How to Apply & Deadlines
Application Deadlines
Applications open the first day of each fall semester.
This year’s application deadline has been extended to February 11, 2020.
Pathways to Entry
The Master of Arts in Teaching program has two possible entry points.
Pre-MAT: for current UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate students
If you are a current undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, you are eligible for the Pre-MAT option, which allows you to take specific graduate-level MAT courses during you undergraduate studies and transfer those credit hours into the MAT program upon admission.
You can apply for Pre-MAT early affiliation as early as the second semester of your first undergraduate year, but will still have to complete the admissions process outlined below once you have obtained your bachelor’s degree in order to apply to the Master of Arts in Teaching program.
More information about the Pre-MAT affiliation option.
Post-Bachelor’s: for all other students
If you have earned a Bachelor’s degree (or are in the final year of obtaining your bachelor’s degree) from an accredited institution, you can apply to the MAT program as a prospective graduate student.
Admissions Requirements
- You must have (or currently be enrolled in a program leading to) a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
- You must complete your BS or BA and all prerequisite courses before you begin the MAT program.
Application Requirements
All prospective students must apply through ApplyNow.
You must submit the following materials with your application:
- A minimum of two letters of recommendation
- Unofficial transcripts from all universities you have attended
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, include a brief justification for why you are a strong candidate for the MAT in your statement of purpose. - Statement of Purpose
We recommend you answer the following questions in your Statement of Purpose:- What are you reasons and goals for pursuing a career in teaching?
- Why do you think the MAT at UNC-Chapel Hill is the right program to help you meet those goals?
- Resume
Priority will be given to candidates who have experience working with children and youth. - Passing test scores (see Testing requirements below)
- Application fee: $95 (non-refundable)
In addition, all applicants are required to have an interview with program faculty as part of the application process.
Testing Requirements
Graduate Record Exam (GRE) test scores are NOT required.
You must pass tests appropriate to your intended track.
For Elementary Education, Special Education and ESL tracks
You must submit scores for the following tests:
- Praxis Elementary Education Multiple Subjects, which consists of two sub-tests:
- Social Studies Subtest (#5004)
- 155 cut off score
- Science Subtest (#5005)
- 159 cut off score
- Social Studies Subtest (#5004)
For Middle and Secondary Education tracks
You must submit passing scores on the Praxis II content exam for the content area in which you are applying.
Students in the MAT may be licensed for Middle and Secondary. For admissions requirements, you should apply for and follow the testing requirements for the grade level (6-8 or 9-12) that you want to student teach in.
- Middle School English Language Arts (#5047)
- Middle School Mathematics (#5169)
- Middle School Science (#5440)
- Middle School Social Studies (#5089)
- Grade 9-12 English Language Arts Content Knowledge (#5038)
- Grade 9-12 Mathematics Content Knowledge (#5161)
- Grade 9-12 General Science Content Knowledge (#5435)
- Grade 9-12 Social Studies Content Knowledge (#5081)
Prerequisite Courses
The following content areas have specific prerequisite course requirements for admission. Your transcript must indicate successful completion of these course(s), which is equal to a grade of ‘C’ or better if completed for a grade, or a grade of “P” (pass) if completed for pass/fail.
Required Courses
- LING 101: Introduction to Linguistics (or equivalent)
- EDUC 532: Learning and Development or PSYC 250 Child Development (or approved equivalent)
Highly Recommended UNC Courses
- EDUC 567: Children’s Literature in Elementary and Middle Schools
- MATH 307: Revisiting Real Numbers and Algebra
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
- Ecology
- Botany
- Zoology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Earth Sciences
- Geology
- Earth Science
- 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.
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.
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
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.