Illinois Alternative Certification Programs

Western Illinois University

Western Illinois University has an MAT degree, which is Masters of Arts in Teaching. It is a full masters degree, and was created specifically for those people who already have a bachelor’s degree in a non-educational subject, wish to teach, but have not taken the education classes required for certification in Illinois. 

(WIU also has a special alternative route to Administration program, specifically for those who wish to become principals and superintendents. The contact for this Administrative Certificate is Dr. Robert Hall or Dr. Max Pierson. Phone: 309/298-1270)

The masters program is offered at the main Macomb campus, as well as in facilities in the Quad Cities (Moline, IL) area.

Admission requirements:
Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree, preferably in what you wish to teach. You can have a bachelor’s degree in a related or unrelated subject, but you will most likely have to pick up some additional classes in your certification/teaching area in order to meet the minimum requirements for that subject.

Candidates must possess an overall and major cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher, pass the Illinois Certification Basic Skills and Content Area exams, complete a structured interview with members of the MAT graduate faculty, and be recommended for admission.

Coursework requirements…realistic timeframe for completion of program
This program requires 37 semester hours of course work. That does NOT include any subject-area classes the student might have to pick up due to deficiencies in their undergraduate coursework. This program will probably take most people two years to complete, especially if they work full time. This degree is through the Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies (EIS) at Western Illinois University.

WIU requires the following program for certification:

	Complete 18 semester hours in core courses
	Complete a minimum of 12 semester hours selected from  directed elective courses
	Complete supervised practicum and internship (7 hours)
	Complete a teacher education program portfolio+

Core Requirements...........18  S.H *
EIS 500 Methods of Research
EIS 507 Social Change and the Multicultural Aspects of Schooling
EIS 535 Adolescent Psychology for Educators
EIS 536 Seminar in Cognition
EIS 538 Seminar in Individualized Instruction (SPED 510 may be substituted)
EIS 539 Instructional Methods for Secondary Teachers (or EDUC 439G in major field)
EIS 585 Seminar in the Intellectual History of Education (EIS 501 may be substituted)

Practicum and Internship . . . . . . 7 S.H.
EIS 592 Pre-professional Practicum (2 s.h.)
EIS 600 Internship in Teaching - contingent upon recommendation of the MAT Graduate faculty (5 s.h.)

Directed Electives..........12 S.H.
Total Program..........37 S.H.

 * S.H. – Semester Hours

+Students enrolled in the program must complete a teacher education program portfolio that demonstrates their mastery of the content areas of certification and their ability to apply contemporary teaching strategies to promote effective educational practices. Certification is contingent upon the completion of degree requirements and the recommendation, of the Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies and content-area departments to the WIU certification officer.

Nature of Internship Requirement – Is it paid?
Students must complete 100 hours of supervised clinical experience in educational settings (EIS 592). The MAT pre-professional practicum will be supervised by university personnel in collaboration with public school practicing teachers.  Only final grades of B or higher in EIS 592 will be accepted to meet degree and certification requirements. A criminal background check will be required prior to completing field experiences.

Internship in Teaching - Students will complete a ten-week, full-time teaching assignment under the guidance of a certified supervising teacher and qualified university faculty. This internship is not paid.

Help with placement?
Yes, through the career placement office at WIU, with help from the MAT secondary education department. Student should be open to being placed in a school outside their community of residence.

What areas do you offer certification in?
agriculture, art, biology, chemistry, English, geography,  history, mathematics, physical education, physics, political science, Spanish, and in other teaching minors/endorsements, namely bilingual/bicultural, general science, ESL and reading.  Custom areas (such as communication, specific sciences and business) will be given consideration at the student’s request, but are subject to approval by the department.

Graduates of the program meet certification requirements in secondary education (grades 9-12), and with the addition of one four-hour course, ELED 403G, are eligible for middle school certification (grades 6-8). There is no program currently in place for elementary education certification.

Do you have info about your alt cert program on the web? What is the URL?
http://www.wiu.edu/grad/seced.htm

Is there virtual or remote coursework available? (Distance learning)
As of this writing, most coursework in this program is offered in the form of evening and weekend classes, but about 30% of the classes are offered online.

Tuition cost
Macomb Campus: Graduate tuition is $141.00 per credit hour, including fees. The total cost for the MAT program (37 S.H.) would be $5,217.

Quad Cities Regional Campus: Graduate tuition is $116.00. The total cost for the MAT program at this center (37 S.H.) would be $4,292. The basic difference between the costs of these two locations is the amount of student fees attached to the tuition per credit hour. The fees in Macomb are four times that of the fees in the Quad Cities.

If you talk to people about this, get permission to quote them, tell them this is a class project and may go on the internet…
I wasn’t able to reach a "live" person about this program, but will let you know ASAP if I do. The information above is a collective between information I found on the web and information I was sent when I applied for this program almost 2 years ago.