The MAT is grounded in rigorous academic and clinical experiences that help students expand and build on their professional knowledge and skills. The program is oriented around forty credit hours of pedagogical core curriculum that cuts across fundamental areas of knowledge and skill essential for teachers. The program runs from June to June.                                                                

Coursework

• Summer: Introductory & Sociocultural Context Courses
• Fall: Subject Area Methods Courses
• Spring: Advanced Methods (secondary) 
• Maymester: Action Research Capstone (international study abroad option)

Field-based Internship (16+ weeks total)

• Two-week intensive at start of school year
• 2 days/week in fall; full-time student teaching in spring

Signature Pedagogy: Experiential Education
 

Learning to teach occurs through practice. Lessons are learned in interactions over time, requiring both the opportunity to act and space to reflect. One aspect that makes our MAT program stand out is our teacher candidates’ constant engagement in fieldwork and residencies with local schools, where they will observe, participate and teach. These practicums are under constant revision, designed to provide you with the optimal mix of theory, practice and mentorship, and to ensure you are always safe to practice and ready to learn.

In this program, you will engage in rich coursework focused on critical perspectives and goals connected to the use of education for the creation of a more equitable society. Designed for aspiring teachers and career-changers with a strong background in their chosen content area, the Master of Arts in Teaching provides an appreciation for, and an understanding of, the diverse educational needs, social concerns and cultural values of today's schools. Pre-service teacher candidates learn to serve and challenge today's diverse student populations through a variety of contexts, including: rigorous academic experiences; sustained involvement in local educational and youth-based settings; signature experiential education opportunities; educational research experiences; and opportunities to earn a specialty license beyond the primary content area.

Each student is paired with a mentor teacher who helps guide them through their student teaching experience. The mentoring process provides a framework for each new teacher to feel comfortable and confident to fully develop potential in the classroom. The process to effectively refine lessons and apply new strategies includes continuous reflection on professional practice. Reflection is enhanced when approached as a shared dialogue among colleagues.

Our community of students, faculty and staff is deeply committed to the shared mission of realizing equity of educational access and outcomes for all learners in our increasingly diverse communities—locally, statewide, nationally and globally. We challenge ourselves to address the most difficult and complex educational questions and issues across the P-20 continuum through cutting-edge research, development and engagement. We approach our scholarship with a determination to inform current educational practices, programs and policies. We strive to imagine better futures, and work toward a society where a great and transformative public education is accessible to all, and where wellbeing, health and prosperity are within everyone’s reach.