Application Information, MIT Bellingham

Program Application

Criteria for selecting the most qualified applicants for admission include academic preparation/endorsement evaluation, essay review (for content and structure), letters of recommendation, and demonstrated experience with youth; also, the interview participation is rated for fitness for this program, evidence of strong oral communication, critical thinking, and group interaction. Meeting the application requirements makes the applicant eligible for admission consideration but does not guarantee admission. Enrollment restrictions apply for each quarter. 

To help determine your application eligibility and the best time to apply, prospective applicants should seek advising with Woodring Advising, phone 360-650-4887, e-mail address TeacherEd.Admission@wwu.edu, or wce.wwu.edu/MIT-Bellingham/Apply. For MIT program questions, contact Professor Longoria at longora@wwu.edu. Further general information may be obtained by contacting Janna Cecka - see wce.wwu.edu/user/janna-cecka. Applicants seeking the Music endorsement must also contact Professor Patty Bourne for advising. The Physical Education and Health endorsement is not available with the graduate program.

The Graduate School online application process can be reviewed here, WWU Graduate Admissions (applyweb.com); if you have technical questions regarding the online application, e-mail gradschool@wwu.edu.

Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate School and the Secondary Education department requirements below. You should begin an application at least a few weeks prior to the application deadline.

Pre-application Requirement

1. Start an online application, www.applyweb.com/wwugrad/index.ftl. It is important when creating an account to A) enter your education information and if you are a current WWU student/alumni, B) select your endorsement, C) upload unofficial transcripts, and D) upload endorsement evaluation (see item #2 below). You can save and exit the online application until you have uploaded all required documents. 

2. An endorsement evaluation is required to confirm you have met all or most of the academic course requirements for the endorsement you will earn in the MIT program. No more than 10 endorsement credits, limited to content method course(s), may be outstanding once you begin the MIT program. Contact the Woodring Admissions Office if you have any questions.

• Current WWU students: Contact the academic major/endorsement advisor listed with your endorsement to request an evaluation during the academic year, then upload document to application. Alternatively you can upload a DegreeWorks Worksheet that details completed courses; if courses are outstanding, include a DegreeWorks quarterly Plan.

• Post-bac. or non-WWU students: You should request an evaluation when most of your endorsement courses are complete. Contact the academic major/endorsement advisor listed with your endorsement to request an evaluation during the academic year. Include unofficial transcripts, a transcript evaluation report (if applicable), and non-WWU applicants must include relevant course descriptions to determine any possible WWU equivalencies. Upload evaluation with your application along with a note for any courses that are in-progress or planned from the time application is submitted to the program start date. 

3. Meet the Basic Skills requirement. This may be met by: a) taking the WEST-B exam, b) SAT scores, and/or c) ACT scores. There is no minimum score requirement for admission. See the Woodring admissions website: wce.wwu.edu/admissions/basic-skills for more details or alternate test options for out-of-state applicants. Scores need to be sent from testing site by the application deadline.

4. Take the Content Test (WEST-E or NES), https://wce.wwu.edu/cert/content-test-resource-site, for your endorsement(s) and submit scores with your application. For those seeking a world language endorsement, the ACTFL written and verbal exam scores are also required.

Application Requirements

• Baccalaureate degree (or degree completed prior to program start date).
• A minimum overall grade point average of 3.0; or see Graduate School GPA eligibility requirements.
• Meet the Basic Skills requirement.
• Submit scores for Content Test(s), and ACTFL for world languages.
• Unofficial transcripts from every institution of higher learning attended (official transcripts required if admitted).
• A completed endorsement evaluation.
• Experience working with youth in an educational setting, with preference to public secondary schools.
• Experience with youth and families in diverse socio-economic, cultural, linguistic settings.
• Resumé.
• Three letters of reference (see below).
• Essays responding to the prompts in the online application (updated prompts below).
• Completion of an approved English composition course, with a grade of B or higher.
• English language proficiency.
• Interview by SEC faculty (details provided after application deadline).
• International applicants check here for additional requirements.
  
  The GRE is not an application requirement for this graduate program.

