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Secondary Education, M.A.T., English/Language Arts Concentration (Traditional Program)

This program is for those with a baccalaureate degree and undergraduate coursework in English who seek Illinois secondary education licensure. Graduates will be eligible for a Professional Educator License endorsed for secondary education/ English/Language Arts (grades 9 to 12). Visit Licensure and Endorsement at NLU for more details.

In addition to National College of Education Graduate Admissions Requirements, applicants must:

  • Pass the Test of Academic Proficiency (TAP) or ISBE approved alternative
  • Have a grade point average of 3.0 or better in English coursework
  • Have 32 semester hours of coursework in English (12 semester hours of upper division courses must be completed with a grade of "B" or better)
  • Pass the Content Test in English/Language Arts

In addition, candidates must fulfill all of the areas listed below:

  • 9 SH in Writing Skills: 6 SH of Composition (Comp I/II, advanced writing courses or writing-intensive courses) and 3 SH of Creative Writing
  • 17 SH must be in Literature: one course in each of the following areas:
    • Introduction to Literary Criticism
    • American Literature
    • English Literature
    • Non-Western or Ethnic American Literature
    • Shakespeare
    • Poetry or Adolescent Literature
  • 6 SH can be in writing, literature, speech or journalism

Program Details:

  • Requires 33 SH for completion
  • Requires student teaching. Student teachers spend a minimum of 11 weeks in the classroom at an assigned school.

Required Courses

MAT Core - 2 SH

EPS 511Human Learning and Development in Instructional Contexts

2 OR 3

Note: EPS 511 must be taken for 2 semester hours.

Secondary Education – English Requirements - 25 SH

CIL 505Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language

3
RLR 540Teaching Content Area Literacy at the Middle and Secondary Level

3
SEC 502Introduction to Teaching at the Secondary Level

5
SEC 512Methods of Teaching English at the Secondary Level

5
SEC 590BStudent Teaching Secondary School Language Arts/English

6
SPE 500Introduction to and Methods of Teaching Students with Disabilities

3

Note: SEC 512 must be taken for 5 semester hours.

Secondary Education Elective Options - 6 SH

Choose one pair of the courses below:

CIL 500Foundations of ESL and Bilingual Education

3
and
CIL 510Assessment of ESL and Bilingual Education Students

3
or
MGE 501Introduction to Middle Grades Education: Young Adolescents in Context I

2 TO 3
and
MGE 509Integrated Curriculum in the Middle Grades

1 TO 3
or
MHE 509Topics in Calculus and Discrete Mathematics

3
and
MHE 512Topics and Applications of Statistics and Probability

3
or
RLW 541Teaching Writing

2 TO 3
and
RLL 520Survey of Youth Literature, PreK-12

3
or
RLR 502Teaching Comprehension and Content Area Reading

3
or
SPE 501Educational and Diagnostic Assessment of Exceptional Children and Adolescents

3
and
SPE 506Frameworks, Perspectives, and Collaboration in Special Education

3

Note: If selected, MGE 501, MGE 509 and RLW 541 must be taken for 3 semester hours.

The following courses are required for licensure:

EPS 511Human Learning and Development in Instructional Contexts

2 OR 3
SEC 502Introduction to Teaching at the Secondary Level

5
SEC 512Methods of Teaching English at the Secondary Level

5
SEC 590BStudent Teaching Secondary School Language Arts/English

6
SPE 500Introduction to and Methods of Teaching Students with Disabilities

3

Note: Candidates may become licensed prior to completion of the M.A.T. degree, and have six years from the beginning of coursework to complete the degree. Candidates are strongly advised to complete the degree.

Secondary Education Student Teaching Enrollment Requirements

Admission to and continuance in student teaching are contingent on the following actions.

Candidates must:

  • Be accepted into the graduate program of National College of Education
  • File, by the designated deadline, the application form for student teaching
  • Submit to their advisor a report of a TB test taken within 90 days of the student teaching placement, results of criminal background check and acknowledgement of Mandated Reporter status form
  • Turn in a signed log of all the pre-clinical hours specified in their pre-clinical hours required for the program
  • Complete all of their licensure courses except for SEC 590B (Student Teaching)
  • Pass all methods courses at National Louis University with a grade no lower than a B
  • Participate in faculty assessment and receive approval of his or her portfolio (Livetext)
  • Provide evidence of emotional stability, adequate personality adjustment and competency as indicated by licensure coursework and departmental assessments