Application for the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) - Alternate Route to Licensure
• Submit completed MAT application for admission with fee.
• Applicants must have an earned a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts Degree from a regionally accredited College or University.
• Prior to admission, candidates must submit one of the following:
- GPA of 3.0+ on last 60 hours of undergraduate or graduate coursework; OR
- ACT composite score of 21 or qualifying SAT score; OR
- Passing scores from Praxis Core Test
• Prior to enrollment, a candidate must submit:
- Passing scores on a qualifying Praxis II content area test must be submitted; AND
- Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the MAT-Alternate Route to Licensure program
Transfer Credits: Courses that are no more than 6 years old may be reviewed and considered for transfer to Belhaven University by the Belhaven Department of Education. A grade of A or B is required AND the course(s) must have been completed within the 6-year window at the time the request is made by the candidate. Exceptions are only made if the older coursework resulted in a teaching license awarded by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE). Further, only grades of A or B will be considered for transfer credit for either the 3-year non-renewable initial license or the 5-year renewable standard license.
- Accepted Courses: The following three equivalent courses have been identified as eligible for transfer credit consideration:
- EDU 506 - Classroom Management
- EDU 501 - Measurement & Evaluation Strategies
- EDU 602 - Psychology of the Exceptional Child
- Program Specific: This policy applies only and exclusively to the Master of Arts in Teaching MS Alternate Route to Teacher License (MAT/AltCert) program.
- Effective Date: This policy will take effect only for new applicant transfer candidates applying to begin the Graduate School of Education Second Fall Term - October 9, 2023.
Course Viability to Count Toward a Degree
Belhaven University candidates that took the first teaching license courses at Belhaven (EDU 501, 506 and 602) AND were awarded a 3-year license by the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) will have those courses accepted for 6 years provided grades of A or B were earned. Further, the teacher residency courses (EDU 502 and 503) may be accepted for credit if MDE awarded the candidate a 5-year license and the candidate earned grades of A or B.
Foundations of Reading Test
Belhaven is offering a CEU course for all Belhaven candidates that have not passed the Foundations of Reading (FOR) Test, which is required for an elementary teaching license. The cost of this course is $25 for 3 CEUs. Possible candidates needing this CEU course are:
- Elementary education majors
- Reading literacy candidates IF the school district in which the candidate is employed requires a passing score on the FOR test for employment
- Secondary teachers seeking reading endorsement #120 (for grades K-6) or wanting K-12 reading endorsement #174 because their school district requires a passing score on the FOR test
- CEU registration
- https://www.belhaven.edu/academics/education/forms/ceu-registration.html
Application for the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) - Non- Licensure
Applicants are expected to meet the same requirements as those seeking a MAT degree with licensure with the EXCEPTION of the test scores. A degree can be earned without meeting the testing requirements. This does NOT meet Mississippi Department of Education guidelines for licensure. Candidates can change to the licensure program when test requirements are met. Test requirements include: qualifying Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (CORE) test scores OR qualifying ACT/SAT scores PLUS a qualifying Praxis II score in the candidate’s desired teaching area prior to admission to the MAT -Alternate Route to Teacher Certification program.
Should candidates in the MAT - Non-License program take and pass the required MDE tests for admissions into the MATAlternate Route degree program and submit qualifying tests scores to the School of Education, candidates may request a degree plan change to the MAT-Alt/Cert degree if they desire to attain a MS Alternate Route Teacher License.
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