This direct entry Diploma program is designed to provide opportunities for graduate-level study of theory and research in language and literacy for practicing teachers, school administrators, people working in community organizations and cultural institutions, and advocacy groups. This program has a unique interdisciplinary field: Language, Culture and Teaching. It also represents a sub-specialization of the field of Language, Culture and Teaching in that it identifies those areas of study which focus specifically on language and literacy.

The general objectives of the Graduate Diploma are:

1. to develop a complement of future researchers in language and literacy;
2. to afford educators in the areas of language and literacy an opportunity for specialization in this area; and
3. to create a focus within the Graduate Program of Education at York and provide the capacity of educators to develop citizens whose personal, economic and intellectual lives are enhanced by advancing their skills in language and literacy.