Admissions Requirements

Below is a summary of admissions requirements for educator preparation programs at the baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate levels followed by a more detailed description of admissions requirements. All information is reported by the educator preparation provider.

Description of Admissions Requirements

Baccalaureate Programs:
Undergraduate Elementary Admissions Criteria
In order to be admitted to Smith's undergraduate licensure program, elementary students must complete a core set of courses, including a course in the learning sciences and in child development. All students in our teacher education program must have a major outside of education and child study. In addition to developing expertise in a specific discipline (history, psychology, biology etc.), all our students must also complete a rigorous course of study that includes distribution requirements specifically linked to the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks, which are themselves linked to the Common Core. These distribution requirements include the following
US History
World History
Literature Course
Children's Literature
Science Course with lab
Three Math Courses
Social Science Course

Students must also have a GPA of at least 3.0 and must complete a written application, provide evidence of successfully completing pre-practicum work in classrooms and educational settings, interview with a panel of faculty, and present a demonstration lesson for a panel of faculty.

Undergraduate Secondary Admissions Criteria
In order to be admitted to Smith's undergraduate secondary licensure program, students must complete a core set of courses, including a course in the learning sciences and in adolescent development. Secondary student teachers major in the area in which they hope to earn a license. Students must also have a GPA of at least 3.0 and must complete a written application, provide evidence of successfully completing pre-practicum work in classrooms and educational settings, interview with a panel of faculty, and present a demonstration lesson for a panel of faculty


Post-baccalaureate Programs:
Graduate Elementary Admissions Criteria
In order to be accepted into our MAT program, students must prove they were successful academically in their college settings. Their transcript must reflect a minimum GPA of 3.0, and they must be able to provide three strong letters of recommendation and an academic writing sample from a college course.

Additionally, all transcripts are reviewed by our Coordinator of Teacher Education to ensure that their coursework includes courses in the areas of math, science, history, literature and social science. Remaining courses necessary for licensure may be taken during the MAT year or during an extended MAT program. Applicants will also be interviewed by a member of our faculty. For more information please see our web site: www.smith.edu/education/mat.php

Graduate Secondary Admissions Criteria
In order to be accepted into our MAT program, students must prove they were successful academically in their college setting. Their transcript must reflect a minimum GPA of 3.0 and they must be able to provide three strong letters of recommendation.

All applicants to the program must have a major or the equivalent of a major (approximately 8-10 courses) in the subject matter that they are going to teach.

In addition to our review of transcripts at the application stage, all graduate teacher education applications are reviewed by the academic department representing the subject matter (e.g. the English department reviews and evaluates secondary English teacher education candidates).

MAT applicants will also be interviewed by a member of our faculty. Applicants must also submit a paper or other piece of work that is illustrative of their writing. For more information please see our web site: www.smith.edu/education/mat.php