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Master of Arts in Teaching: English

The Master of Arts in Teaching English (HEGIS 1501) is a course of study leading to New York State certification for teaching English in the secondary schools (grades 7-12). In addition, Stony Brook offers an extension option for grades 5-6.

The program is designed for those who have little or no previous coursework in education or formal classroom teaching experience.

In Stony Brook University's distributed teacher education model, each MAT program is a collaboration between the academic departments (for content courses) and the School of Professional Development (for professional education courses).

MAT in English students take their English Language and Literature content courses through the University's Department of English, learning from its prestigious faculty and gaining deep subject-level expertise. 

All teacher and leader education program are overseen by Stony Brook's Distributed Teacher and Leader Education.

 

  • Degree Program

    Degree Program


    The degree program consists of 44 credits, distributed among the areas listed below. Unless otherwise noted, each course is three credits. All degree requirements must be completed within five (5) years from the semester date of admission as a matriculated student.

    ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE- 15 credits

    Course selection will be determined by the student and advisor. Students who have academic deficiencies in English linguistics and/or did not complete an advanced analytical composition course will be required to include courses that specifically address these deficiencies. These courses will be part of the 15 credits selected to satisfy this requirement.

    Students may substitute one to six credits from Theatre Arts or Writing and Rhetoric programs to fulfill this requirement.

    PROFESSIONAL STUDIES IN EDUCATION- 23 credits

    CEE 505 Education: Theory and Practice
    CEE 565 Human Development (formerly  PSY 595)
    CEE 588 Methods of Instruction in Literature and Composition in Secondary School (corequisite CEF 551)
    CEE 590 Student Teaching Seminar (corequisites CEQ 591 & CEQ 592; prerequisites CEE 588, CEE 593, CEF 551 & CEF 552)
    CEE 593 Performance and Technology in Teaching Literature and Compositions (prerequisite CEE 588; corequisite CEF 552)
    CEE 594 Language Acquisition and Literacy Development (formerly  LIN 544)
    CEF 547 Principles and Practices of Special Education
    CEF 551 Field Experience I — Grades 7-9 (one-credit; corequisite CEE 588)
    CEF 552 Field Experience II — Grades 10-12 (one-credit; prerequisite CEF 551; corequisite CEE 593) 

    SUPERVISED STUDENT TEACHING- 6 credits

    CEQ 591 Supervised Student Teaching High School Grades 10-12: English (prerequisites CEE 588, CEE 593, CEF 551 & CEF 552; corequisites CEE 590 & CEQ 592)
    CEQ 592 Supervised Student Teaching Middle School Grades 7-9: English (prerequisites CEE 588, CEE 593, CEF 551 & CEF 552; corequisites CEE 590 & CEQ 591)

    WRITTEN PROJECT

    Students will be required to complete a four-week English teaching module specifically designed for the Supervised Student Teaching project.

  • Teacher Certification

    Teacher Certification


    Stony Brook University requires that students must have completed an undergraduate degree and have at least 36 credits in the content field for admission to the MAT program. This course of study should be substantially the equivalent to that of a Stony Brook undergraduate degree program.

    The Master of Arts in Teaching is a New York State registered and approved program that qualifies students for license upon successful degree completion. Students must complete all courses required for the MAT and must receive a grade of B or better in all pedagogy and foundation courses as well as an overall GPA of 3.0 or better in all course work attempted while matriculated in a graduate teacher preparation program.

    Workshops
    Teacher preparation candidates must be fingerprinted and must also complete certification workshops in:

    • Child Abuse
    • Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) 
    • School Violence (Project Save)
    • Identification and Referral of Substance Abuse 

    See Certification and Licensing Workshops for workshop details and schedules.

    Tests
    All students will have to complete the Educating All Students Test and the revised CST (Content Specialty Test) in the area of the Certificate. It is the student’s responsibility to monitor the TEACH website at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/ to ensure that they are taking the appropriate examinations. 

    Note: As of April 27, 2022, the NYS Education Department eliminated the edTPA as a certification requirement.  Effective September 1, 2023, in lieu of the edTPA, all students in teacher preparation programs will be required to complete a teacher performance assessment.  This assessment will be developed, administered, and evaluated by Stony Brook University instructors.

  • Tuition and Financial Information

    Tuition and Financial Information


    Cost of Attendance
    Tuition and fee information can be found on the Bursar's website.

    Payment Plan
    Stony Brook recognizes the need for helping students manage the expenses of higher education. To this end, the University offers a Time Option Payment Plan (TOPP), a program that allows students to make equal and consecutive payments throughout the year.

    Financial Aid
    For information on financial aid options, contact the Stony Brook Office of Financial Aid at (631) 632-6840, or visit the Financial Aid website.

  • Application Information

    ADMISSION

      

    Minimum Admissions Requirements*
    • An academic major in English. (Those without an undergraduate major in English should pursue a "second bachelor's" degree in English.)
    • A minimum GPA of 3.0 in your overall bachelor's degree program.
    • A minimum GPA of 3.0 in English studies.
    • One year of college-level study of a foreign language with a grade of “C” or better (this may include American Sign Language).
    • Three letters of recommendation, preferably from English professors (one from a secondary teacher is optional).

    *Note: As of Spring 2022, Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores are no longer required for admission.

    Application Instructions

    Applications are submitted through our application portal

    Personal Essay

    MAT in English applicants are required to submit a 750-to-1,000-word essay in response to one of the below prompts.

    Choose ONE of the following: 

    1. Describe your philosophy of education, as it relates to how English is or should be taught in the secondary classroom. Looking ahead to when you are teaching, what are some ways in which you think you will implement this philosophy?
    2. Describe how you came to decide to become a secondary English teacher. Focus specifically on the impact of a work(s) of literature, the particular teacher or teachers, or particular moment(s) along the way that led you to choose this path.
    3. Respond to the following quote by noted educational innovator and author George Couros: "Learning is creation, not consumption. Knowledge is not something a learner absorbs, but something a learner creates."

    Application Details and Portal Link

  • Contact Information

    Contact Information


     

    Joshua Cabat
    Director of Teacher Education
    MAT English 
    Humanities 2088
    Stony Brook University
    Stony Brook, NY 11794 - 5350
    Email: joshua.cabat@stonybrook.edu

    Thomas Mangano
    Director of Student Teaching and Clinical Field Experience/Lecturer
    MAT English 
    Humanities 2077
    Stony Brook University
    Stony Brook, NY 11794 - 5350
    Email: thomas.mangano@stonybrook.edu 

 

 

Stony Brook University is a member in good standing of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), a national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Its teacher education programs have been awarded full accreditation by AAQEP through June 30, 2030.