Master of Arts in Teaching
The graduate program will focus on developing teachers who will be skilled in leadership, curriculum design, and advanced instructional strategies.
The MA in Teaching is a non-thesis professional degree varying from 30-36 hours. The MA in Teaching may be combined with other requirements to allow an individual to earn a master's degree and one of two certifications:
Early Childhood through Grade 6 Certification (42 hours minimum)
4-8 English Language Arts Certification (36 hours minimum)
4-8 Mathematics Certification (36 hours minimum)
4-8 Science Certification (36 hours minimum)
Secondary 7-12 Certification (37 hours minimum)
Specializations (without certification) in the MA in Teaching degree include:
Early Childhood through Grade 6 (42 hours minimum)
Secondary (36 hours minimum)
EC-12 (36 hours minimum)
English as a Second Language (36 hours minimum)
Montessori:
Childhood (30 hours minimum)
Elementary I (33 hours minimum)
Multisensory (30 hours minimum)*
Distance Learning (36 hours minimum)
*The MA in Teaching Multisensory specialization is accredited by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), for having met the standards outlined in the IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.
ADMISSION
There are no additional requirements other than those required for admission to the graduate program at DBU. However, students desiring to earn teacher certification through a graduate program must meet specific requirements. Please contact the College of Education Office for additional information.
PROGRAM CONTINUANCE
Continuance in the program past the first 12 hours is pending submission of a satisfactory score on the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®).
A waiver of the GRE or MAT requirement may be considered if the student meets one of the following conditions:
earns an “A-“ or higher in each of the first four courses (12 hours) of graduate coursework in the DBU College of Education, or
holds a Bachelor’s degree from the DBU College of Education earned within the past five years with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher, or
holds a Master’s degree from DBU.
College of Education Graduate Defense of Degree
Because of Dallas Baptist University’s quest for meaningful assessment of graduate candidates, a defense of degree is required in all College of Education Graduate Programs. The defense of degree is a capstone collection of signature assessments and artifacts with reflections that demonstrate a candidate’s personal growth, development, and acquisition of knowledge, skills and dispositions.
A digital format will be utilized by the candidate to enhance the presentation and to justify why the degree should be awarded to the candidate. The candidate’s formal defense will be presented to members of the Educator Preparation Board and will take place on the main campus each semester.
It is recommended that candidates attend a Defense of Degree workshop held each semester. It is also the candidate’s responsibility to schedule a meeting with their designated program director who will provide additional information regarding objectives, service-learning, artifacts, reflections, presentation format, and evaluative criteria and scoring.
Candidates must register for the Defense of Degree course as prescribed in their degree plan during the semester in which they will present their defense of degree to the Educator Preparation Board. The EPB is a group of experienced and widely successful educators from Dallas Baptist University and the Metroplex. Practicing teachers, administrators, consultants, superintendents, guidance directors, personnel directors, and Educational Region Service Center personnel, as well as DBU professors and administrators, volunteer their time for this highly selective process. The Educator Preparation Board serves as the College of Education Graduate Programs’ advisory board and meets three times a year to assess graduate candidates’ defense of degrees.
College of Education Graduate E-Portfolio
Dallas Baptist University’s educator preparation programs strive to provide a quality learning experience that enables all candidates to impact P-12 learning. The E-Portfolio is designed to be an individualized collection of documents to prepare the candidate for future positions; demonstrate the candidate’s ongoing knowledge, skills, experiences, and dispositions; and provide the candidate with the opportunity for self-reflection. All graduate candidates are required to compile and maintain an electronic, developmental E-Portfolio. There are three types of documents that must be included in the E-Portfolio: required documents, foundational elements, and competency artifacts. Throughout the program, the candidate will collect these documents and upload them to their designed TaskStream account.
The organization of E-Portfolio is governed by the State Board of Educator Certification standards and competencies, DBU/InTASC competencies, and DBU’s Educator Preparation Provider competencies in addition to specific field of study competencies.
The E-Portfolio will be used to assess your development as you proceed through your designated program. Candidates who do not have all required documents and “signature assessments” uploaded into TaskStream will not be allowed to proceed to the next level as designed by these Transition Points:
Transition Point One: Requirements for Program Admission
Transition Point Two: Requirements for Program Entrance
Transition Point Three: Requirements for Program Continuance
Transition Point Four: Requirements for Program Completion
Transition Point Five: Requirements for Program Evaluation
It is the candidates’ responsibility to meet with their designed program director and/or advisor to discuss the E-Portfolio required documents, checkpoint scoring, foundational elements rubric, and the competency artifacts rubric.
