Online Master Of Arts Degree Offers New Opportunity For Teachers

The School of Education at the University of Mississippi has created a new online opportunity for students to earn their Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from the comfort of their own home.

The online MAT is the first fully online master’s degree in teaching offered through the University of Mississippi. This degree program is open to those who wish to earn an alternate route certification to teach grades 7-12, but also to those who are already certified. Both types of applicants can earn a master’s degree within two years.
In previous versions of this program, the emphasis was placed on alternate route teachers seeking certification, and each program consisted of an on-campus component, which caused an inconvenience for those who did not live near Oxford.  
With the creation of the online MAT, the School of Education is opening the door to any current teachers or future teachers of grades 7-12 to earn their master’s degree from their own town, school or even their own homes. 
“We made it completely online because we can reach more people,” said Joe Sweeney, program coordinator for MAT. “People were asking if they could do the previous program and teach on the coast or far away from campus. We would have to tell them that they had to be here in the summer, and it limited our pool of teachers. This way, we open it up to more people.”
MAT will welcome the first class of the two-year online program this summer. The students will complete two courses each semester and each summer until they graduate in the spring of 2019.
Students entering the program this summer can begin, or continue, teaching as early as this fall. However, they are allowed to complete the first year of the program while not being employed as a teacher.

“Students are required to teach during their second year of the program,” Sweeney said. “So, it is possible for that first year that they don’t teach; however, if they are an alternate route teacher, they will be licensed after the first summer course work with a three-year provisional license.”
The online MAT degree program at the University of Mississippi opens the door for teachers and future teachers across the state of Mississippi to gain experience, certification and a master’s degree while also continuing, or beginning, their journey in the classroom.
The deadline to register to become part of the first cohort of MAT this summer is April 1. For more information on timeline, requirements and coursework, visit the MAT website.

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Amy Goodin is a writer for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at argoodin12@gmail.com.
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