MA in Teaching English as a Second Language

Credit Hours

Online,* 8-week courses

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Next Start Dates: January 19, 2026 | February 16, 2026 | March 23, 2026

Teach Around the World with an Online MA in TESL

Do you want to engage with foreign cultures or equip non-English speakers here in America with life-changing skills for the future? Conferring Liberty’s online Master of Arts (MA) in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) can help empower you to work with students at home or abroad who need English communication skills to succeed.

As an English as a second language teacher, you could teach in non-licensure settings in the United States, Asia, the Middle East, or any other region of the world where English language teachers are in demand. With Liberty’s MA in TESL, you can immerse yourself in a foreign culture and share the gift of language while gaining a rich, immersive experience that extends far beyond tourism.

Liberty’s online MA in TESL can help you face the challenges of cross-cultural and cross-linguistic teaching with a graduate degree designed to help make you competitive in the international market. Taught from a Christian worldview, Liberty’s online MA in TESL can give you biblically based training in teaching the English language while you make an impact for Christ across the globe.

If you are looking for a practical, market-driven approach to teaching that can give you opportunities to touch the lives of people from different cultures – locally, nationally, and abroad – Liberty’s online MA in TESL can help give you the training you need!

This is a non-licensure program.

*Some exclusions apply. Please refer to our exclusions page for more information.

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Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Liberty

Why Choose Liberty’s MA in Teaching English as a Second Language?

Liberty’s MA in Teaching English as a Second Language combines online coursework with a practical internship, giving you the flexibility to learn from home while gaining real-world teaching experience. This unique blend ensures you graduate with both academic knowledge and the confidence to lead a classroom effectively.

The program can help equip you with advanced skills in linguistics, grammar, and second language acquisition, while also training you in curriculum development and assessment. Through your internship, you’ll apply these concepts in a live teaching environment, preparing you to meet the needs of diverse learners both in the U.S. and abroad.

Rooted in a Christian worldview, Liberty’s TESL program empowers you to make a meaningful impact through education. By combining faith-based principles with hands-on practice, you can be ready to serve English learners and influence lives across cultural and linguistic boundaries.

What Will You Study in Our MA in TESL?

Gain the broad skill set and practical training to start your journey as a TESL instructor! In this degree, your online courses can help you gain comprehensive knowledge of applied grammar, linguistics, and second language acquisition.

You can not only study the practical use of the English language, but you will also study the syntax and phonology of the major languages of the world, so you can better understand how to approach students from a variety of language backgrounds. With Liberty’s MA in TESL, you can create a fun and effective learning environment to help English language learners thrive!

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

This program falls under the College of Arts and Sciences.
View the Graduate Arts and Sciences Course Guides (login required).
This program requires at least 6 credit hours of undergraduate or graduate foreign language courses in order to graduate. These courses can be satisfied by your undergraduate degree or taken while enrolled in the MA in TESL.
Required internship.

Degree Completion Plan

Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.

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Tuition & Aid

At Liberty University, a private Christian education is less expensive than you think. Over the last 10 years, Liberty University’s Online Program has only raised its standard tuition costs by less than 5% – and most of our online tuition rates rank in the top 35% for affordability for 2025 when compared to our leading online competitors.

Graduate Full Time	$580/Credit
Graduate Part Time	$645/Credit
Military Graduate	$290/Credit

These rates are reflective of academic year 2025-2026. Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

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Admission Information for Liberty’s MA in Teaching English as a Second Language Degree

Admission Requirements

Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
- A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work. *Please Note: This program requires that you have at least 6 credit hours of undergraduate or graduate language studies courses in order to graduate. If you do not already have these courses, you will need to complete them before graduation with the MA in TESL, outside of the degree.
- Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
Statement of Purpose
Department Approval
Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.

Preliminary Acceptance

If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:

Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.

Undergraduate Enrollment in Graduate Courses Policy

Transcript Policies

Unofficial College Transcript Policy

Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.

Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:

Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
Cumulative GPA
A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
Degree and date conferred (if applicable)

Official College Transcript Policy

An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to luoverify@liberty.edu.

