| In addition to the University’s required application materials, applicants should review the information below for additional expectations or application requirements.
GPA requirements
You must be in good academic standing and priority will be given to candidates with a 3.0 or higher cumulative. We recognize that a GPA reflects only one facet of a candidate’s preparation for graduate study. Therefore, we strongly encourage candidates with GPAs below this threshold to apply. In this case, you must include a brief justification for why you are a strong candidate in your statement of purpose.
Letters of Recommendation
Applicants should submit three letters of recommendation from people who know them well academically and/or professionally. At least one of the three letters should be from someone qualified to assess a candidate’s academic ability/potential.
Transcripts
Transcripts from all post-secondary education (including community colleges, summer sessions, extensions programs, study abroad and four-year universities) are required to be uploaded in the application. Each applicant should obtain an unofficial copy of their transcripts and either upload the document directly if it is in an accepted format or scan it into a file that can be uploaded. It is the responsibility of the applicant to view each upload and make sure it is clear and legible. If a degree was earned at any post-secondary institution, the transcript upload must show proof of degree.
Admitted applicants will be required to submit official transcripts from all institutions to the Graduate School as well as the School of Education.
Statement of Purpose
The Statement of Purpose should address the following:
Write a personal statement, approximately 500 words, that offers a thoughtful response to the following questions:
• Why do you want to become a teacher?
• What strengths to do you bring to the MAT? What challenges do you anticipate facing as a participant?
• What most excites you about the MAT and/or becoming a teacher? What most scares you?
• What is your understanding of and relationship to equity, inclusion, and resilience?
For those interested in applying for the DREAM funding, please complete the following prompt in addition to the personal statement.
DREAM stands for Diverse and Resilient Educators AdDvised through Mentorship and is a federally funded grant through the US Department of Education. The overarching purpose DREAM is to develop a teacher workforce to best serve the diverse population of students in Durham Public Schools (DPS) with a highly-effective, responsive, transformative, and committed educators, specifically in the fields of elementary and special education. The project recognizes that teacher education does not end when the degree and license are conferred. Rather, we look at teacher education and development as a 4-year process, if not longer. DREAM residents will not only complete the UNC-MAT program but will then be hired in DPS and participate in beginning teacher induction and affinity group retention work in concert with UNC and DPS faculty and staff.
- Are you applying to be a DREAM fellow? [Y/N]
• If so, briefly explain how you will diversify the field of education. How will your experiences bring a perspective and understanding of equity, inclusion and resilience to DPS, acknowledging that there are complex definitions of these concepts. DREAM requires that you commit to three years of full-time teaching at Durham Public Schools in order to complete the program and have funding for your MAT year. How do you feel about this commitment? Do you have any existing connections to DPS, and why would it be important for you to commit to teaching in DPS for the next three years?” (open ended question)
All applicants will be required to have an interview with program faculty as part of the application process.
All MAT applicants must have (or currently be enrolled in a program leading to) a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
Master’s Merit Award
** If you are applying for consideration to be nominated for a Master’s Merit Award, please write a short statement (250 words or less) detailing your academic achievements and why these make you an exceptional candidate for a merit-based award. Please upload this document via the Supplemental Document-Optional section on the Program Supplement page of the online application.
Areas of Interest
- Elementary Education (Kindergarten – Grade 6)
- Special Education (K-12)
- Secondary Science Education (Grade 6-9 and/or Grade 9-12)
- Social Studies (Grade 6-9 and/or Grade 9-12)
- English/Language Arts (Grade 6-9 and/or Grade 9-12)
- Mathematics (Grade 6-9 and/or Grade 9-12)
ELEMENTARY, SPECIAL EDUCATION
Required Courses
- LING 101: Introduction to Linguistics (or equivalent)
- EDUC 532: Learning and Development or PSYC 250 Child Development (or approved equivalent)
- MATH 307: Revisiting Real Numbers and Algebra (or approved equivalent)
Highly Recommended UNC Courses
- EDUC 567: Children’s Literature in Elementary and Middle Schools
SCIENCE EDUCATION (6-9 and/or 9-12)
Bachelor’s degree in related content area or 24 hours of approved content consisting of three (3) student credit hours from each of the following categories. Examples of possible course names or topics are listed below each category.
