Master of Arts in Teaching (Certification)

Program Admission Requirements

To be admitted to these programs, the prospective educator candidate must meet all requirements for admission to the School of Graduate Studies, including fingerprints/verification of background clearance, and a valid bachelor’s level professional educator certificate in the same teaching field(s) in which the Class A Professional Educator Certificate is sought.

I. Professional Courses: 19 hours

•     ED 500. Foundations of Education (3)
•     OR
•     ED 501. Educational Planning (3)
•     ED 504. Techniques of Educational Research (3)
•     OR
•     ED 506. Educational Statistics (3)
•     ED 505. Technology and Education (3)
•     ED 508. Technology Portfolio (1)
•     EP 500. Advanced Educational Psychology (3)
•     OR
•     EP 506. Life-Span Development and Learning (3)
•     CO 547. Counseling Multicultural Populations (3) *
•     Approved 500-level elective in Education (3)

II. Teaching Field: 18 hours

(This work must be in a single field of concentration)

• Biology
• History
• English Language Arts
• Mathematics
• Physical Education
• Science
• Social Science

English Language Arts students must include EH 501. Research in Literary Studies (3). Educator candidates in English Language Arts must also take EH 580. Teaching Composition (3), if they have no previous credit for the course. Educator candidates majoring in English Language Arts, Science, or Social Science must take courses in at least two areas of certification.  Entering international students must have a minimum TOEFL score requirement of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or 79 on the iBT, 6.5 on the IELTS, or 1200 on the GTEC CBT, or the equivalent.

Educator candidates pursuing the M.A.T. History [Certification] must complete at least nine hours of coursework in U.S. History and nine hours of coursework in non-U.S. History. The nine hours of U.S. History must include courses covering both pre-and post-Civil War U.S. History.  Social Science majors must complete nine hours of history courses (three of which must be in non-U.S. history) and six hours of graduate anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, or sociology courses. Entering international students must have a minimum TOEFL score requirement of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or 79 on the iBT, 6.5 on the IELTS, or 1200 on the GTEC CBT, or the equivalent.

Total Required: 37 hours

Note(s):

• *Educator candidates who have not previously met the special education requirement must take a general survey course in special education SE 500 or if they have credit for a previous general special education course they will need to take CO 547.
• This program is also offered online.

Program Completion Requirements

The educator candidate shall:

1. Maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.25 or better in all courses in the approved program as verified on an official transcript with no grade less than “C.”
2. Make a satisfactory score on a written comprehensive examination documenting mastery of the curriculum of the program.

Requirements for Alabama Class A Certification

• Meet all program requirements.
• Hold a valid bachelor’s level professional educator certificate in the same teaching field(s) in which the Class A Professional Educator Certificate is sought.
• Have an official transcript from a regionally accredited institution documenting an earned master’s degree.

Governance

The Educator Preparation Program and the Educator Certification Program are governed by the Alabama State Department of Education, and the College of Education reserves the right to change requirements in these programs at any time when such changes are mandated by the State Department.