The Cornell Teacher Education (CTE) program, NY

The Cornell Teacher Education (CTE) program offers a one calendar-year master of arts in teaching degree for qualified individuals. The CTE program prepares teachers to work successfully in a variety of educational settings and with the wide range of students in our excitingly and increasingly diverse society. In addition to a solid background in subject matter, students develop a broadly based knowledge of the art and science of teaching in secondary schools. Coursework and fieldwork in different educational settings enable future teachers to integrate the practical, theoretical and ethical aspects of education. Good teachers are essential to the development of secondary students who will become citizens able to address the complex issues facing the world.

The Cornell Teacher Education program supports the unique needs of those studying to become teachers of agricultural science or a biological or physical science (biology, chemistry, earth science, physics). The CTE program does not offer certification programs in areas other than those listed above.

Students in the CTE program gain knowledge of ethical practice, teaching and learning processes, and the moral, social and political contexts of education, and integrate this with their specific content area in the sciences and/or agricultural science. Students develop the knowledge and expert practice skills to assume leadership positions in formal educational settings (public, private, and charter schools, and other formal instructional situations).

Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.)

The M.A.T. is a graduate curriculum of professional education designed to meet the New York State standards for teacher certification. Students in the M.A.T. program complete any needed coursework in their content area(s), education courses and one off-campus semester of student teaching. Once graduates successfully pass required New York State examinations they are eligible to apply for New York State initial certification (grades 7-12) to teach one or more of the content areas addressed by the program. (New York certificate-holders enjoy interstate reciprocity with 45+ other states in the U.S.)  Three years of successful teaching experience are subsequently required for professional certification in New York State.

Students who have completed a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science or a science (either at Cornell or elsewhere) apply to the M.A.T. program through the Graduate School.  Qualified students will be able to complete the M.A.T. in a minimum of one calendar-year of full time study, starting in the summer.

Admission

Admission criteria for the M.A.T. program include a solid undergraduate background in the subject matter, including acceptance into or completion of a major (or its equivalent) in a science, or agriculture with a B (3.0) average, and evidence of successful teaching experience, such as work as a camp counselor, tutoring students in high school, teaching religious school lessons, working with 4-H, or experiences with the National FFA Organization. Graduate students applying to Education must also take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Acceptance decisions consider a range of factors; no one piece of evidence is decisive. We do expect that applicants take seriously the GRE tests and perform to the best of their abilities.

Review of applicants for the summer and the fall semesters begins January 15 and continues until the cohort is full. Applicants for summer admission must apply no later than May 1^st. Students may also apply for spring admission. Review of spring applicants begins October 15. Admission is provisional for the first two semesters, with continued participation and student teaching placement contingent upon satisfactory academic progress and satisfactory performance in required fieldwork.

Please contact Bobbi Townsend at bjt53@cornell.edu for additional information.