The 5th.-Year M.Ed. Spring 2017 Lunch n’ Learn was held Tuesday in Dan Waggoner Hall.

Junior and senior students signed in, grabbed pizza, chatted among themselves and were heckled by Dr. Carlos Martinez, the dean of the School of Education, who popped in before the event got started.

Amy Orcutt, interim director of Graduate Admissions, gave a presentation discussing the benefits of the program, which she said is designed for “highly qualified senior students.”

The benefits of the program, Orcutt said, are that it is shorter than many master’s degree programs; students can finish it at a cheaper cost by using some of their undergraduate financial aid, and they get to stay with their Wesleyan family that they have been with for the last two to four years.

Orcutt said the program can also lead students to additional specializations, certifications, and job opportunities.

“It is designed to build your teacher toolbox,” Orcutt said. “And you get to be heckled by Dr. Martinez for an additional year, and who doesn’t want that?”

Junior liberal studies major Alyssa Kilgore said she was excited to see her future potentially mapped out with the fifth-year program option.

“All I have to do is just go for it!” she said.

The master’s program offers three different concentrations: gifted and talented; reading and writing; and second language education and culture, Orcutt said. The cost is $654 per credit hour, making it the most cost-effective master’s program Wesleyan has to offer.

“From the beginning of my education I had always thought about getting my master’s, and at Triple E Week we learned about the fifth-year program,” said Mary Olmos, a senior math major with an education cluster.  “I didn’t know about it, and when I learned that I could get my Masters a year after my bachelor’s I was like – heck yeah! I need to do that.”