For students looking to deepen their knowledge and expertise, the School of Education offers the MAT+. The MAT+ provides qualifying students with the opportunity to complete a Master of Arts in Teaching with further study in a selected area of expertise. Currently, students can take additional course work to earn either an additional license in special education (teacher of students of moderate disabilities, PreK-8 or 5-12), or a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL).

MAT+ in Special Education
This Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved program may be completed with only an additional 10 quarter hours beyond the standard MAT curriculum. Qualifying students must take the seven licensure courses outlined in the MAT curriculum, select qualifying special education courses for the 2 elective course options (within the MAT curriculum) and 3 additional special educations courses.  

The special education course requirements are:

MAT+ in TESOL
Changing demographics and changing definitions have created a deficit of teachers who have a strong grounding in English as a Second Language. To combat this, the School of Education has established the MAT+ TESOL. This program combines research, theory and technique with real-life observation and classroom experience to prepare K-12 teachers with the skills to meet the challenges of diverse classrooms. Qualifying students must take the seven licensure courses outlined in the MAT curriculum, and 5 additional courses (outlined below). Upon completion of the MAT+ TESOL, instructors will receive a MAT and a graduate certificate in TESOL.

The TESOL course requirements are:

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) (formerly DOE) requires that all teachers of moderate disabilities pass the Foundations of Reading MTEL. Elementary teachers already have the requirements; secondary teachers will need to add that subtest.