MAT-Secondary Education, M.A.

What You'll Learn in the mat-secondary education program

You'll learn teaching strategies and pedagogy and gain valuable hands-on experience through required practicums. You can choose to specialize in the area that complements your undergraduate degree and suits your interests. Graduates will earn both a master's degree and secondary education teaching certification in the state of Kentucky.

What You Can Do with a mat-secondary Education Degree

You'll be qualified to teach middle and high school in Kentucky public and private schools. 

Option six and the traditional program

Option Six Program: A student is admitted to the Option Six program for middle grades  5-9 or secondary MAT when he/she obtains a full-time teaching position within a Kentucky-accredited school. At that time, a temporary provisional certificate can be issued, which is valid for one year and must be renewed each additional year through the MAT program for a total of three years. 

Traditional Program: A student will be admitted to the traditional program for middle grades 5-9 or secondary MAT if he/she wishes to complete the student teaching requirement as per KY EPSB regulations.  

Admission to the mat-secondary education program

You must be accepted for graduate study at MSU.

• Apply to graduate school

In addition, you must:

• Have a 2.75 GPA earned in an undergraduate or graduate degree or a 3.0 GPA on the last 30 hours of credit completed including graduate and undergraduate work.
• Successful completion of the Praxis Pre-Professional Skills Test or Core Academic Skills for Educators (CORE).
• The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) was administered by the Education Testing Service with the following corresponding minimum scores on the corresponding sections: verbal reasoning, 150; quantitative reasoning, 143; and analytical writing, 4.0.

Additional Requirements

• Completion of and successful evaluation by program faculty of an admission interview demonstrating:
  • Effective communication
  • Creativity
  • Critical thinking
  • Ability to effectively collaborate with others
  • An understanding of the professional dispositions required of teachers.
• A signed statement that the applicant has read and understands the Professional Code of Ethics for Kentucky School Certified Personnel and Kentucky's fitness and character requirements for teachers.
• CAN check application
• Praxis II Content or Specialty Area Exam/s
• Praxis II Principles of Learning and Teaching Test (PLT)
• Completion of Online Diversity Field Experience workshop
• Submission of a national and state criminal history background check by the Kentucky State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that meets the requirements of Kentucky House Bill 204.
• Students are responsible for keeping up to date with the testing requirements found on the Education Professional Standards Board website which are subject to change.