MAT in Early Childhood Unified Residency

The WSU MAT-ECU program reflects what is currently known about best practices in early childhood teacher preparation. With an emphasis on urban schools, the program prepares teaching residents to meet the needs of children with and without disabilities in varied settings. The MAT-ECU teacher residency program was developed using a PDS philosophy that centers on shared responsibility for teacher preparation between universities and schools as well as a shared responsibility for student learning. It involves students working in classrooms as paraprofessionals while working on their graduate degree and initial licensure.

Admission

The program is limited to individuals who have:

  1. Completed at least a BA/BS degree from an accredited higher education institution prior to entry into the program.
  2. For full admission, a GPA of 3.000, or a GPA of 2.750 to 2.999 to be admitted on probation.

Applicants to the MAT ECU residency program must pass a criminal background check that they obtain at their own expense. Information regarding the approved background check service provider is available from College of Applied Studies Advising.

Program Requirements

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) early childhood unified residency (ECU-R) track is offered for students seeking initial KSDE license in early childhood unified: birth–3rd grade (ECU) and/or elementary education unified: K-6th grade (EEU). The graduate level initial licensure program consists of 36 credit hours. The core curriculum consists of:

Course Title Hours
Select courses in child development and pedagogy28
Select research and reflection (within the 4 credit hours of research, students are required to complete an action research portfolio)4
Select an internship with university supervisors provided4
Total Credit Hours36

MAT ECU-R Program of Study

Course Title Hours
Required Courses
CESP 729Theories of Early Childhood Development3
SPED 603Foundations of Early Childhood Unified2
SPED 614ECU Assessment and Methods: Infants, Toddlers and Families3
SPED 617ECU Assessment and Methods: Preschool3
ISLE 711Diversity and Inclusion2
ISLE 712Health, Movement and Physical Activity2
ISLE 738Methods and Assessment: ELA and Social Studies3
ISLE 739Methods and Assessment: Math and Science3
ISLE 740Universal Design for Learning1
ISLE 741Learning and Educational Assessment2
ISLE 742Integrating Learning Through the Arts and Movement2
ISLE 743Master of Arts in Teaching Unified Internship I1
ISLE 744Masters of Arts in Teaching Unified Internship II1
ISLE 748Masters of Arts in Teaching Unified Internship III1
ISLE 749Masters of Arts in Teaching Unified Internship IV1
SPED 796Family and Professional Collaboration2
Capstone Courses
ISLE 860Seminar in Research Problems2
CAS 501Teacher Licensure Capstone0
ISLE 862Evidence Based Inquiry: Capstone Project I1
ISLE 863Evidence Based Inquiry: Capstone Project II1
Total Credit Hours36

Applied Learning

Students in the MAT ECU residency track are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by completing a capstone research project in which the emphasis is on applying professional practices to research and is directly linked to applied learning.