Admission Requirements & Procedures

Submission of Application to the Department of Elementary Education

Application materials are obtained from the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development or call 456-8896. Also, go to http://www.ric.edu/fsehd/grad/new_mat.html. Candidates must submit all components of the application to Department of Elementary Education, Horace Mann Hall, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI 02908-1991. The application includes:

• MAT Application Form.
• Career Commitment Essay and score report. Achieve "Acceptable" rating on CCE rubric.
• Official score report for PRAXIS II Elementary Education Content Knowledge Test (Code 0014). Achieve minimum test score (145). Go to http://www.ets.org for dates for testing and reporting of score).
• Official transcripts of all prior collegiate-level courses. Achieve overall minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0. Submit transcripts with application.
• Two Disposition References: one from academic faculty/supervisor of child/youth related experience and one from a work supervisor. Submit references with application.
• Evidence of completion of Technology Competency Requirement. For more information about the requirement and testing dates, see Department of Educational Studies HBS 218 or HBS 222 and/or go to http://www.ric.edu/technologyCompetency/.

Review of Application by MAT Admission Committee and Associate Dean

Applications will be reviewed ONLY when all components have been received. The review process takes up to six weeks after all components are received. No applications are reviewed by the MAT Admission Committee during semester breaks or during the summer.

It is expected that most candidates for the M.A.T. degree will hold a Bachelor of Arts in a liberal arts area and that all candidates will have completed a minimum of 60 semester hours of liberal arts courses with at least two courses in each of the following areas: two different areas of science (laboratory-based courses), mathematics, humanities, social sciences; at least one course in each of the following areas: health; fine or performing arts. Courses must have a grade C or better. If you are lacking undergraduate course work AND meet all other criteria for admission, additional non-program courses will be recommended by MAT Committee.

Notification by Letter of Acceptance by Associate Dean

Following the satisfactory review of application, the MAT Admissions Committee recommends acceptance or denial (with reasons) to the Associate Dean of Teacher Education. The Associate Dean will advise accepted applicants to contact their assigned MAT advisor to schedule a personal interview.

Personal Interview and Program Planning with Program Advisor

The interview process includes assessment of those personal characteristics essential for the professional educator, discussion of professional and program goals, and development of the Plan of Study.

Completion of Plan of Study

Upon satisfactory completion of the interview, the MAT program advisor forwards the Plan of Study to the Department of Elementary Education to sign.

Notification - Permission to Enroll in Program Courses

The MAT program advisor sends a letter to the applicant with the signed Plan of Study notifying MAT student is permitted to enroll in program courses.

Admission Dates

This program is a sequentially designed set of academic and professional experiences. It is also intended, as much as possible, to be a cohort program where candidates move through the program in a group. Accordingly, it is important for candidates to have all application documents completed and ready for review in order that study may begin in the following semester. The official due dates follow:

• March 1st: Spring semester deadline for applications>
• November 1st: Fall semester deadline for applications

Complete applications that come in after the deadline will continue to be processed as much as possible, but this may mean processing is not finished until the beginning of the following semester.