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Union Graduate College Master of Arts in Teaching M.A.T. Description
The MAT degree is designed for aspiring teachers who have completed a baccalaureate degree in a liberal arts discipline and who would like to teach subjects such as English, languages, mathematics, science, or social studies in secondary schools.
Unlike other teacher preparation programs, the Master of Arts in Teaching at Union Graduate College combines the in-depth study of a particular subject with the study of teaching and learning.
Teaching Certification subjects:
Biology
Chemistry
Earth Science
English
French
General Science
German
Latin
Mathematics
Physics
Social Studies
Spanish
Certification grade levels: After successful completion of Union Graduate College’s program, students will be certified to teach grades 7 – 12.
The unique features of the MAT degree from the Union Graduate College School of Education:
Teaching degree study is designed and taught by teams of practitioners in the secondary schools and liberal arts faculty. Many of these same Master Teachers act as mentors during the internship. All teaching students complete an internship in a school, which allows each student to become proficient at balancing the complex tasks associated with being an excellent teacher. The program encourages strong intern cooperation and peer and program support.
MAT course work is designed to develop reflective teachers who are effective problem solvers, able to connect theory with practice, and confident of applying a broad range teaching methods. During the degree program, each student has the opportunity to complete graduate-level research with faculty in their discipline.
Type of teaching certification:
The State of New York recently revised the requirements for teacher certification in the State. These new requirements became effective on February 2, 2004. Students who complete a State approved certification program are required to receive a qualifying score on new tests on liberal arts (LAST), pedagogy (ATS-W), and a content specialty test (CST) to be eligible for initial certification. This Initial Certificate will be valid for 5 years. After two years of full-time teaching, a candidate is eligible for Professional Certification.
For Professional Certification to teach: Individuals who receive an Initial Certificate and who wish to obtain professional teaching certification will be required to 1) complete a one-academic-year supervised internship in a public or nonpublic school 2) earn a master's degree functionally related to their teaching field (The MAT serves as the required master's degree for students in the School of Education Program.) Completing the Union Graduate College MAT will satisfy both the master’s degree requirements and, in some instances, may satisfy the mentored experience requirement as well.
The New York State Teacher Certification Examination (NYSTCE):
The New York State Teacher Certification Examination is a series of tests prepared by National Evaluation Systems, Inc., and is similar in format to the SATs, GREs, and other standardized assessments. The NYSTCE consists of three parts:
- LAST- Liberal Arts & Science Test
- ATS-W - Assessment of Teaching Skills
- CST- Test of content knowledge in the art of certification.
It is probably most advantageous to take the LAST and ATS-W at the beginning of the master’s degree and the CST at mid-point. Tests can be taken as often as needed.
A Bulletin of Information on the NYSTCE and handouts describing the examinations are available from:
Union Graduate College School of Education
Lamont House
Room 105
Schenectady, NY 12308
(518) 388-6361
Certification in states other than New York:
Check the School of Education office and/or the State Education Department in that state for further information about certification in other states. Many states have reciprocity agreements with New York. However, states have different cut-off scores for their teacher examinations. Some require specialty examinations, and some have their own state examinations. Individuals interested in certification in states other than NY can often transfer their New York State certification through an Interstate Certification Compact. Individual state requirements can be obtained through writing to the State Education Department certification office in the state in which you wish to receive certification, or by checking their requirements on their state education department's web page.
Other requirements for certification: In addition to completing program, students must also complete one year of college-level study of a language other than English. Five-year Union College students, are encouraged to satisfy this requirement by electing to complete at least two terms in a Foreign Language in a classical or modern language, or its equivalent. Students who come to the College with a substantial background in a language other than English and who are placed by the Department of Modern Languages, on the basis of secondary school records and/or test scores at a 12 level or international can satisfy the language requirement by taking one additional course at level 12 or above. Entering MAT students should check with the School of Education to determine the best means of satisfying this requirement.
Teaching in private schools:
The majority of private schools do not require that their teachers be state-certified. However, many private schools encourage their teachers to take professional course work to become certified. Becoming certified allows a teacher to choose to pursue employment either in a private or a public school.
Post-Graduate Degree Teaching CORE (CORE MAT)
The CORE MAT is a Master of Arts in Teaching degree designed primarily for Individuals who already have a master’s degree in a certification subject and are looking to change careers. They already have the master’s degree required for permanent certification. The CORE program provides the teaching coursework needed to gain initial certification.
The CORE consists of seven graduate courses in pedagogy and a yearlong internship. A full-time, eight week summer term is required.CORE students must apply for certification and meet the letter of New York State certification standards as defined by the Office of Teaching Certification.
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