The Cornell Teacher Education (CTE) 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) and education 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. 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. Starting in 2010, 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 FFA. 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. Students may also apply for spring admission. Review of spring applicants begins October 15. Admission is provisional for the first year, with continued participation and student teaching placement contingent upon satisfactory academic progress and satisfactory performance in required fieldwork.

Undergraduate Options

It is possible to begin completing requirements for certification during undergraduate study at Cornell. Cornell undergraduates majoring in a science or agricultural science can apply to the CTE education minor during their sophomore or junior years. Students admitted to the CTE education minor complete their undergraduate subject matter majors and the minor in education during their junior and senior years.

Although the CTE program does not offer certification programs in areas other than those listed above, Cornell students majoring in the humanities or social sciences who are considering teaching can use the general education minor to learn more about the field of education and to explore teaching as a career. (Some of the courses in the minor may be accepted into master's certifications programs elsewhere, but program requirements can vary greatly at different institutions.)

Cornell undergraduates who complete the CTE minor as undergraduates apply to the Graduate School for admission to the M.A.T. program and generally complete the M.A.T. in two semesters.

Students in the following majors are currently eligible:

• Agriculture (agricultural engineering, animal science, food science, horticulture, plant science, soil science)
• Biology
• Biology and Society
• Chemistry
• Chemical Engineering
  
• Geological Sciences
• Human Biology, Health, and Society (Human Ecology)
• Natural Resources
• Physics

Download an undergraduate application or, for more information, please see our admissions page.