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Master of Arts for Teachers (M.A.T.) in Biology
30 Credits
The online Master of Arts for Teachers in Biology combines coursework in education and biology to prepare you to be a dual-credit instructor at the high school and community college levels.
The educational component of the program teaches you how to apply the science and art of teaching to college-level instruction. Coursework covers instruction and curriculum, assessment, diversity and inclusive teaching, and research.
As a student in the biology component of the program, you study the nature of living organisms at an advanced level. You gain the ability to break down and analyze biological concepts for an undergraduate audience, the ability to develop and analyze hypotheses and experiments, a fluency with scientific literature, and a richer understanding of biology in the natural world around us.
Specific areas of focus include:
- Evolution
- Molecular and cellular biology, including biochemistry, cell biology, molecular and macromolecular biology, immunology, bioinformatics, and molecular genetics
- Organismal biology, including developmental biology, neurobiology, field zoology, marine community ecology, animal nutrition, ornithology, horticulture, and ecology
This program is part of the School of Natural Science & Mathematics.
The stackable structure of the MAT in Biology is ideal for those who want to teach dual-credit courses and who need to meet Higher Learning Commission dual-credit qualification standards. These standards require teachers wanting to teach dual-credit courses in biology to hold either a master's degree in biology or a master's degree in another discipline (such as education), plus at least 18 credit hours of discipline-specific graduate coursework.
- If you need both discipline-specific coursework and a master's degree, the MAT in Biology meets HLC standards.
- If you already hold a master's degree in a discipline other than biology, you can meet HLC standards by completing the Graduate Certificate in Biology.
Degree Requirements
To earn the MAT in Biology, you must complete 30 credit hours.
Requirements are broken down as follows:
- Core course (3 credit hours)
- Molecular-cellular electives (6 credit hours)
- Organismal electives (6 credit hours)
- Capstone course (3 credit hours)
- Education component (12 credit hours)
Admissions
To be accepted to this program, you must have:
- A bachelor's degree
NOTE: This program is authorized, exempt, or not subject to state regulatory compliance and may enroll students from all 50 states
To apply to this program:
You must have completed two courses from the Graduate Certificate in Biology with a minimum grade point average of 3.0.
Courses
Sample courses for the MAT in Biology include the following:
- BIOL-T 570 Evolution (3 Credits)
- BIOL-T 574 Immunology (3 Credits)
- BIOL-T 576 Bioinformatics: Theory and Application (3 Credits)
- BIOL-T 582 Advanced Field Zoology (3 Credits)
- BIOL-T 587 Ornithology (3 Credits)
- BIOL-T 590 Critical Analysis of Scientific Literature (3 Credits)
- BIOL-T 591 History of Life (3 Credits)
- EDUC-H 520 Social Issues in Education (3 Credits)
- EDUC-J 500 Instruction in the Context of Curriculum (3 Credits)
- EDUC-Y 520 Strategies for Educational Inquiry (3 Credits)
- EDUC-P 507 Planning and Assessment (3 Credits)