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Master of Arts in Teaching: Social Studies
The Master of Arts in Teaching Social Studies, with a concentration in history, is a course of study leading to New York State certification for teaching social studies in the secondary schools (grades 7-12). This program, which is offered in collaboration with the University's Department of History andthe Professional Education Program, is designed for those who have little or no previous coursework in education or formal classroom teaching experience.

Teacher Certification

Application Information

Contact Information

Degree Program
The degree program consists of 41 credits, distributed among the areas listed below. Unless otherwise noted, each course is three credits. All degree requirements must be completed within five (5) years from the semester date of admission as a matriculated student.

History - 15 credits

HIS 500 Historiography

Plus 12 credits selected from the following courses:
CEG 532 US History to Civil War
CEG 522 US History since Civil War
CEG 516 Early Modern Europe
CEG 524 Late Modern Europe
HIS 541 Colonial Latin America
CEG 517 Modern Latin America
CEG 534 Topics Seminar: Africa
CEG 534 Topics Seminar: Asia
CEJ 501 Traditional China: Culture & Society
CEJ 502 Modern China: Culture & Society

Professional Studies in Education - 20 credits
CEE 505 Education: Theory and Practice
CEE 565 Human Development
CEE 577 Teaching Social Studies (corequisite CEF 548)
CEE 578 Social Studies Strategies (prerequisite CEE 577; corequisite CEF 549)
CEE 580 Student Teaching Seminar (prerequisites CEE 577, CEE 578, CEF 548 & CEF 549; corequisites CEQ 581 & 582)
CEF 548 Field Experience I — Grades 7-9 (corequisite CEE 577)
CEF 549 Field Experience II — Grades 10-12 (corequisite CEE 578)
LIN 544 Language Acquisition and Literacy Development

Supervised Student Teaching - 6 credits
CEQ 581 Supervised Student Teaching High School Grades 10-12: Social Studies (prerequisites CEE 577, CEE 578, CEF 548 & CEF 549; corequisites CEE 580 & CEQ 582)
CEQ 582 Supervised Student Teaching Middle School Grades 7-9: Social Studies (prerequisites CEE 577, CEE 578, CEF 548 & CEF 549; corequisites CEE 580 & CEQ 581 )

Written Project
Students will be required to complete a four-week social studies teaching module specifically designed for the Supervised Student Teaching project.

Timeline
All degree requirements must be completed within five (5) years from the semester date of admission as a matriculated student.

NOTE: When a student is admitted or readmitted to an SPD degree or certificate program, students may petition SPD to have courses that are older than five (5) years, and no older than 10 years, individually evaluated by the appropriate department/faculty to determine if the credits may be applied toward current SPD degree/certificate requirements. Grades in such courses must be "B" or better. (B- grades are ineligible for review.)

Requirements for certification recommendation
Students in the MAT program must also satisfy the following required areas of study. These requirements may be met by either the graduate courses taken towards the MAT degree or by undergraduate coursework taken prior to or after commencement of graduate study. Equivalent undergraduate courses will normally be accepted. In addition, a cluster of undergraduate courses may be accepted as evidence of satisfaction of individual standards. Undergraduate transcripts will be evaluated on an individual basis. However, the student will bear the burden of proof of showing that such coursework does provide a broad introductory knowledge of each of the individual areas of study below.

1. US History to Civil War
2. US History since Civil War
3. Western Civilization or European history survey
4. Latin America – survey of the history or politics of the region or one of the major countries of the region
5. Asia - survey of the history or politics of the region or one of the major countries of the region
6. Africa - survey of the history or politics of the region or one of the major countries of the region
7. Principles of Economics
8. Human Geography
9. The Culture Concept in Theory or History. May be satisfied by courses in cultural anthropology or by courses dealing with cultural differences and cultural conflicts in the contemporary world.
10. American Government and Politics
11. Science, Technology and Society (required of undergraduate BA/MAT students only)

Important Note: The History Department does not offer graduate courses that satisfy requirements in areas 7-11. These requirements will have to be satisfied through undergraduate courses.

In addition, all students must achieve a minimum grade of B in all pedagogy courses.


Teacher Certification

This New York State registered and approved program qualifies students for license upon successful degree completion. Students must complete all courses required for the MAT.

Teacher preparation candidates must also complete certification workshops in child abuse, substance abuse, and school violence. In addition, they must be fingerprinted. Stony Brook offers these workshops monthly. See Certification and Licensing Workshops for details.

Stony Brook University requires that students must have completed an undergraduate degree and have at least 36 credits in the content field for admission to the MAT program. This course of study should be substantially the equivalent to that of a Stony Brook undergraduate degree program.



Application Instructions

Minimum Requirements to Apply

  • An academic major or a minimum of 36 credits in History or one of the social sciences (excluding Psychology, Linguistics or Philosophy) or a minimum of 36 credits in the content field (e.g., Biology, Earth Science, etc.)
  • A minimum GPA of 3.00 in your overall bachelor's degree program and in the content field
  • One year of college-level study of a foreign language (this may include American Sign Language)

Apply Online

Visit the MAT Application page for instructions and a link to the online application.

Application Deadlines

Fall: March 31
Spring: October 31


Contact Information
For program questions, please contact:
Associate Professor Lawrence Frohman
Director, MAT in Social Studies
School of Professional Development
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-4310
Telephone: 631-632-7686 or 631-632-7055
Fax: 631-632-9046
Email: Lawrence.Frohman@stonybrook.edu

For application procedure questions, please contact:
MAT Admissions
School of Professional Development
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-4310
Telephone: 631-632-7055
Fax: 631-632-9046
Email: spd_teachercertprograms@notes.cc.sunysb.edu


Statement of Student Responsibility
Students themselves—whether new, returning, or continuing—are responsible for reviewing, understanding, and adhering to their degree and/or certificate program requirements. (SPD’s Non-matriculating (non-degree) Graduate Students [GSP] are responsible for adhering to the guidelines related to non-matriculated status.) All SPD students are responsible for reviewing, understanding, and complying with University and SPD regulations, policies, and procedures, as described in all official publications, the University website, and the SPD website, including, but not limited to, SPD’s online references, the SPD Student Handbook and SPD Academic Calendar.

Related Links

Professional Education Program

New York State Teacher Certification Examination Results

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Last modified on 2/17/06 by Kim Garvin Giacalone.