Department of Linguistics
1) Requirements for the MAT
The Department of Linguistics offers two degrees for the Master of Arts in Teaching:
M.A.T. in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)
M.A.T. In TESL and Bilingual Education (TBED)
The requirements for both degrees are 36 credits with a summative teaching portfolio:
• Departmental Core Courses: 9 credits
Phonology I
Syntax I
Semantics and Pragmatics
• Applied Linguistics Concentration Courses:15 credits
Language Teaching (9 credits):
1) Ling 357: Methods & Approaches in Language
Teaching and
2) Ling-358: Materials and Approaches in
Language Teaching and
3) Ling-551 Practicum in Language Teaching
Language Assessment (3 credits):
1) Ling-350: Language Testing
Language Learning (3 credits):
1) Ling-351: Language Acquisition or
2) Ling-359 Introduction to Second Language Acquisition & Bilingualism
• Foreign Language: All M.A.T. students are required to have in-depth knowledge of a language other than their native language. A foreign language is a language other than the student’s native language: Students whose native language is not English may present English as a foreign language.
• Research: 3 credits: Each MAT student must select one course in which the student will individually or as part of a group design, execute and report a small-scale study. Any elective or required class where the student (alone or in a group) designs and executes a small-scale study including LING-681 Research Design and Methods. Each student should consult his or her advisor to determine which courses will satisfy this requirement.
•Electives: 9 or more credits
2) Admission to the Accelerated MAT program
a) Only Linguistics majors (or a student with a double major in Linguistics and another major) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 overall and in the Linguistics major are eligible.
b) Students must apply to the Accelerated M.A.T program by January 3 of their third undergraduate year (in order to select appropriate fourth-year courses).
The application consists of a completed Graduate School application form, a copy of the student’s undergraduate transcript, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and a writing sample. (Applicants do not have take the GRE).
c) Applications to the Accelerated M.A.T. programs are reviewed in the same pool as all graduate applicants.
d) Accepted students must complete a plan of study for their fourth and fifth years with their advisor and/or the Director of Undergraduate Studies before preregistration in the spring of their third year.
e) The requirements of the Accelerated M.A.T. programs are the same as those for the regular M.A.T. programs, but they may be satisfied more quickly:
a. Two graduate courses (number LING 350 or higher) taken during the fourth year may be applied to both the student’s undergraduate (AB) degree and to the M.A.T. degree.
b. Up to two additional graduate courses (number LING 350 or higher) taken during the fourth year beyond the AB degree requirements (38 courses, 120 credits) may be applied to the M.A.T. degree (these will be withheld from the undergraduate degree, rather than double-counted).