The MAT in Secondary Education for Initial Certification leads to initial certification in Secondary Education (grades P-12; 5-12; 8-12, depending on certification area) for qualified individuals with bachelor’s degrees and content majors (or equivalent for those who qualify for temporary provisional certification in approved areas). Course work and experiences in the program provide students who have a deep knowledge of their respective disciplines, but no background in professional education, with the pedagogical knowledge and skills to become highly qualified educators in their fields. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be professional educators who possess the dispositions and skills to apply state-of-the-art, evidence-based, best teaching practices to increase student achievement.

There are three concentrations in this program:

• Alternate Route to Certification Concentration for Art, Biology, Chemistry, Chinese, Business and Marketing Education, Chinese, Earth and Space Science, English/Language Arts, French, German, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Social Studies, and Spanish.
• Standard Concentration for Art, Biology, Chemistry, Chinese, Business and Marketing Education, Earth and Space Science, English/Language Arts, Family and Consumer Sciences, French, German, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Social Studies, and Spanish.
• Residency Concentration for Science and Mathematics (Secondary 8-12)(e.g. GSKyTeach)

Note that Concentrations 1 and 2 appear identical; however, the differences between these concentrations are characterized by students with and without a temporary provisional teaching certificate and those who must meet the equivalent of the state required student teaching requirements along with the specific content area in which students are seeking certification.

Students in all three concentrations are expected to become competent in theory, research, and application of best teaching practices in their respective fields and to exhibit appropriate teacher disposition behaviors as indicated by the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Disposition Rating Form. All professional education courses in the program require satisfactory completion of critical performance indicators (CPIs); these must be submitted as directed before the final course grade is recorded. Each course’s CPIs become a part of the student’s portfolio that is reviewed periodically throughout the program.

Students who seek admission to the Alternate Route to Teacher Certification must meet additional requirements in order to qualify for temporary provisional certification, and they must complete all requirements for certification within three years of the time of employment by a school district. A recommendation for professional certification will be contingent upon successful completion of the Kentucky Teacher Intern- ship Program (KTIP) and submission of qualifying scores on all required examinations for the desired area of certification. Additional information about the Alternate Route to Teacher Certification concentrations may be found on the website for the Office of Professional Educator Services.

Upon successful completion of the MAT in Secondary Education for Initial Certification and satisfaction of all other certification requirements, student who do not participate in the Alternate Route to Certification concentrations but participate in the Standard Concentration will qualify for a Statement of Eligibility for Certification. The Internship course for these students must be a full semester or equivalent in length. Students in the residency (e.g. GSKyTeach) concentration must meet all expectations associated with that residency program.

Concentration(s)

• Alternate Route to Certification (EARC)
• Standard (ESTN)
• Residency for Science and Math (ERSM)