Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Online

Shape the future. Change the world.

Education matters, and you know it. And now, you’re ready to become an expert in your field, advance your career, and reap the benefits of a rigorous MAT program that integrates teacher certification with a master's degree. What you do now will shape the future. Get started on your path to changing the world.

or your online Master of Arts in Teaching degree?

School districts have long sought after SPU-educated teachers for both their competence and character. Many graduates have gone on to blaze new trails in the education realm, and even earn Washington state’s Teacher of the Year award, an honor given to only one outstanding Washington teacher annually. The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program was created to integrate teacher certification with a master's degree in a two-year program for working professionals. Among other benefits, graduates of the program earn their Washington Residency Teacher Certificate, earn higher placement on the salary schedule, and become equipped to guide students of all backgrounds and abilities to achieve excellence. In addition, SPU’s School of Education offers one-year alternative route teaching programs, including AMAT and AMTMS.

Accomplished faculty

Expert, caring faculty have a desire to help students succeed. Faculty are known for mentoring their students during and following their educational programs. These professors model lifelong learning through scholarly activities of their own, publishing frequently, and presenting at professional conferences.

AACU membership

Seattle Pacific is a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. SPU certification programs are approved by the Washington state Professional Educator Standards Board. The School of Education is also a member of the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education, and has a chapter, Sigma Phi Upsilon, of Chi Sigma Iota, an international honor society that values academic and professional excellence in counseling.

Deep character emphasis

Built on an character education foundation, the graduate programs at SPU offer first-class education through the lens of Christian faith and values. Students take ethics courses, and character issues are integrated throughout the curriculum.

Flexible format

Designed for working professionals, this program is fully online.

Connected alumni

School of Education graduates move on to purposeful careers in schools and distict-level leadership throughout the country. When you obtain a graduate degree from SPU’s School of Education, you join a community of alumni who stay connected.

Do you want to become an educator with both the competence and the character to bring hope into the lives of students? Is it your goal to become a leader in making our schools work for all children, not just some children? Graduates of the School of Education at Seattle Pacific University are among today’s most sought-after educators, expertly prepared to meet the challenges of their field and serve their communities.

Mission

Seattle Pacific University is a Christian university fully committed to engaging the culture and changing the world by graduating people of competence and character, becoming people of wisdom, and modeling grace-filled community.

Denominational affiliation

SPU is a private university founded in 1891 by the Free Methodist Church of North America. Students and faculty represent more than 50 different Christian denominations.

Location

SPU’s 43-acre city campus is located in a residential neighborhood on the north slope of Queen Anne Hill, only 10 minutes from the heart of downtown Seattle. SPU also owns and operates a wilderness campus and field station on Blakely Island, and a seaside campus/retreat facility on Whidbey Island.

Enrollment

(Statistics are based on Autumn Quarter 2019)

Total enrollment: 3,529

Undergraduate enrollment: 2,717

Post-baccalaureate enrollment: 21

Graduate enrollment: 791

(Summer 2018–Summer 2019)

Continuing education enrollment: 2,531

Academic programs offered

Undergraduate majors: 71

Undergraduate minors: 59

Master’s degree programs: 31

Doctoral degree programs: 5

Graduate certificates: 8

STUDENTS

(undergraduate through doctoral)

Average age of students

Undergraduate: 21

Post-baccalaureate: 35

Master’s: 32

Doctoral: 33

Gender Men: 33% Women: 67%

Student-faculty ratio 13:1 (based on Common Data Set definition)

UNDERGRADUATE INFORMATION

• Average high school GPA
• Entering freshmen: 3.52
• Entering transfers: 3.13
• Average SAT scores of entering freshmen
• National average: 1059
• Washington state average: 1074
• SPU average: 1152
• Class size 82% of Autumn Quarter 2019 undergraduate classes had enrollments of 30 or less.
• Ethnic diversity 43% (undergraduate ethnic minority students)
• Retention rate 80% (based on first-year persistence)
• Six-year graduation rate 68% (reported Autumn 2019)

Top 10 undergraduate programs

By number of students enrolled Autumn Quarter and accepted into a major:

• Psychology
• Business Administration
• Nursing
• Computer Science
• Physiology
• Communication
• Visual Communications
• Global Development Studies
• Biochemistry
• Exercise Science