The M. A. T. program will “strengthen the liberal arts content preparation for teachers …and… allow students to enjoy the full BA experience, with room for electives, while also pursuing a degree in education”

The Education Department of Covenant College is reorganizing itself to include a graduate program, scheduled to begin in Summer 2011, which has the potential to become the largest program in the whole department.

Over the years, the elementary education (middle grades) and five secondary education programs have each turned into more of a double major, requiring 150 hours of coursework averaged over five years. In addition, Covenant would like to add other programs to the secondary education major.

These reasons prompted the initiative of graduating these six programs into a five-year program that would not only give students their certification, but would also give them a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T).

The elementary education (early childhood) major, along with its adult degree program, Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education (BSECE), will not be affected by any of these changes.

Between the middle grades and secondary education programs, there is an average of 11 to 12 students per class year. “These numbers made it a low-risk plan to graduate them into an M.A.T. program,” said Jim Drexler, Chair of the Education Department. In fact, 28 students currently taking education classes have indicated their interest in the M.A.T. program.

The new program is scheduled to begin in Summer 2011. Its structure places the focus of the first four years on a particular discipline, and adds most of the education courses in the fifth year. Students planning to enter the M.A.T. program will add a minor, called Pre-M.A.T, for their first four years.