Applying for Admission to MAT, MSEd, and Certificate Programs
Since different programs have different requirements, it is important for you to begin any application process by consulting the websites or contacting the advisors of programs that interest you.
Deadlines, Timing, and Taking a Year Off
At present, most degree and certificate programs request or require that applications be submitted in the late autumn or the winter. Many schools have deadlines in early December. However, since individual schools may set different deadlines and since deadlines for each admissions season may change, it is important to investigate the application deadlines for departments to which you might apply as early as possible. Remember also to allow time for writing and polishing your application, and give your faculty recommenders plenty of time to write their recommendations. You need to start preparing your application well in advance of the deadline.
Students often wonder whether taking time away from school before beginning post-baccalaureate studies is a good idea. There is no hard and fast answer to this question. Time off after graduation can give you a mental break, a chance to gain field experience and to earn money, or time to work and travel abroad. On the other hand, going straight into a graduate program also has advantages. Your knowledge is fresh; your good study habits are well-oiled; and your recommenders can write about work you’ve done recently.
If you decide to wait a year or more before applying to graduate programs, be sure to contact the teachers from whom you hope to get recommendations and let them know your plans. Also, use your time off wisely: try to keep abreast of what is happening in your field of interest.
Standardized Tests
GREs: The programs you plan to which you plan to apply may require GRE Scores. The GREs are a standardized test (plural because of its component parts) administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in many test centers throughout the United States and Canada as well as internationally. The GRE General Test is a standardized test consisting of 3 sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytic Writing. Students release GRE scores to institutions where they are applying by notifying ETS, and ETS sends the GRE scores to the institutions desired.
Praxis: The Praxis is a standardized test designed especially for prospective teachers and is administered by Educational Testing Services.
Transcripts and Grade Point Averages
Most programs will request an official transcript from the school that granted (or will soon grant) your undergraduate degree and from any other schools you have attended. Official transcripts are available from the Registrar’s office (in G-3 Thackeray, for Pitt). Currently, there are no fees for Pitt’s transcript service unless you need the Registrar to send the transcript by overnight delivery.
Consult the application guidelines about whether you should send a transcript after your next semester’s grades have been submitted or whether you should send a transcript earlier and report subsequent grades when they have been assigned.
Most applications instruct applicants to submit transcripts from all colleges and universities attended (or attended for a minimum period, such as a year), even if an applicant’s earlier coursework did not contribute to the undergraduate degree earned. Remember that you may comment in your personal statement on features of your application that may benefit from explanation. If you had poor grades early in your college career but have an excellent subsequent track record, you might wish to explain what happened. If your overall GPA has been brought down by a particular course or area of coursework that deserves special explanation, you might wish to comment. Don’t use up too much of your personal statement discussing your GPA, but be aware that you (or your recommenders) could comment on special features of your academic records or history.
Statement of Purpose
A Statement of Purpose, sometimes called a Personal Statement or Statement of Intent or Statement of Goals is a document in which applicants are asked to describe their interests, plans and academic strengths, including their rationale for applying to a particular program. Remember that a Personal Statement—like any writing that is submitted with an application—should be carefully composed, proofread and revised. Working with fellow students, the Writing Center, and—most importantly—a faculty member will allow you to revise your statement to make it as effective as possible. A faculty member whose advice you trust might be especially helpful in guiding you through the proofreading and revision processes.
Letters of Recommendation
Along with your application, you will be asked to submit Recommendations from faculty members, usually three. Choose faculty members whom you think will write a strongly positive recommendation for you. It may helpful if a recommender is an authority in your field of interest. When asking for recommendations, it’s a good idea to ask faculty members directly whether they can write a very positive recommendation for you. Also, be courteous in dealing with your recommenders and give them all the information they need to write an informative letter. Give them ample time, a month or so, to write and submit the letter. Offer them copies of papers you have written for their courses (or other courses, if relevant) as well as a copy of your personal statement. The more your faculty recommenders know about you and your plans, the more specific and helpful their letters can be.
You must also decide whether or not you will waive your right to read the recommendation. For obvious reasons, readers give more weight to recommendations that are confidential. If you choose your recommenders carefully, you should not be concerned about waiving your right to read their letters. The Career Services Center in the William Pitt Union will establish a file for your confidential documents and send them to programs you designate. Contact the Career Services center about developing an Interfolio service.
Fees and Expenses
Along with the fees you pay to take the GREs ($130 as of 2007), there are also fees for applying to your chose programs. These fees can run from $25 to $100.
Undergraduate Preparation
Preparation Through Coursework: Any Pitt English major will have fulfilled the state’s requirements for primary and secondary school subject requirements for English. In addition, students are required to take three credits in college composition and six credits in college-level math or statistics. In addition to the pre-admissions advising discussed in the previous section, a good resource you might consult is the comprehensive course selection document for undergraduate students interested in education available at the Department of Instruction and Learning in Posvar Hall (412-624-7254).
Classroom Experience: Schools of Education require or strongly recommend that applicants have some practical teaching experience before they apply for any graduate program. At Pitt, students can apply to work as tutors in the Writing Center or as assistants in a literature or composition class. In addition, students can volunteer for programs run by the YMCA, the United Way, the Pittsburgh Children’s Center, and the Pittsburgh Regional Internship Center.
For more information about classroom teaching and tutoring opportunities at Pitt, contact the Future Educators of America (412-648-7362). The Office of Experiential Learning, the Women’s Studies Program, and the Honors College also sponsor teaching internships for undergraduates who arrange to work as a UTA for a course they have already taken. Information about these options can be found at:
- Office of Experiential Learning website;
- Women’s Studies Program website; and
- Honors College website.
