Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

Return to: Cannon-Clary College of Education

The Master of Arts in Teaching program has options leading to teaching licensure in early childhood (for candidates holding a Tennessee Practitioner License only), middle level, secondary level, birth through kindergarten integrated with special education birth through kindergarten, and special education K-12. This program is designed to provide a means for candidates already holding a bachelor’s degree to obtain teaching licensure at the K-4 (for candidates holding a Tennessee Practitioner License only), Birth-K, 4-8, 7-12, or K-12 grade level. The degree will be offered at four locations - the main campus in Searcy, and at Harding’s Professional Centers in North Little Rock and Rogers, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. Two tracks are offered for candidates to complete this degree - Provisional Licensure Track and Traditional Student Teaching Track.

There are six program options, and areas of licensure are listed below:

1. Master of Arts in Teaching - Early Childhood Licensure (MAT-ECL) (For candidates holding a Tennessee Practitioner License only)
2. Master of Arts in Teaching - Middle Level Licensure (4-8) (MAT-MLL)
   Candidates must choose a minimum of two areas in which to license:

• Language Arts
• Math
• Science
• Social Sciences

3. Master of Arts in Teaching - 7-12 Licensure (MAT-SLST)

• Drama
• English
• Family and Consumer Science
• Life Science
• Mathematics
• Physical Science
• Social Sciences (Arkansas History course required)
• Speech

4. Master of Arts in Teaching - K-12 Licensure (MAT-SLKT)

• Art
• Drama/Speech
• Foreign Language (French/Latin/Spanish)
• Music (Vocal/Instrumental)
• Kinesiology and Health

5. Master of Arts in Teaching - Special Education K-12 Licensure (MAT-SPKT)
6. Master of Arts in Teaching - Birth through Kindergarten Integrated with Special Education Birth through Kindergarten (MAT-SPBK)

Candidates pursuing Arkansas Birth-K, Middle Level, 7-12, or K-12 licensure can select one of two tracks for completing the program. Candidates holding a Tennessee Practitioner License will complete the program with Track 1.

Program Information

Admission requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching (both tracks):

1. Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution, and must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.7 or higher, or a GPA of 2.9 on the last 60 hours. In addition, for students seeking Arkansas licensure:

Middle Level Licensure (4-8) - Additional courses (or their equivalent) required by the Arkansas Department of Education:

HIST 336  / HIST 536 - Arkansas History Credit Hours: 3  

RDNG 412  / RDNG 512 - Emergent Literacy Credit Hours: 3  

 RDNG 413  / RDNG 513 - Adolescent Literacy Credit Hours: 3  

2. Test Scores -
   1. GRE or Praxis^® Core - Scores must meet the state requirement minimums.
   2. Praxis^® Subject Assessment exams - Scores must meet the state requirement minimums. (Special Education K-12 and Birth through Kindergarten Integrated with Special Education Birth through Kindergarten will take the Praxis^® Subject Assessments after completing six credit hours that include SPED 606  and one additional Special Education course.) Praxis^® Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) - scores must meet the state required minimums. (Taken immediately after completing EDFD 611 .)
   3. TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language - international students with visas allowing them to work in the United States must meet University policy in the Graduate Catalog for acceptable TOEFL scores.
3. Three references are required from people familiar with the applicant’s professional or academic performance.
4. Provisional Track I applicants must also:
   1. Submit a satisfactory criminal background check to the Arkansas State Police, the FBI, and a Child Maltreatment Central Registry Check to the Arkansas Department of Human Services as required by the state of Arkansas.
   2. Procure a teaching position within a K-12 school system to begin after having taken the summer course offerings. Special Education K-12 and Birth through Kindergarten Integrated with Special Education Birth through Kindergarten candidates may procure a teaching position after completing SPED 606 and one additional special education course (six hours total) and passing the Praxis^® Subject Assessment(s).
   3. Complete the Arkansas Department of Education application for a provisional teaching license.
   4. Submit a copy of ADE Provisional Teaching License prior to beginning teaching.
   5. For those seeking Tennessee Practitioner Licensure, meet and document the requirements of that state.

Provisional Admission

Applicants may be admitted provisionally for one semester without submitting a Praxis^® Subject Assessment score, but only if they have submitted documentation of registration for the next available Praxis^® Subject Assessment in their area of licensure. Special Education K-12 and Birth through Kindergarten Integrated with Special Education Birth through Kindergarten may have two semesters to complete the Praxis^® Subject Assessment(s).

Other Program Requirements

Upon acceptance into the program, students must consult with director of their program concerning the required course of study, register for classes online through Campus Pipeline each semester, and complete financial registration with the Business Office online.

Graduate students taking 500-level courses concurrently with undergraduate students taking the corresponding 300- and 400-level courses will be assigned additional work.

All program requirements must be completed within a period of eight years from the time of acceptance into the program. Coursework taken more than eight years before graduation will not be acceptable.

Transfer Students

Correspondence credit will not apply toward the master’s degree. Students may transfer from other graduate schools, subject to the approval of the chair of graduate studies, a maximum of 6 semester hours of resident graduate work in which they have earned a “B” or higher. All coursework to be transferred must be completed before a student’s last semester.

Academic Standing Requirements

These requirements are common to all programs in education and are listed in the Cannon-Clary College of Education Graduate  section.

Degree Requirements and Curriculum

Requests for degree may be submitted prior to a student’s final semester but must be submitted no later than the first week of the final semester. The graduation fee must be paid to the Business Office the last semester before graduation.

To earn a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, a student following Track 1 or Track 2 must successfully complete the following 35 semester hours of coursework. The Track 1 program is designed to be completed within two years.  Track 2 students must complete all requirements within eight years of beginning their program of study.

Programs of study are available in:

• Birth through Kindergarten Integrated with Special Education Birth through Kindergarten (MAT-SPBK)  
• Early Childhood, K-4 (MAT-ECL) (Tennesee only)  
• Middle Level, 4-8 (MAT-MLL)  
• Secondary Level, 7-12 (MAT-SLST)   
• Secondary Level, K-12 (MAT-SLKT)  
• Special Education K-12 (MAT-SPKT)