Overview
The Master of Arts in Teaching, Secondary Teacher Education (Alternate Route), is a 33-hour fully online program designed for those who wish to become classroom teachers and who have already earned a bachelor’s degree in an area other than education. During the first summer term of enrollment, the student completes a nine credit hour licensure block of coursework. Upon successful completion of these courses, the student is eligible for an initial, 3-year non-renewable teaching license. With this license, the student secures full-time employment as a classroom teacher with a Mississippi school district. During the first year of employment, the student enrolls in two teaching internship courses, receives mentoring from a fellow classroom teacher, and receives support and supervision from a university faculty member. After successfully completing one full year of teaching and the two internship courses, the student is eligible for a 5-year renewable teaching license.
The program offers pathways to licensure in the following content areas: Art (grades K-12), Biology (grades 7-12), Business Education (grades 7-12), Chemistry (grades 7-12), English (grades 7-12), French (grades K-12), Health (grades 7-12), Home Economics (grades 7-12), Library Media (grades K-12), Mathematics (grades 7-12), Physical Education (grades K-12), Physics (grades 7-12), Social Studies (grades 7-12), and Spanish (grades K-12).
Professional Licensure Disclosure: This program of study provides the coursework necessary to meet the professional competency standards for secondary (grades 7-12) alternate route licensure in Mississippi. Completion of the program requires students to teach full-time for one year in a Mississippi classroom. The University of Southern Mississippi cannot determine whether any program leads to licensure in any state other than Mississippi. It is recommended that students who intend to seek licensure in another state verify that their program of study meets the desired state’s licensure requirements. For assistance with out-of-state licensure questions, please refer to the Professional Licensure Disclosures webpage.
Admission Requirements
In addition to the requirements detailed in Admission Requirements and Procedures , applicants must meet the following requirements and submit the following documents:
- Bachelor’s degree from a regionally or nationally accredited institution in a field other than education.
- Have a minimum grade point average of 2.75 (4.00 scale) on the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework.
- Official score report indicating a minimum ACT composite score of 21 (singular test date) or passing scores on all three subject-area tests of the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (CORE) or 3.0 GPA on last 60 hours attempted.*
- Official score report indicating a passing score on the Praxis II Subject Assessment Examination in one of the fourteen approved subject areas listed above.*
- Resumé
- Statement of Purpose
- Three Letters of Recommendation
*Praxis test codes, registration information, and minimum score requirements for the state of Mississippi are available at the ETS website.
