At NLU, undergraduate students who wish to become high school teachers are advised to first earn a B.A. degree, with a major in one of the liberal arts and sciences disciplines, and then enter the graduate program in secondary education, which leads to the M.A.T. degree. The B.A.- M.A.T. Program was created to connect the undergraduate and graduate portions, creating one seamless educational experience for future high school teachers. Departments participating in the program include four liberal arts and sciences departments within the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Secondary Education in the National College of Education. As undergraduates, students in the B.A.-M.A.T. program must major in one of the following four areas:
Completion of the B.A. in any of the four majors, under the guidance of a faculty advisor, will fulfill or exceed current Illinois State Board of Education requirements for minimum content credits necessary to teach the corresponding high school courses. B.A. - M.A.T. students will be guided to make sure they take all courses and entrance exams required for admittance to the M.A.T. Program. Students will apply to the M.A.T. program after their junior year. At this time, a space will be saved for each student within an M.A.T. cluster scheduled to begin after the expected date at which the student will graduate with the B.A. After completing the B.A., students will be accepted to the M.A.T. Secondary Education Program (NCE), provided they meet all admission requirements.
The program allows some flexibility. Students may enter the B.A.-M.A.T. Program as either freshmen or sophomores, or after graduating from a 2-year college. Once in the M.A.T. program, students may elect to enter the job market after completing the first year (first 19 semester hours) of the M.A.T. and receiving teacher certification. Students who leave at this point have the option to return any time within 6 years of the date of their first M.A.T. Secondary Education course to finish the additional 12 semester hours required for the M.A.T. degree.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the B.A. - M.A.T. program is open to any undergraduate student who has been accepted to the College of Arts and Sciences. Interested students should declare their intention to participate in the B.A. - M.A.T. program as soon as possible after coming to NLU, but no later than junior year. All students in the B.A. - M.A.T. program will also be in registered in one of the four undergraduate majors listed above. For detailed descriptions of required undergraduate courses, see descriptions of majors in Biology, English, Mathematics/Quantitative Studies, or Social Science. Note that coursework required for pre-secondary education students may differ from coursework required for students majoring in the same disciplines, but preparing for careers other than high school teaching. View a detailed description of the M.A.T. Secondary Education Program curriculum requirements.