Master of Arts in Teaching: with Certification
EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH GRADE 6 CERTIFICATION
The Master of Arts in Teaching with EC-6 Certification degree is designed for individuals who are pursuing certification in Early Childhood through Sixth Grade concurrently with a master’s degree. This degree is a 42-hour, non-thesis plan that includes the additional criteria established by the State Board for Educator Certification for EC-6 Texas Teacher Certification. This degree includes a clinical-teaching or an internship component, which will count as six graduate hours.
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Content | 27 |
EDUC 5318 - Pedagogy of Math | |
Professional Area | 15 |
EDUC 5303 - Developmental Stages of Early Childhood Through Adolescence | 15 |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 42 |
4-8 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CERTIFICATION
Prerequisite: 24 hours of English with 12 hours of upper-level English courses.
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Content | 21 |
EDUC 5325 - Instructional Technology READ 5332 - Diagnosing and Correcting Reading Difficulties or READ 5334 - Studies in the Diagnosis and Clinical Correction of Reading Issues
READ 5336 - Pedagogy of Reading II: Comprehension | |
Professional | 15 |
EDUC 5303 - Developmental Stages of Early Childhood through Adolescence | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 36 |
4-8 MATHEMATICS CERTIFICATION
Prerequisite: 18 hours of undergraduate Math courses.
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Content | 21 |
Choose two courses: And complete the following courses: | |
Professional | 15 |
EDUC 5303 - Developmental Stages of Early Childhood through Adolescence | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 36 |
4-8 SCIENCE CERTIFICATION
Prerequisite: 18 hours of undergraduate Science courses.
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Content | 21 |
Choose four courses: And complete the following courses: | |
Professional | 15 |
EDUC 5303 - Developmental Stages of Early Childhood through Adolescence | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 36 |
SECONDARY 7-12 CERTIFICATION
The Master of Arts in Teaching degree with Secondary Certification is designed for individuals who are pursuing certification at the Secondary level concurrently with a master’s degree. This degree is a 37-hour, non-thesis plan that includes the additional criteria established by the State Board for Educator Certification for Secondary Texas Teacher Certification. This degree includes a clinical-teaching or an internship component, which will count as six graduate hours, and additionally requires 24 hours in undergraduate content courses with a minimum of 12 upper-level hours in a specified certification concentration. Passing test results on the PACT may be substituted for the required 24 hours of subject-related content courses. Please contact Dr. Chuck Roberts at 214-333-5398 for information regarding requirements for the MAT with Secondary Certification.
Prerequisite: 18 hours of undergraduate content course work.
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Content | 19 |
Choose four courses: And complete the following course: Secondary Pedagogy (Choose certification area) | |
Professional | 18 |
EDUC 5303 - Developmental Stages of Early Childhood through Adolescence | |
Required | |
Choose certification area: | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 37 |
Master of Arts in Teaching: Non-Certification
EC-6 SPECIALIZATION (WITHOUT CERTIFICATION)
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Content | 27 |
GSCI 5320 - Pedagogy of Science | |
Professional | 9 |
EDUC 5303 - Developmental Stages of Early Childhood through Adolescence | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 36 |
SECONDARY SPECIALIZATION (WITHOUT CERTIFICATION)
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Area | 12 |
EDUC 5316 - Studies in Classroom Management, Instruction, and Assessment | |
Technology Area | 3 |
EDUC 6312 - Technology Integration in Curriculum | |
Professional Area | 12 |
EDUC 5303 - Developmental Stages of Early Childhood Through Adolescence | |
Resource Area | 9 |
EDUC 5310 - Introduction to Exceptional Learners | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 36 |
EC-12 SPECIALIZATION
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Area | 12 |
EDUC 5316 - Studies in Classroom Management, Instruction, and Assessment | |
Technology Area | 3 |
EDUC 6312 - Technology Integration in Curriculum | |
Professional Area | 12 |
EDUC 5303 - Developmental Stages of Early Childhood Through Adolescence | |
Resource Area | 9 |
EDUC 5310 - Introduction to Exceptional Learners | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 36 |
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE SPECIALIZATION
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Area | 15 |
Chosen with advisor approval: | |
Technology Area | 3 |
EDUC 6312 - Technology Integration in Curriculum | |
Professional Area | 9 |
EDUC 5315 - Introduction to Designing Instruction | |
Resource Area | 9 |
EDAD 6313 - Supervision of Instruction | 9 |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 36 |
Montessori Specializations
The Master of Arts in Teaching with Montessori Specialization offers two options: Early Childhood, consisting of 30 graduate hours, or Elementary I, consisting of 33 graduate hours.
EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIALIZATION
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Area | 21 |
EDUC 5360 - Introduction to Montessori Philosophy and Observation | |
PROFESSIONAL AREA | 3 |
EDUC 6302 - Research in Education (S-L) | |
RESOURCE AREA | 6 |
EDUC 5368 - Montessori Child Development | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 30 |
ELEMENTARY I SPECIALIZATION
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Area | 30 |
EDUC 5360 - Introduction to Montessori Philosophy and Observation | |
Resource Area | 3 |
EDUC 5379 - Montessori Elementary Classroom Management, Research, and Curriculum Design | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 33 |
Multisensory Specialization
Note: These courses are taught through the Shelton School. Students must apply and be admitted to the Master of Arts in Teaching at DBU in order to receive transcript credit from DBU. Class registration is completed through both DBU and the Shelton School with tuition and fees being paid to both DBU and the Shelton School. Contact the MAT program director for more information about this specialization.
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Area | 18 |
Chosen with advisor approval | |
Professional Area | 12 |
EDUC 6302 - Research in Education (S-L) | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required: | 30 |
Distance Learning Specialization
The Master of Arts in Teaching Distance Learning Specialization is a master’s-level education program with 15 hours of distance learning coursework. The 36-hour degree is designed for professionals seeking a master’s degree in education with knowledge and skills specific to Distance Learning. This program does not lead to Texas Teacher Certification.
course | Credit hours |
|---|---|
Academic Area | 15 |
DLED 6301 - Foundations of Distance Learning | |
Professional Area | 12 |
EDUC 6302 - Research in Education (S-L) | |
Resource Area | 9 |
EDUC 5310 - Introduction to Exceptional Learners | |
Required | |
Total Credit Hours Required | 36 |
(S-L)=Course(s) with field-based service-learning component. Refer to individual course descriptions for course requisites. COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Find course descriptions by category under the Graduate Course Descriptions section in the navigation panel. |
Pathways to Teaching Program
(Teacher Certification as a Post-Baccalaureate student and not seeking a master’s degree)
The Pathways to Teaching Program is a specifically designed program which allows an individual who has already obtained at least a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university to earn Texas teacher certification. Once certification is complete, the individual may add an ESL Supplemental or Special Education Supplemental teacher certification.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS :
Complete Advanced Certificate Application
Non-refundable $25 application fee
Conferred bachelor’s or master’s degree
Official transcripts from all institutions attended
Letter of intent (typewritten) stating:
Which certificate you would like to earn and why you selected that program
What you personally hope to accomplish during this program
Why you have chosen to attend Dallas Baptist University
Minimum 3.0 GPA in previous coursework. In some instances, it is possible for an individual to take prerequisite courses to raise a low GPA.
Current professional resume
Two recommendations
Evidence of sound moral character and compatibility with DBU’s mission
THEA requirements: 260 on Reading, 240 on Math, 240 on Writing
CERTIFICATIONS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PATHWAYS TO TEACHING PROGRAM:
EC-6 (Early childhood through sixth grade) |
Grades 4-8 |
Grades 7-12 |
Grades 8-12 |
EC-12 |
An ESL or Special Education Supplement may be added to any of these certifications.
Pre-Admission Content Test (PACT) Information
Post-baccalaureate individuals seeking Texas teaching certification who have not yet enrolled in DBU’s Pathways to Teaching Certification Program have the opportunity to take the state Pre-Admission Content Test (PACT) to demonstrate subject area content proficiency. Passing test results on the PACT may be substituted for the required 24 hours of subject-related content courses in the Pathways to Teaching Certification plan.
For More Pathways to Teaching Information
Please contact Dr. Chuck Roberts at 214-333-5398 for additional information regarding the PACT procedure, acceptance into the Pathways to Teaching Certification program. Specific course requirements for the Pathways to Teaching program are included in the Undergraduate catalog under the College of Education.