Program Overview
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
General Master's Degree Admission Requirements
View delivery options, start terms and admission requirements.
Director: Jingzi (Ginny) Huang, Ph.D.
Location: McKee 216
Telephone: 970.351.2908
Website: www.unco.edu/cebs/teacher-education/
The Master of Arts in Teaching - Culturally & Linguistically Diverse (MAT-CLD) Education program prepares teachers to serve the growing number of emergent bilingual learners in their classrooms. Requirements for the program include admission to the Graduate School with a teaching license or evidence of enrollment in a teacher preparation program. Program requires one year of successful classroom teaching experience for graduation.
*Please note: Federal student loans are not currently available to students who are pursuing a CO state license (initial or additional ) through UNC’s stand-alone, graduate level licensure programs without also being simultaneously enrolled in a Masters or Doctoral degree program.
Accelerated MAT 4 plus 1 in CLD
Motivated students may seek to complete the requirements for the BA in Elementary Education and MAT in CLD Education in five years with the following credentials:
- BA in Elementary Education,
- CO teaching license in Elementary Education,
- CO Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education Endorsement, highly desired by CO schools,
- Master’s degree in Teaching (MAT) in CLD Education
The online delivery format in the fifth year would allow graduates to be working full time while completing the MAT degree.
To obtain both degrees, students must complete all the requirements for the B.A. in Elementary Education described above (120 credit hours) and all of the requirements for the MAT in CLD Education Concentration described in the Graduate Catalog (30 credit hours). However, the accelerated BA/MAT program involves credit hours shared between the Bachelor's and Master's programs, so the total number of credit hours to complete the accelerated Master’s program is 141 for students with a BA in Elementary Education with CLD Endorsement.
Completing the requirements for both degrees is made possible by taking double-counted BA/MAT credits during the Junior and Senior years (ECLD 592, ECLD 594 and ECLD 523 paid for at the undergraduate tuition rate) and graduate-level credits (online – graduate-level tuition rate) starting the summer or spring following the Senior year and completion of the undergraduate program. While this is the most efficient route, students may also elect to complete the program at a slower pace. Students remain eligible for financial aid as an undergraduate; any Graduate School aid is not available until students are admitted to the Graduate Program.
To be fully admitted to the MAT program, students must graduate with a cumulative GPA at 3.00 and above for the BA. Students then take the remaining 7 graduate courses: ECLD 602, ECLD 601 (sub for 611), ECLD 593, ECLD 612, ECLD 605, ECLD elective (waiving ECLD 504), SRM 600 and one elective to complete the MAT program.
Accelerated M.A.T. CLD Admission
Due to its necessarily streamlined path of progression, admission to the Accelerated B.A. and M.A.T. in CLD occurs in a structured way. Students interested in transferring into the accelerated program must:
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 to take graduate-level courses as a Junior.
- Meet with the CEBS CLD Education Advisor prior to the start of Junior year for application (following the same procedure and meeting the same requirements as other M.A.T. applicants). Full admission is dependent on completing the B.A. requirements in the Senior year while maintaining a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA. The program application will be signed and forwarded to the Graduate School with signatures of the program advisor indicating the approval of graduate course transfer.
- Complete ECLD 592, 594, 523 starting in the summer at the end of the sophomore year. These are the 9 credits which count towards both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
- Students must apply for completion of their B.A. degree the semester before completing the degree. To apply, students must be registered for all remaining courses in their final undergraduate semester.
Accelerated M.A.T. CLD Timeline
Outline for degree completion of the Accelerated Elementary Education BA – CLD Teaching Licensure (K-6) to MAT CLD 4+1 Dual Endorsement Program - Total 30 Credits
Sophomore year
Meet with CEBS CLD advisor and apply for the program
In Junior and Senior years, schedule the following courses based on advisement from the CLD advisor:
ECLD 523 for ECLD 455 in non 4+1 (3 credits, counts for both degrees)
ECLD 592 for ECLD 360 in non 4+1 (3 credits, counts for both degrees)
ECLD 594 for ECLD 380 in non 4+1 (3 credits, counts for both degrees)
Summer after completion of Senior year to graduate with the BA:
Complete all the following taking two courses each semester including summer:
SRM 600 (3 credits)
ECLD 593 (3 credits)
ECLD 602 (3 credits)
ECLD 612 (3 credits)
ECLD 605 (3 credits)
ECLD 601 (waiving ECLD 611 as a result of taking a CLD methods course in the undergraduate Elementary CLD program) (3 credits)
ECLD Elective (waiving ECLD 504 as a result of taking a practicum course in the undergraduate Elementary CLD program) (3 credits)