If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.

Admissions Office Contact Information

Submit your application online or over the phone.

Start Online Application

Apply by phone: (800) 424-9595

Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.

Who May Qualify?

Active Duty
Reserve/National Guard
Veterans/Retirees
Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
Current Department of Defense Employees

Available Benefits:

Tuition discounts – $290 per credit hour for graduate courses
Additional discount for veterans who serve in a civilian capacity as a First Responder*
8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)

*Not applicable to certificates.

These rates are reflective of academic year 2025-2026. Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.

View Military Benefits

Frequently Asked Questions for the Online Teaching English as a Second Language Master’s Degree

What is TESL?

Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) is a discipline of teaching focused on finding the best ways to help students new to the English language. The goal of TESL is to help students adjust to the unique rules and challenges of learning English from the perspective of many different first languages. For example, learners whose first language is Mandarin Chinese will have unique grammar and pronunciation challenges to overcome compared to a student whose first language is Spanish.

No matter the students’ primary languages, TESL teachers strive to help them read, write, and speak at an advanced level to set them up for success in English-focused industries and careers. Earning a master’s degree in English language teaching can help you engage in this exciting and rewarding field so you can help English language learners thrive.

How can I teach English as a second language?

Teaching English as a second language involves a specialized approach to working with new English language learners to meet specific age-appropriate learning goals. Second language acquisition graduate programs like Liberty’s online TESL master’s degree build on your previous teaching experience to help you master the English language teaching process and provide support for new students to adapt and grow.

By assisting them in developing from a basic understanding of English to high proficiency, you can help students gain valuable skills to help them succeed in their careers. If you want to start teaching in an ESL program, Liberty’s MA in TESL online degree can help give you the skills you need.

What is the difference between TESL vs. TESOL programs?

When researching second language acquisition graduate programs online, you will see that several specialties have unique shorthand names. These English teaching master’s programs have similar purposes but vary in their intended audience and in the specific skills you learn:

TESL – Teaching English as a Second Language: Liberty University’s MA in Teaching English as a Second Language or TESL emphasizes teaching students who have a primary speaking language other than English but who have a daily need for English for communication. These students include immigrants to English-speaking countries and native students who grew up with a non-English first language. Generally, TESL programs are taught in countries that have English as their primary spoken language.
TEFL – Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is another program type that focuses on the challenges of teaching the English language in a foreign country which does not speak English. These programs often have a second language emphasis, which will require the teacher to have proficiency in the second language of the target country so that they can speak well enough to manage a class. Generally, students in these courses have lower day-to-day requirements for English as they live in a country that does not require proficiency.
TESOL – Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages: This program type typically contains elements of both TESL and TEFL and provides more flexibility but less specialization than either TESL or TEFL. Generally, this program type allows graduates to further specialize after having achieved a general foundation as well as proficiency in another target language to provide flexibility for working in non-English speaking environments.

If you are interested in teaching English to international students within an English-speaking country or traveling abroad to a country to teach speakers of other languages, Liberty’s MA in TESL can help provide you with the advanced language training you need.

Are you ready to change your future?

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*Some restrictions may occur for this promotion to apply. This promotion also excludes active faculty and staff, military, non-degree-seeking, DGIA, Continuing Education, WSB, and certificate students.

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Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language Global Classrooms, Personal Impact

Teach Around the World with an Online MA in TESL

What Sets Us Apart?

Why Choose Liberty’s MA in Teaching English as a Second Language?

What Will You Study in Our MA in TESL?

Potential Career Opportunities

Featured Courses

Degree Information

Not sure what to choose?

Tuition & Aid

Financial Aid & Scholarships

Admission Information for Liberty’s MA in Teaching English as a Second Language Degree

Admission Requirements

Preliminary Acceptance

Undergraduate Enrollment in Graduate Courses Policy

Transcript Policies

Admissions Office Contact Information

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Frequently Asked Questions for the Online Teaching English as a Second Language Master’s Degree

What is TESL?

How can I teach English as a second language?

What is the difference between TESL vs. TESOL programs?

Are you ready to change your future?

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