Muhlenberg College is accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to offer certification programs at post-bachelors level in grades PreK-4, 4-8, and 7-12. The MAT program offers current Muhlenberg undergraduates and GCE students the opportunity to pursue teaching certification grounded in the liberal arts while earning their master’s degree. The total length of the program is five years. Students will complete all prerequisite courses and earn a bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg in four years and a master’s in teaching in one additional year. One semester of that additional year will be dedicated to a full-time student teaching experience.
The MAT Program is grounded in a bridging of theory and practice in education, with students focused on the acquisition of a deep knowledge of the scholarly research in educational policy, learning theory, and instructional design, while simultaneously applying this knowledge to real-world classrooms in the Lehigh Valley. By the end of the program students will have developed the ethical and civic values for lives of leadership and service that is central to becoming an engaged and transformative career educator.
Students in the PK-4 program may have any major at Muhlenberg. Students in the 4-8 and 7-12 program must have the content major relevant to their certificate. Muhlenberg offers certificates for grades 4-8 in English, Social Studies (with a major in American Studies), and Mathematics and grades 7-12 in English, Social Studies (with a major in History), Mathematics, Spanish, French, Biology (with a major in Biology or Biochemistry), Chemistry (with a major in Chemistry or Biochemistry), and Physics.
The MAT Program consists of ten (10) courses, four (4) of which can be taken during undergraduate years. In order to qualify to take the four graduate-level courses, students must be pre-admitted to the program. In order to be admitted into the MAT Program, students must have completed all prerequisite courses in the Education Department. Students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00, demonstrated proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics, a satisfactory fieldwork portfolio, and a faculty recommendation.
