Master of Arts in Teaching

Offered Online

The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree is designed for students who have earned a non-education baccalaureate degree and wish to pursue teacher licensure in Middle Grades, Secondary or K-12 subject areas. The M.A.T. program offers both full- and part-time enrollment options.

The full-time option is an intensive 12-month residency model requiring full-time commitment for its duration. After an initial summer of foundations and pedagogical preparation, candidates will spend two semesters in a public school classroom working collaboratively with a master teacher to effectively deliver data-driven instruction and positively impact the learning of students in the classroom.

The part-time option can be completed in 18 months. Students may begin their program in the fall, spring, or summer terms. Full-time enrollment is required for one semester during the clinical student-teaching practicum. Students may choose to complete their clinical student teaching during the fall or spring semester.

For both full- and part-time options, lateral entry teachers may use their current teaching assignment for their residency requirement. Students receiving a grade lower than B- in any course will be placed on program probation and risk being dismissed from the program.

Candidates may pursue teacher licensure in one of the following Secondary disciplines: Science, English, Mathematics, and Social Studies or in one of the following K-12 disciplines: Music, Spanish, and Health & Physical Education.

Within the Master of Arts in Teaching program, students will have the option to pursue an online teaching track, which would lead to a graduate certificate in online teaching and instructional design. Students who complete this track within the MAT program will learn and apply effective methods for designing and individualizing online content as well as developing interactive online learning experiences for diverse populations of learners. This track would allow students to work toward initial licensure in secondary education and a graduate certificate in online teaching and instructional design. For students pursuing this track, 9 credit hours for the online teaching and instructional design track will be embedded within the MAT program sequence. MAT students would only take 9 additional credit hours, allowing them to complete the 18 additional credit hours required for the graduate certificate in online teaching and instructional design while only paying for 9 additional credit hours. Students pursuing the online teaching track within the MAT program would not obtain the MAT degree until all MAT requirements and the 18 credit hours required for the graduate certificate in online teaching and instructional design are completed. However, students would obtain initial teaching licensure as soon as licensure requirements are met within the MAT program. Students would have the ability to opt-out of this track if they were to decide not to continue with the remaining credit hours necessary for the certificate in online teaching and instructional design. The course requirements for the online teaching and instructional design track within the MAT program are below.

In addition to successfully completing the MAT program of study, candidates must achieve passing scores on the appropriate Praxis II test(s) for their licensure area in order to be eligible for the NC Standard Professional I teaching license.

Grade Level	Discipline	Test Information (Hyperlinks)	Test Code	Qualifying Score
Secondary	Science	General Science: Content Knowledge (5435)	Test #5435	Passing Score: 151
Secondary	English	English Language Arts: Content Knowledge (5038)	Test #: 5038	Passing Score:167
Secondary	Social Studies	Social Studies: Content Knowledge (5081)	Test #:5081	Passing Score: 158
Secondary	Mathematics	Mathematics: Content Knowledge (5161) Calculator Use	Test #:5161	Passing Score: 160
Middle Grades	English	Middle School English Language Arts (5047)	Test #:5047	Passing Score: 164
Middle Grades	Mathematics	Middle School Mathematics (5169) Calculator Use	Test #:5169	Passing Score: 165
Middle Grades	Science	Middle School Science (5440)	Test #: 5440	Passing Score: 150
Middle Grades	Social Studies	Middle School Social Studies (5089)	Test #: 5089	Passing Score: 149
K-12	Music	Music: Content and Instruction (5114)	Test #:5114	Passing Score: 162
K-12	Spanish	Spanish: World Language (5195)	Test #:5195	Passing Score: 168
K-12	Physical Education	Health and Physical Education: Content Knowledge (5857)	Test #: 5857	Passing Score: 160

NOTE: All MAT students must pass the edTPA performance assessment for their respective discipline in order to gain eligibility for NC teacher licensure.

Admission Requirements

Candidates for admission to the Master of Arts in Teaching program must meet the following criteria:

1. Have earned an undergraduate degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 and a minimum GPA of 2.7 in the major. The degree must be in a major closely aligned with the area of licensure the applicant plans to pursue;
2. Passing score on the Praxis II Content Knowledge Exam (Content Area Testing Tab) according to desired content area;
3. Submit a CV or resume including relevant experiences working with young adolescents in school or community settings. Include a brief description of each experience;
4. Submit a writing sample clearly articulating goals and life experiences that have impacted the student’s decision to pursue a graduate degree in Teaching;
5. Be available for an interview upon request;
6. Complete a formal criminal background check prior to enrollment.
7. The admissions committee determines admissions decisions based on the whole application and reserves the right to admit, provisionally admit, waitlist, or deny applicants on this policy.