Graduate Programs: A New Direction for Humanities and Sciences
The master of arts in teaching (M.A.T.) program is the first graduate program in the School of Humanities and Sciences. This New York State–approved M.A.T. program will prepare graduate students for initial teaching certification in adolescence education (secondary education, grades 7–12) in biology, chemistry, English, French, mathematics, physics, social studies, or Spanish. The 33-credit M.A.T. is structured as a one-year graduate program; students begin their graduate study in late June, complete coursework and student teaching experiences during the regular fall and spring semesters, and conclude final degree requirements by late June of the following year.
Most of the applicants to this program are expected to be liberal arts graduates of Ithaca College, but the program is also open to qualified graduates from other accredited colleges and universities. For IC students, this new degree program will function like a five-year program, offering our students the opportunity to tailor their coursework during their junior and senior years to most effectively prepare for the M.A.T. program in an ensuing fifth year of study at IC.
The undergraduate teaching option will continue at IC, but by adding a graduate program option IC undergraduates have more flexibility during their undergraduate years. Students who want to become middle and high school teachers will have more time as undergraduates to study abroad or in Washington, D.C., for example, or pick up a second major or minor field of study, or explore other academic and service opportunities. The M.A.T. program will also be ideal for IC students who decide late in their undergraduate studies—or after graduation—that they would like to pursue teaching as a career.
A special graduate tuition rate ($485 per graduate credit) has been established for this program, making it competitive with teacher education programs at other colleges and universities. This one-year program makes connections between theory and practice as students study education courses within an academic discipline and engage in school-based field experiences, which are varied and include the Fredrick Douglass Academy in New York City’s Harlem community. Collaboration with local community organizations and resources enhances curriculum and lesson planning. The focus is on development of future teachers as reflective practitioners who will play leadership roles in our nation’s schools.
Two additional graduate programs in education are in the planning stages. H&S faculty have collaborated with faculty from the Park School of Communications, the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, and the Ithaca City School District to plan a master’s program in childhood education that will lead to initial teaching certification in New York State for grades 1–6. Pending College and state approval, the M.S. in childhood education program will begin in the summer of 2007. Seniors and graduates from Ithaca College and other accredited colleges and universities will be eligible to apply. The third H&S graduate program in education will be designed to support the professional development of local-area elementary and secondary school teachers who are required by the New York State Education Department to earn a master’s degree within their first five years of teaching.
