The School for Graduate Studies currently offers two combined degree pathways to the MAT in Adolescent Special Education.

The Pathways

For current, Empire State College undergraduate students:

• B.A. or B.S. in Educational Studies to MAT in Adolescent Special Education

Enrollment in the 157-credit combined program allows Empire State College undergraduate students to work on the Master of Arts in Teaching Adolescent Special Education while completing the bachelor’s degree. Up to 12 credits of designated master’s courses are incorporated into the bachelor’s degree program and will count toward both the bachelor’s and master’s degree.

For undergraduates of SUNY Cobleskill:

• B.S. in Applied Psychology (through SUNY Cobleskill) to MAT in Adolescent Special Education

Enrollment in this combined pathway allows highly qualified, current SUNY Cobleskill students to work on a master's degree while completing their bachelor’s degree. Up to 12 credits of designated graduate courses are incorporated into the undergraduate degree program and will count toward both the bachelor’s degree and the master’s degree.

Admission

Admission into the combined pathways is highly selective. Matriculated undergraduate students apply to the combined pathway through the School for Graduate Studies online and will complete all of the application requirements.

The admission application process includes a review of all coursework completed, a minimum recalculated GPA of 3.2 (most recent 60 credits earned), two recommendations (one must be from his/her SUNY Empire State College undergraduate primary mentor), and an interview with MAT faculty.

Note: SUNY Cobleskill undergraduates are not required to submit the application essay nor letters of recommendation and may request a waiver code for the application fee at grad@esc.edu.

Entrance Exams

The MAT in Adolescent or Middle Childhood Education and MAT in Special Education (initial certification) combined pathways, require submission of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or the Millers Analogy Test (MAT) at the time of application.

Please see the Graduate Admission section of this catalog for a complete listing of materials required to complete a graduate application.

Curriculum

The combined pathways require 157 credits total, of which 45 are master’s credits leading to the MAT in Adolescent Special Education. Students must meet all college, AOS and relevant concentration guidelines as well as the liberal arts and sciences general education requirements (different than and in addition to the SUNY General Education Requirement) within the undergraduate credits as follows: 

Successful completion of a total 60 undergraduate credits:

• Of these 60 credits, 24 credits should be in liberal arts and sciences and 30 credits in general education requirements for New York State Certification
• Successful completion of 6 credits in additional undergraduate coursework

With 60 credits in requirements, the program requires careful planning that should begin in the first term of student’s undergraduate career. Please utilize the degree planning guidelines templates provided on the certification and content area requirements page. The student and their primary mentor should consult with the Office of Teacher Education in planning an undergraduate degree program so that these requirements are met in undergraduate study and that the 12 credits of master’s courses from the MAT program are also included in the degree plan. Students must meet the graduate requirements for academic progress and minimum grade point average in their master’s level courses to remain in the combined program.

The four graduate courses that will be taken during undergraduate study are:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
SPED 6005	Introduction to History of Special Education Law	3
EDUC 6010	Middle Childhood & Adolescent Development	3
SPED 6025	Teaching & Learning Across the Contents: Methods I	3
EDUC 6015	Exceptionalities: Individualizing Learning	3

The remaining required courses of the graduate degree can be found on the MAT in Adolescent Special Education pages of this catalog.