Letters of Reference

There should be one letter from someone who can attest to academic strength in the major – preferably a university professor.  Another letter should be from someone who can speak to the applicant's experiences with youth and/or diverse populations.  The third letter can be from either of these, or perhaps a character reference; however, letters should not be from family members or roommates.  The application includes a built-in reference letter request system that automatically sends emails to the recommenders you specify. It will provide them with a form to make their recommendations.

Essay Prompts

We believe that effective teachers must possess the knowledge, skills and dispositions to successfully facilitate learning for students of diverse backgrounds and abilities. The essays are intended to reveal aspects about you as a person- including the knowledge, abilities and the personal experiences that you will bring into the complex demands of teaching. Be sure to support your response with concrete examples from your work in schools and/or with youth and also from the relevant academic literature.

The essays will be reviewed based on the following criteria: academic preparation, experience with youth, experience working with diverse populations, a commitment to social justice, and writing proficiency. Each essay should address the prompt; include your name and title of essay; be 2 pages in length; and should be in 12-point font, double-spaced.

Essay 1

Tell us why you wish to pursue a career in teaching. How do your experiences and dispositions prepare you to be successful in an accelerated, cohort-based Master in Teaching program?  How do your experiences and dispositions prepare you to be successful in the teaching profession more generally? 

Essay 2

How might an educator's unacknowledged racial biases or taken-for-granted racial assumptions affect their ability to create a safe, inclusive, and culturally responsive learning environment?  What additional biases or assumptions are important to address? 

Essay 3

Describe your experiences with youth and families in diverse socio-economic, cultural and linguistic settings. Comment on any experiences with academic courses that have provided you knowledge of multicultural and social justice issues and challenges. How does this knowledge and experiences prepare you to be an effective teacher?

Requirements Upon Program Admission

Candidates admitted to the Woodring College of Education must meet specified requirements throughout the course of their teacher education program in order to remain in the program. Upon acceptance, each candidate receives a detailed letter for next steps, and is assigned a Secondary Education faculty advisor. All newly admitted candidates must attend the mandatory orientation and advising session before beginning first quarter classes. Candidates may be dropped from Secondary Education for failing to attend the required orientation.

Some of the requirements include:

• Completion of a Pre-Residency Clearance through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and a fingerprint background check.
• Completion of the Woodring College of Education Prevention of Sexual Harassment Training.
• Completion of the Woodring College of Education Blood-Borne Pathogens Training.
• Completion of the online Student Conduct Requirements and Agreement.

General Retention Requirements

• Candidates must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, beginning with the quarter they are notified of admission to Secondary Education and all subsequent quarters even quarters when no education courses are being taken. Candidates who fail to meet this standard will receive a letter advising them that they have been dropped from the program.
• Candidates must earn a grade of B (3.0) or better in the professional education sequence, and a C or better in all courses required for the endorsement. See Woodring College and the Graduate School policies for more information.
• Candidates not registered for program or endorsement courses will be required to register for GRAD 699 every quarter (excluding summer) until all degree requirements are completed.
• Candidates must complete all certification and endorsement course work.
• Candidates are required to conduct themselves in a professional manner, demonstrating good moral character and personal fitness.

Program Completion

To qualify for program completion and recommendation for state of Washington residency certification, candidates must complete the following requirements and assessments:

• A state-approved, performance-based teacher preparation program that includes preparation in an endorsable subject area, teaching methodology, and an internship.
• Evidence of good moral character and personal fitness.
• Passing score in content test for each endorsement to be earned. The content tests are Washington Educator Skills Test (WEST-E), National Evaluation Series (NES), and American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL).
• Successful completion of the student teaching internship as shown by performance on the WWU Intern Development and Evaluation System (IDES).
• Candidates who interrupt enrollment in a teacher education program for more than two consecutive quarters (summer quarter not included) must meet all program admission, completion and certification requirements in place for the quarter in which they expect to return.
• The Graduate School policy is for program requirements to be completed within five years. While it is possible to earn the Residency teaching certificate without completing the final requirements for the MIT degree, it is not possible to earn the MIT without earning the Residency teaching certificate.