Master of Arts

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages in Shanghai and NYC

Our program is taught in English and grounded in cutting-edge pedagogical methods from the U.S. You’ll learn from American-trained NYU Steinhardt and NYU Shanghai faculty with decades of experience who have expertise in second and world language development research and methodology.

You’ll experience your course work in three ways:

• A summer immersion that begins the program in Shanghai with two on-site, in-person courses and takes place during the traditional July/August break between school years in China.
• Fall and Spring terms in your first and second year that combine on-site, in-person courses on the NYU Shanghai campus scheduled over a limited number of weekends, along with online courses taught from New York, for a low-residency format that accommodates working professionals from anywhere in China
• A one-month summer immersion in New York City between your first and second year that consists of two on-site, in-person courses at NYU Steinhardt where you will visit selected schools and explore the cultural landscape of the city.

Read about our TESOL Shanghai Program Director:

• John Liang: Empowering the Next Generation of Educators

Our MA builds on the rich background and experiences you bring to our program by enhancing your knowledge and professional skills in language teaching methodology and research.

The ideal candidate for our program will:

• Be comfortable taking immersive courses taught entirely in English
• Have a bachelor’s degree in English, linguistics, education, or a related field
• Be available to attend all in-person courses, including the summer immersions at NYU Shanghai and at NYU Steinhardt in New York City
• Have teaching/related work experience or aspire to become a language educator

Our curriculum model and schedule are designed to accommodate a working professional's full-time job, so our degree will meet your needs no matter where you are located in China and whether you’re currently teaching in a classroom or online, working as a school administrator or teacher trainer, or you’re looking to return to the field with new aptitudes.

Our students come from a diversity of backgrounds representing Mainland China, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States. Within Mainland China, students have hailed from cities and provinces including Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Hefei, Wenzhou, Hebei, Wuhan, Taizhou, Chengdu, Fujian, and Shenzhen. Students have come from many different undergraduate and graduate institutions and have had prior experience of less than a year to 25 years of teaching in person and online. Finally, our students' careers span public schools, private schools, international schools, educational startups, tutoring companies, and other related institutions. They are in-service and aspiring teachers of English, Chinese, history, and other subjects.

Read about our graduates:

• Getting an Education Just for the Sake of It: Ziqing Ma, MA '23
• Language as a Way to See the World: Jessica Nestell, MA '23
• Turning Interest Into Profession: Rui Cao, MA ’23
• A Lawyer who Loves Teaching English: Forrest Feng, MA '22
• A Teacher in Students’ Shoes: Harry Hua, MA '22
• Making a Career Transition through NYU TESOL: Brenda Huang, MA '21
• Bridging Chinese and English Language Teaching: Yijia Zhang, MA '21
• Teaching Chinese in Saudi Arabia: Ling Mei, MA '21
• From Colleagues to Classmates: Chen Chen, MA '21, & Yan Zheyuan, MA '21
• Finding My Path: John Anderson, MA '20
• Journey toward Effective Teaching: Shirley Xu, MA '20
• Graduate Student Spotlight: James Yang Zhi, MA ’20
• Graduate Student Spotlight: Xu Feng, MA ’20