Middle Georgia State University is adding a Master of Arts in Teaching in Secondary Education this summer. The program creates a path for people with specific bachelor’s degrees to earn high school teaching certification.
 
The program - MGA's fourth master's degree - was just approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The regional accrediting agency notified MGA President Dr. Christopher Blake of its approval on March 28, 2017.
 
"We're excited to make this degree available to people who want to teach and already have bachelor's degrees but need a way to get certified," said Dr. Melanie Hatch, MGA's provost. "The program is designed so students can complete it in about a year."
 
The Master of Arts in Teaching program is designed for people with bachelor's degrees in English, biology, math or history who want to get certification to teach at the high school level. MGA partnered with the Bibb County School District so students in the program can get extensive teaching experience as "graduate interns" at a local high school. Courses will be taught primarily online, with limited face-to-face interactive sessions and seminars flexibly scheduled to meet at the school where students are getting teaching experience or in the evenings.
 
"Since the field placements will all be at the same secondary school, our graduate interns will gain essential knowledge and skills in a collaborative environment," said Dr. David Fuller, MGA's dean of the School of Education.
Middle Georgia State expects an initial enrollment of 15 students in the MAT.
 
MGA became a state University in July 2015 and launched master's degrees in Information Technology and Nursing shortly afterward. In February, SACSCOC approved a Master of Science in Management for MGA, which kicks off in summer 2017.