4+1 BS Biology to MAT and Teacher Certification

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Eligibility:

Accelerated Pathway Candidates can apply for admission to the Accelerated MAT Pathway after the conclusion of their sophomore year.

Requirements for admission:

• Overall GPA 3.0
• Content GPA 3.0
• Grade of C or Better in ENGL 101, ENGL 102, and COMM 202
• Passing Scores on Praxis CORE or Documentation of Exemption
• Endorsement from undergraduate academic advisor for following:
  • Ability to handle graduate level coursework concurrently with undergraduate courses.
  • Ability to manage complex schedule involving field placement.
  • Interpersonal abilities to work with teachers and public school students.

Accelerated Program Details:

Once admitted to the accelerated pathway, the student must maintain 3.0 GPA in all 5XX courses.

Upon graduation, the student would continue in the MAT program.

All science teaching concentration coursework should be completed prior to the completion of the BA. Current teaching concentration requirements can be found at https://www.shepherd.edu/mat/.

A 4+1 registration form which requires both undergraduate and graduate advisor signatures is necessary for enrollment in graduate level classes prior to the undergraduate graduation. This form should be turned into the registrar to authorize course registration at the appropriate level and assign waivers to undergraduate requirements once the graduate course is satisfactorily completed.

A maximum of 12 credits may be taken at the graduate level prior to the undergraduate graduation.

B.S. Biology (Traditional) to MAT 4+1 Suggested Course Sequence

Courses in Bold are specifically required for the accelerated pathway.

B.S. Biology (Ecological Science) to MAT 4+1 Suggested Course Sequence

Courses in Bold are specifically required for the accelerated pathway.

Completion of the MAT

Additional Program Notes:

MAT teacher candidates are required to apply for retention review and student teaching by the posted deadline the semester prior to student teaching.

Passing the content praxis exam is required before November 1 or June 1 of the semester prior to student teaching.  

MAT Candidates must pass the edTPA during the student teaching semester.  EDUC 590, Student Teaching Seminar, provides support for this requirement and is strongly recommended as the second graduate elective. Students who choose not to take it, must complete their second graduate elective PRIOR to student teaching.

The accelerated program requires that the candidate continues as a full time graduate student between undergraduate and graduate graduations.  In the event that an accelerated pathway candidate is hired by a school system as a long term substitute or on a provisional certificate, they will automatically revert to a traditional MAT program and a new plan of study will be generated with the academic advisor.

The Student Record:

Tuition assessment works off the student record so tuition is billed at the undergraduate rate prior to graduation with the BA regardless of the level of courses enrolled. Likewise, financial aid will be processed and paid based on the undergraduate student record until after the undergraduate graduation.

Graduate courses do not appear on the undergraduate level transcript and GPA is not calculated into the undergraduate transcript.

In the accelerated pathway, the undergraduate degree total may be less than 120 and an annotation is added to the undergraduate-level transcript to indicate that the ‘remaining credits/requirements were taken at the graduate level and appear on the graduate level transcript”.  Shepherd would then certify the undergraduate degree on less than 120 undergraduate credits assuming that all other requirements have been met for the undergraduate degree.