Social Studies Education cultivates the ways students think about their own place in history, their position in the economy, their impact in civic spaces, and their notions of belonging. For the MAT in Social Studies Education, we seek candidates who wish to explore and develop strategies for teaching students about the rich complexities of our world. Our program prepares the social studies teachers of tomorrow through direct work with practicing teachers, current students, doctoral students, and university faculty.
Students spend a significant amount of time observing and working with expert teachers in partner schools, combined with university coursework where they will rethink and refine their practice. They will learn to teach while embedded in practical settings, giving them the opportunity to constantly test and use cutting-edge theories of teaching and learning. If a student holds a bachelor’s degree in a social studies content area and wishes to gain teaching certification while working on a master’s degree, this degree program is perfect. The MAT in Social Studies Education results in a recommendation for initial certification in one of the four primary social studies content areas in grades 6-12: history, economics, geography, and political science.
If a student lacks a degree in one of the four content areas, they will need to complete 21 semester hours in a selected content area (at the 3000-level and higher) beyond normal requirements for the MAT. A student may include content area courses taken as an undergraduate or some of the elective courses in the MAT program. Students must take the pedagogy, practice, and theory coursework in the Fall semester and student teaching (and its related seminar) in the Spring. Those two semesters require full-time study. There is a comprehensive exam at the culmination of the program. Typically, students earn their degree after 57 hours. Program hours can be shortened if student took courses as an undergraduate that count toward certification, such as courses in educational psychology, social foundations of education, and social science content-area courses.
This major is part of a Double Dawgs pathway: History AB/Social Studies Education MAT(non-thesis) Political Science AB/Social Studies Education MAT(non-thesis) For more information, go to doubledawgs.uga.edu
Dr. Jim Garrett Social Studies Education MAT Coordinator jim.garrett@uga.edu Katrina Neidlinger EMSE Graduate Program Administrator katrinaa@uga.edu