Combined Degree Pathway for the Master of Arts in Teaching in Adolescent Special Education

B.A./B.S. in Educational Studies to the MAT in Adolescent Special Education

Enrollment in the 157-credit combined program allows students to work on the Master of Arts in Teaching Adolescent Special Education while completing the bachelor’s degree. Up to 12 credits of designated master’s courses are incorporated into the bachelor’s degree program and will count toward both the bachelor’s and master’s degree.

Program Requirements

The combined program requires 157 credits total, of which 45 are master’s credits leading to the MAT in Adolescent Special Education. Students must meet all college, AOS and relevant concentration guidelines as well as the liberal arts and sciences general education requirements (different than and in addition to the SUNY General Education Requirement) within the undergraduate credits as follows:

Successful completion of a total 60 undergraduate credits:

Of these 60 credits, 24 credits should be in liberal arts and sciences and 30 credits in general education
Successful completion of 6 credits in additional undergraduate coursework

With 60 credits in requirements, the program requires careful planning that should begin in the first term of student’s undergraduate career at Empire State College. Please utilize the degree planning guidelines templates provided on the certification and content area requirements page. The student and the primary mentor should consult with the Office of Teacher Education in planning an undergraduate degree program so that these requirements are met in undergraduate study and that the 12 credits of master’s courses from MAT program are also included in the degree plan. Students must meet the graduate requirements for academic progress and minimum grade point average in their master’s level courses to remain in the combined program.

Combined Program Admission

Admission into the combined program is highly selective. The admission application process includes a review of all coursework completed and a minimum recalculated GPA of 3.2 or above (most recent 60 credits earned) at the time of application.

Entrance Exams

The MAT in Adolescent or Middle Childhood Education and MAT in Special Education (initial certification) combined programs, require submission of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Miller Analogies (MAT).

Combined Program Courses

The four graduate courses that will be taken during undergraduate study are:

SPED 6005 Introduction to History of Special Education, 3cr
EDUC 6010 Middle Childhood and Adolescent Development, 3cr
SPED 6025 Teaching and Learning Across the Contents: Methods I (Blended format), 3cr
EDUC 6015 Exceptionalities: Individualizing Learning, 3cr