Alternative Opportunities for Teaching
Teach for America is a program that allows college graduates to teach as full-fledged, salaried faculty members in rural or urban communities. Students can earn certification during this two-year commitment. In this national program, a qualified applicant receives training at a five-week training institute in one of five locations in the United States and is placed in a job where he or she will teach in a low-income community with the support of local faculty and the national organization. Applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree and demonstrate subject area mastery by completing course work and/or passing an examination. Typically, people who teach in the program must enroll in a state-approved course while on the job and, if the teaching and the work are successfully completed, can earn a teaching certificate.
This national program is highly selective: in 2005, out of 19,000 applicants, only 2500 were selected. The program also places a high priority on recruiting African-American and Latino/Hispanic applicants from low-income backgrounds who have leadership skills as well as strong academic records. Teach for America has admirable social goals and offers individuals the opportunity to get a high-quality graduate education, teaching certification, and the experience of teaching at no cost while earning an annual salary ranging from $25,00 to $45,000 (figures from 2007). However, program participants do not have much choice about the location of their assignment.
Literacy Americorps is a program for volunteers who want to help build communities through literacy education. Full-time volunteers must work at least 1700 hours in a year. The organization provides solid support groups as well as training sessions that guidance and teaching materials. Members are placed at a service site of their choice for some training and then will spend at least 35 hours per week teaching or tutoring students, managing community volunteers, and serving at outreach events.
Volunteering requires some financial sacrifice, but the program offers, in addition to its non-material benefits, a living allowance of $11,100 for the year as well as allowances for health and dental care, child care, and transportation. Upon completion of the year of service, a volunteer will receive an education award of $4,725. There is a local service site in Pittsburgh. Visit Literacy AmeriCorps Pittsburgh online or call them at 412-661-7323 x 119.
Municipal Teaching Programs: In addition to these national programs, there are programs in some localities, especially metropolitan areas such as New York City and Philadelphia, that provide special fast-track forms of certification and fellowships for people who will agree to teach in their school systems for a specific period of time. You can probably locate these programs through the internet using search times such as “fast-track certification” and “alternate certification.”
Teaching English Abroad: Because the English language is used throughout the world, there is great demand for native speakers to work as teachers of English in nations whose official language is not English. A native speaker with a college degree willing to teach abroad for a year or more will find that there are jobs available in many countries. There are obvious benefits, financial and educational, that come with taking such a job. Teaching English abroad is a professional career offering great mobility, an excellent income, and a chance learn about other countries and cultures. Also, a temporary career of teaching English abroad can be a good option for people who want to take some time off after college to travel and still earn money, perhaps before going on to do graduate work.
There are a variety of jobs available. Types of teaching jobs, salaries, benefits, and workloads will vary greatly from country to country. Of course, classroom teaching is one possibility, practiced independently or with another teacher, in elementary and secondary schools and colleges and universities. There are also state-supported and private language learning institutes. There are businesses and governments which hire teachers. Private tutoring can also provide part-time or supplemental work. Other side jobs, such as editing and writing, often turn up in connection with a teaching job. Obviously, the more experience and training you have, the better your chances are for finding an interesting and well-paid position. However, it is certainly possible for individuals with only a bachelor’s degree to get a job teaching in some countries. People new to the work are likely to be given a course outline for oral or written English or paired with an experienced teacher.
There are many ways to find jobs teaching English abroad. You can look for and apply for jobs on your own, using internet sources such as TransitionsAbroad.com or any contacts available through Pitt’s Career Services Center. You can also find an organization (private, religious, governmental, non-profit) to train you and place you in a teaching position—and it may be helpful, if you are inexperienced, to have the support of such an organization Whichever route you take, be sure to look carefully at all the details of an employment agreement before signing it.
Everything improves for individuals who have teaching experience and/or degrees or certifications for teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Individuals with advanced degrees in TESOL can also work in teaching-related fields such as curriculum and materials design, web design, administration, and assessment as well as serving as consultants about these and other subjects. Anyone with a bachelor’s degree can apply to a post-baccalaureate program that grants an advanced degree or certificate, but candidates with degrees in English, Education, Communications, and Linguistics have obvious advantages. TESOL degree programs vary from school to school but are usually housed in English, Education, and Linguistics departments. These degrees usually take to two years to complete and generally cover the history, structure and development of the English language, studies in cross-cultural communication and understanding, and teaching methodologies. Pitt’s Linguistics Department offers a certificate in TESOL which requires 19 credit hours. Indiana University of PA offers an MA in TESOL which requires 36 credit hours. There are also certificate programs offered in universities and private institutes which can be very short (some as short as six weeks) or almost as long as a degree program. Certificate programs tend to be more practical, stressing methods of teaching, and cutting back on theoretical and historical information. For individuals interested in teaching abroad for a few years it makes sense to do a shorter certificate program. For those who plan a career or a longer period abroad the degree program may be more appropriate. Information about the kinds of jobs available to TESOL holders as well as other information about teaching English abroad may be found at the TESOL.
Teaching English abroad can be a great experience, but it is important to do some research and thinking before you take up this option. Where do you want to teach? What are the living conditions in the countries you are considering? Can you get good medical care? What are the attitudes toward Americans? How safe is the area? Is the culture one in which you can be comfortable? You can get some of this information from your own research, from our government, or from the host institution. It is a good idea to correspond, if you can, with people who are teaching in the places you are considering. Honest organizations are generally happy to connect you to people they presently employ.