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
- Completion of at least 50% of prerequisite coursework in a selected teaching concentration
- In the program plan, space is delineated for 12 teaching concentration courses, but some concentrations require more coursework than others.
- All teaching concentration coursework should be completed prior to graduation with the RBA in order to complete the MAT within 1 year of the undergraduate graduation.
- 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.
RBA to MAT 4+1 suggested course sequence depends on the teaching concentration of focus. Current Teaching Concentration Coursework Requirements can be found at https://www.shepherd.edu/mat/.
At least 50% of the coursework required for the selected teaching concentration should be completed prior to application for the 4+1. The remainder of the teaching concentration coursework should be completed prior to graduation with the RBA. In the event that an accelerated pathway candidate has not completed all teaching concentration coursework before graduating with the RBA, they will automatically revert to a traditional MAT and a new plan of study to include the missing coursework will be generated with the MAT academic advisor.
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.
RBA to MAT Suggested Course Sequence:
Courses in Bold are Specifically Required for the Accelerated Pathway
[DANA- insert RBA to MAT table here]
[DANA - insert MAT Completion table here]
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 PRAXIS Content exam scores (or acceptable alternative for a world language) are required before November 1 or June 1 of the semester prior to student teaching. See ets.org for state Praxis testing requirements for the relevant teaching concentration.
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.
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