SMTC Masters of Science Teaching (MST) in Natural Science

Program Information: 

The SMTC Master of Science in Teaching was developed for secondary science and mathematics teachers. A program designed for one teaching area must include 18 hours in that area; a program designed for two teaching areas must include 12 hours in/or required by each area. A program may include hours from other colleges if specifically approved by the supervising departments. Courses offered by the SMTC do not constitute a separate area in themselves, but may be applied to an appropriate area. A program designed for two teaching areas must be approved by the heads of both departments and the graduate committee for this program must include one member from each department. Students who are interested in interdisciplinary degree option areas, such as biology, earth system science, environmental science, or earth and space science, will work with their graduate committee to tailor a program of study which meets the guidelines for the MST.

Courses in your program are determined in consultation with the chair of the master's committee. Only courses at the 4000 or 5000 level can be counted for graduate credit, and only 12 hours can be on the 4000 level. Upon admittance you will be assigned an advisor who will work with you to plan a course of study that is best for you. Your advisor will assist you in determining the faculty for your graduate committee from among SMTC Affiliate Faculty. Affiliate Faculty for the SMTC come from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering, and Agriculture.

The MST program must include 30 hours of course work with:

• Minimum of 24 hours in the teaching area or areas
• Completion of a Plan B paper

Plan B Paper Guidelines

Plan B Paper Examples

How to Apply: 

1)      Fill out the brief information form here. After you have submitted this information, the UW Admissions Office will send you an email with a username and password that you will use to access the rest of the application. The email will also contain a link to the application.

2)      The application has ten parts – you do not need to fill it out in one sitting and can save the application and come back at any time to finish it or to make changes. You must fill out the queries that have a red bar next to them. The rest of the information is voluntary, but it is helpful if you fill out everything so that we don’t have to contact you later for that information. Completed applications are due by March 15, 2013.

1. Personal Information – Name, contact information, etc.
2. Application – for “Site” you must select “Main Campus”. Even though the application will not require you to select this before you move on to the next part of the application, it is very important for SMTC purposes and will prevent complications later when you try to register for classes.
3. Academic Information – for “Program of Study” you must select “Natural Science MST – College of A&S”. Under “Start of Term” select whatever term you anticipate beginning classes in. Do not put anything under the “Additional Areas of Interest” drop down.
4. Sensitive Information – this section asks if you have ever committed a crime or been in trouble with a different post-secondary institution. You must answer both questions.
5. Residency Information – it will ask you what state you are currently a resident of and which state you graduated high school in.
6. Post-Secondary Information – this section asks you where you graduated from college. If you went to a community college for any class, you must include that information here as well. Even if your community college classes were transferred over to the college that you received your bachelor’s degree from, we must have official transcripts sent from that community college. You can also self-report your GPA and GRE scores* on this page – we prefer that you do so that we can make our admission decision in a timelier manner. If accepted, then we will require official transcripts (one of which must have proof of bachelor’s degree on it) and official test scores to be sent at that time.
7. Inquiry and Payment Information – this section asks how you heard about the program that you are applying to and the reasons for applying. Additionally, there is a one-time $50 application fee that you must pay for your application to be processed.
8. After you have paid the fee, another screen will pop up where you can upload documents. This is where you can upload any unofficial transcripts or test scores (again, if accepted into the program you will need to send official transcripts), a current resume, and it is also where you need to upload the Writing Sample for our program, which can be found here.
9. The next screen is a place where you put your recommenders information. The SMTC requires three letters of recommendation. When you get to this screen, please click “Add New Recommender” and then fill out the fields that follow – the system will then send an email to your recommender with the form that they need to fill out and submit. If your recommenders would prefer to fill out hard copies of the form, it can be found here. Please have recommenders submit any hard copies to the SMTC Office Associate.
10. Finally, there is an Admissions Agreement at the end of the application that you must agree to before hitting “Submit”. Before you hit the submit button, please make sure that all of your application materials have been uploaded. These materials include: unofficial transcripts, unofficial GRE scores*, writing sample, current resume, and three letters of recommendation.

3)      Once all application materials have been received, three different reviewers will go over the application. All applicants will be informed of the committee’s decision by April 15, 2013.

*The SMTC does provide an alternative option to the GRE. It is called an Alternative Portfolio and the instructions and rubric can be found here. If you are interested in this option, please email the SMTC Office Associate for more information.