Secondary Education

Program Requirements

Candidates are required to meet competencies identified by the state of Virginia as well as additional competencies required by the teacher education unit at JMU. The undergraduate program is designed to provide students with the prerequisite course offerings and experiences that form the required foundation for admission to the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) Program. Candidates must complete a major, or the equivalent, in one of the arts and sciences disciplines closely associated with the desired teaching area.

The requirements for the undergraduate and graduate degrees are as follows:

BA/BS Undergraduate Degree	credit hours
General Education	41-44
Discipline Major	36-60
Pre-Professional Studies in Education	22-24

M.A.T. Program
Graduate Level Professional Studies	35

134-163
Graduate admission requirements include: Personal qualities and dispositions that reflect effective development as a professional educator An overall gpa of 2.7 beginning Summer 2010 Pass the Praxis II before completing 12 hours of graduate work
To be recommended for licensure, all candidates must: Meet all secondary education pre-professional (undergraduate) and professional (M.A.T.) program requirements Meet all admission, retention, and completion criteria for teacher education, including satisfactory Praxis I & II scores Meet performance and behavior standards as indicated by ratings on the program Dispositions Checklist Click here for a packet of information about the requirements for secondary education MAT program admission and completion.

Post-Baccalaureate Option (for Math, Science, English, and Foreign Language) At the current time, the program is NOT accepting post-baccalaureate candidates in the area of History and Social Science Students who hold a baccalaureate degree in an appropriate content area, may apply to admission to the post-bac program. The requirements for licensure are identical to those stated above. However, there are additional admission requirements.
Additional admission requirements include: Minimum cummulative undergraduate GPA of 2.7 Passing Praxis II scores submitted prior to beginning MAT coursework Resume Successful completion of the GRE (scores in the 25th percentile or higher in the verbal, quantitative and writing tests) Two recommendation letters with at least one from a higher education professional
Each recommendtation letter should address the following: Potential as a classroom teacher Oral and written expression Performance as a professional Potential to succeed in a graduate program