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Earth Sciences
- General Sciences
- Astronomy
- Physical Geography
- Genetics
- Anatomy and Physiology
An additional nine (9) student credit hours may be earned across these five categories to complete the 24 hours.
SOCIAL STUDIES (6-9 and/or 9-12)
Bachelor’s degree in related content area or 24 hours of approved content consisting of three to six (3-6) student credit hours from each of the following categories (as indicated below). Examples of possible course names or topics are listed below each category.
- US History
- Survey of US History
- US History Since 1945
- World History
- World Civilizations
- World Regional History courses, such as Asia, Africa, etc.
- U.S. Government and Civics
- Minority Politics
- American Politics
- Geography
- World Regional Geography
- Physical Geography
- General Social Studies
- Anthropology
- Economics
- Psychology
- Sociology
*An additional nine (9) student credit hours may be earned across these five categories to complete the 24 hours.
ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS (6-9 and/or 9-12)
Bachelor’s degree in English or 30 hours of approved content consisting of three to six (3-6) student credit hours from each of the following categories (as indicated below). Examples of possible course names or topics are listed below each category.
- British Literature (Medieval) Chaucer-Pope (3 credit hours required)
- British Literature (Romantic) Wordsworth-Eliot (3 credit hours required)
- Shakespeare (3 credit hours required)
- Pre-1660 Literature (minimum 3 credit hours required)
- Renaissance Drama
- Literature of the Early or Late Renaissance
- Renaissance Women Writers
- Milton
- Old English Literature
- Renaissance Authors
- 1660-1900 (6 credit hours required)
- 18th century literature, drama or fiction
- Irish writing 1800-2000
- English Romantic Period
- American Literature pre-1860 or 1860-1900
- The American Novel
- Southern American Literature or Southern Women Writers
- Post 1900 (3 credits required)
- The Western
- American Poetry
- Introduction to Latino/a Studies
- Jewish American Literature
- Contemporary NC Literature
*An additional nine (9) Student Credit Hours may be earned across these categories to complete the 30 student credit hours required for the MAT program. Undergraduate majors in English may include 30 or more required credit hours.
Recommended UNC Courses—for BA/MAT or HDFS majors interested in 6-12 English MAT
- ENGL 313 Grammar of Current English (or equivalent)
- ENGL 314 History of the English Language
- ENGL 368 African American Literature, 1930-1970 OR ENGL 369 African American Literature 1970-present
- ENGL 373 Southern American Literature
- ENGL 374 Southern Women Writers OR ENGL 446 American Women Authors
MATHEMATICS (6-9 and/or 9-12)
Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics or 24 hours of approved content consisting of three (3) student credit hours from each of the following categories. Examples of possible course names or topics are listed below each category.
- Concepts in Algebra and Geometry
- Linear Algebra
- Abstract Algebra
- Real Numbers and Algebra
- Discrete Math
- Computational Discrete Math
- Discrete Structures
- Calculus of Functions of One Variable I & II
- Calculus I
- Calculus II
- Calculus III
- Advanced Calculus
- Introduction to Probability and Statistics
- Stat I
- Biostatistics
- Probability
- Geometry
- Euclidian and Non-Euclidian Geometry
- Geometry of Curves and Surfaces
- Computational Geometry
An additional nine (9) student credit hours may be earned across these five categories to complete the 24 hours.
Incomplete Applications
All application materials, including letters of recommendation and matched official test scores, must be received by the application deadline. Score matching does not begin until applications are submitted and can take up to a week to match, so please plan accordingly. Applications that are incomplete after the deadline will NOT be reviewed for admission.
All application materials are submitted electronically. Applicants are responsible for monitoring their application status and ensuring that their application, including letters of recommendation and official test scores, is complete by the application deadline. Failure to do so will result in your application not being reviewed for admission.
*Only in unusual circumstances and after consultation with the program are other admission terms considered |