BALTIMORE — The St. John’s College Graduate Institute and Notre Dame of Maryland University today announced a new partnership: the Joint Master’s-Level Teaching Certification. This program will allow Graduate Institute students to earn a Liberal Arts Education Certificate through St. John’s College and a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree from Notre Dame in just two years of study, certifying them to teach. St. John’s College President Nora Demleitner and Notre Dame President Marylou Yam, joined by Graduate Institute Dean Emily Langston, Notre Dame Provost Martha Walker, Notre Dame’s School of Education Dean Kathryn Doherty, students, faculty and staff, signed a memorandum of understanding to officially launch the program.
“Through this partnership, Notre Dame of Maryland University and St. John’s College will prepare more certified teachers to fill critical positions in Maryland classrooms,” said President Yam. “Notre Dame continues to play a leadership role in addressing the state’s teacher shortage as one of Maryland’s top providers of certified teachers and a top producer of Teachers of the Year. We are excited to expand our reach to prepare St. John’s graduates for the opportunity to become highly qualified educators.”
“This partnership just makes sense,” said President Demleitner. “All classes at St. John’s are conducted in the same way: by reading a ‘great’ text—one that continually elicits deep questioning about the human experience and our place in the world—and discussing it rigorously around a table. Our pedagogy creates great teachers because it exemplifies ‘learning by doing:’ everyone around the table acts as both teacher and learner simultaneously.”
Students will take 18 credit hours of classes for the Liberal Arts Education Certificate, either in person at one of the St. John’s College campuses located in Annapolis, Maryland, or Santa Fe, New Mexico, or online through the college’s “low residency” program. Those credit hours will then be applied to Notre Dame’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), which can be completed online or in person at the University’s Baltimore campus. Students will then be eligible take a teaching exam in any state where they would like to have a teaching certification in accordance with the certification requirements of that state. Many graduates from Notre Dame’s MAT program earn teacher certifications in two specialization areas, which increases their opportunities for meaningful employment.
The St. John’s College Graduate Institute is currently accepting applications for the summer and fall terms of 2023, as well as spring 2024. The Graduate Institute application, along with additional information, can be found online.
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
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