Korean Job Discussion Forums

[HANGRY]

I am wondering about how strict universities are regarding the type of M.A. degree you possess.

For example, let's say a position is looking for somebody with an M.A. in TESOL or English Literature or English Education...

I have an M.A. in Linguistics. An M.A. in TESOL is not offered at my university, but my Linguistics degree coursework was focused almost exclusively on second language acquisition and language pedagogy. The linguistics program here is cross-departmental, so somebody with an MA in linguistics here could be into sociolinguistics, formal linguistics, historical linguistics, or in my case, second language acquisition. Therefore, having an M.A. in "Linguistics" is just kind of a catch-all term for all these different sub-fields.

...will an employer look past the name on the degree and consider me?

It kind of sucks because I only qualify for Level G in SMOE public school positions because I don't technically have a TESOL degree (which would increase my pay grade two positions).

[Carbon]

Many distance MA TESOL degrees don't specify on the degree itself if it was TESOL. The transcripts (or course listing) should indicate that your courses were all to do with language acquisition, which will probably be enough to satisfy the idiots in charge. If not, welcome to Korea. Enjoy your kimchee.

As for your second (first) question, a relevant degree trumps a non-relevant and there are a heck of a lot of relevant degree holders out there. MA TESOL, Eng Ed, then all the rest would be the preference order.