate students in the L&L program work with trained faculty in a clinical setting to provide assessments for those between kindergarten age to adults. Teachers at the center, after working with their clients, provide families/clients with findings from the assessments in the area of reading, spelling, and writing including a written report and recommendations for their next steps.

The Sacramento State Language and Literacy Center is affiliated with the CSUS Master’s program. The clinic hours work within the fall/spring class schedule, and as such, is only for a limited time a year (fall and spring semesters) and with limited space. We do have an active wait list, however. When clinic is in session, it falls on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the academic semester from roughly 6-7 pm. Clients must commit to their attendance on these two nights during the semester, twice per week on campus with their one-on-one instructor, to keep their spots.

More about the Language & Literacy Clinic

More about the Center for Counseling and Diagnostic Services (CCDS)

If you are interested in enrolling your child in this after school tutoring program or inquiring about diagnostic assessment, please contact Dr. Marcy Merrill, CSUS Language & Literacy Clinic Coordinator.

Information Session Calendar

Want to learn more about the Language & Literacy Program? Join one of our Information Sessions to explore the program and ask questions. Check the College of Education’s Calendar of Events for upcoming dates

How to Apply

For Fall admission, the application opens on October 1 of the preceding year (for example, admission for Fall 2026 opens on October 1, 2025). The deadline to submit all admission requirements for the MA in Language & Literacy Program is March 1.

For Application instructions, visit the Applying to a Graduate Program in Education page.

Have questions or interested in the program? Please contact Dr. Marcy Merrill or Dr. Porfirio Loeza for more information.

Apply Now!