Master of Arts in Teaching Program

Prepare for your teaching certification with a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from Johnson & Wales University, and build the skills to launch your teaching career.

You’ll matriculate through the program with a cohort of fellow MAT students, learning best practices and essential research-based theories as a group.

Your first year, you'll participate in six educational research seminars to further support your learning as a teacher candidate.

Fieldwork in the Classroom
At JWU, you’ll learn to teach by teaching. You'll work directly with students in K–12 classrooms to build the targeted skills to improve student learning.

Through the MAT program’s essential fieldwork component, you’ll visit diverse urban and suburban school settings that align with your concentration. You’ll plan lessons for small group and whole class instruction using the knowledge you’ve gained at JWU.

Catalog Course Information
Food Service Education Catalog Course Information

Teacher Certification
In our MAT program, prepare to apply for certification in one of the following:

• Elementary Education & Elementary Special Education
• Business Education & Secondary Special Education
• Food Service Education (certified and noncertified option available)

If you are pursuing initial teacher certification in one or more areas by the Rhode Island Department of Education, you must satisfactorily pass several transition points throughout the program. This is your pathway to qualify to student teach and, eventually, to be recommended for licensure.

Assessment Prior to Student Teaching Student teaching usually occurs during your final term(s). Permission to student teach will be granted if you have

• A program GPA of 3.0
• Passed the appropriate content exam for the concentration area(s)
• Passed a portfolio review with acceptable evidence of significant progress toward meeting the Rhode Island Professional Teacher Standards (RIPTS), as well as standards from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and Cultural Competencies (CC) Assessment Prior to Recommendation for Program Completion

Presenting Your Portfolio Once you have completed the needed transition point that indicates successful completion of all student teaching requirements, you will present you completed portfolio to a team of evaluators. This portfolio will contain evidence to prove that you have achieved all program standards to the level appropriate to an emerging teacher.

Licensure & Awarding of the MAT Degree To be a candidate for licensure, you must also pass all tests required by RIDE for licensure in the area(s) sought, and have evidence of completing all other requirements for the awarding of the MAT degree. Upon meeting all of these requirements, the program director will make the appropriate recommendation regarding the awarding of the MAT degree and state licensure.

While JWU awards your MAT degree, the Rhode Island Department of Education makes the final decision regarding the granting of licensure.

As a state-approved program leading to certification, Johnson & Wales University’s MAT program complies with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. As required by Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, the Secretary of Education has prepared an annual report for Congress and the public on the preparation of teachers. The annual reports are provided at https://title2.ed.gov and include supplemental tables. Individual State reports for current and previous years may also be accessed via this same website.