Master of Arts in Teaching

(Leads to 7-12 initial licensure)

Welcome to the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Southern Arkansas University. We are excited about your prospective interest in the program. We hope our program will be both professionally and personally rewarding to you. The decision to complete a Masters degree is one of the most significant decisions you can make in your professional career and we want to support you in anyway possible to make this a meaningful experience. The Master of Arts in Teaching faculty look forward to working with you in attaining your educational objectives.

The Master of Arts in Teaching program at Southern Arkansas University is designed to enable career changes for those people who hold baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree in subject areas commonly taught at the secondary level, grades 7-12. The two year program is comprised of 30 hours of graduate coursework, followed by a year of teaching as a fully-employed teacher of record in a public school. While teaching, students will be required to take 6 hours of course work (1 course per semester). The Standard Curriculum outlines the specific course required of the M.A.T. program. This program is student-centered, as well as, having the convenience of a combination of online and face-to-face night classes. Additionally students enjoy the full support of the program faculty during their first year of teaching along with that offered by a state-trained Pathwise Mentor at the school level. Through the M.A.T. program, students will meet the standards set by INTASC and the Pathwise Domains, as required by the Arkansas State Department of Education.

Licensure Areas:

• Agriculture
• Art
• Business Education
• Drama/Speech
• English Physical Education
• Family and Consumer Science
• English
• French
• Life/Earth Science
• Mathematics
• Music, Vocal and Instrumental
• Physical/Earth Science
• Social Studies (AR History Course Required)
• Spanish

Admission Requirements

1. Students must have an undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 2.50 or above on a 4.0 scale or 3.0 grade point average on the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work.
2. Official transcripts of all undergraduate coursework must be submitted to the Office of Admissions, Field Experience and Licensure (AFEL) before beginning the first semester of coursework. The AFEL Office is located in Cross Hall room 204.One should reflect that the student was awarded a degree in the desired field of teaching, either as a major or the equivalent of a major course of study. The equivalent of a major means that a student has the specific major hour requirements of that particular major. It will be possible to take undergraduate coursework while taking M.A.T. coursework to supplement any deficiency.
3. Students need to submit scores on the Praxis I test that demonstrate a passing score in all three areas of the test as required for provisional licensure by the Nontraditional Licensure Office of the Arkansas Department of Education or a Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score of 1000 (verbal plus quantitative) before beginning the first semester of coursework to the AFEL office, located in Cross Hall room 204.
4. Prospective student(s) will schedule an interview with the MAT program director prior to admission to the MAT program. See contact information below to schedule an appointment. The program director will submit documentation to the AFEL office as a prerequisite for admission to the program by the AFEL office.

Additional Requirements:

During the first semester of the program students must 1) complete an application for a non-traditional provisional license from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, available from the Admissions, Field Experience and Licensure Office (located in Cross Hall room 204) and 2) and take Praxis II content area(s) test(s).

By the middle of the second semester students must submit passing scores on the Praxis II content knowledge tests to the Admissions, Field Experience and Licensure Office (located in Cross Hall room 204) in order to continue in the program.

Director’s Contact Information

• Dr. Kathryn M. Benson, Ph.D.
• SAU Box 9408
• Magnolia, AR 71754-9408
• kmbenson@saumag.edu
• (870)-234-4147 (Office)
• (870)-235-5035 (Fax)

Dr. Kathryn Benson serves as director of the Master of Arts in Teaching program as well as the chair of the Teacher Education Department in the College of Education at Southern Arkansas University at Magnolia, Arkansas. She is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction. She received her Ph. D. in the foundations of education from Louisiana State University. Dr. Benson has more than 20 years of experience as a secondary classroom teacher. She is the author of Conversations of Curriculum Reform: Students’ and Teachers’ Voices Interpreted through Autobiographical and Phenomenological Texts (Peter Lang, 2006).