Admission Policies and Procedures

A. Requirements for Admission to the Graduate Program

1. To be considered for acceptance as a graduate student, the applicant's file in the graduate education office must include the following items:
2. A letter of intent indicating why you want to pursue the graduate program in which you plan to apply.
3. All Education tracks accept the following test scores: GRE (Graduate Record Examination) or MAT (Miller Analogies Test), or  GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test). 
4. Transcript(s) which indicate at least a 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or 3.0 average in the last 60 hours of university credit for full acceptance. A student may receive conditional acceptance with a 2.5 cumulative grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 2.75 in the last 60 hours of transferable university credit.
5. A satisfactory writing sample.

If an unclassified student decides to pursue a graduate degree, admission requirements in effect at the time of application must be met. Upon admission to the graduate education program, a maximum of six semester hours of graduate credit earned during non-degree status may be applied toward graduation. The date of the earliest course approved for credit will be used as the beginning of the six-year time limit for completion of the degree.

Up to six hours of gradute transfer credit from a regionally accredited institution may be applied toward graduate degree requirements in education. Determination of transfer credit will be made at the time of admission by the School of Education .

B. Departmental Screening

After a student submits an application form, undergraduate transcripts and meets all requirements for admission as defined in the graduate education guidelines, the applicant's file is forwarded to the Teacher Education Council for screening. This committee can make one of the following recommendations:

1. Full admission when the applicant has an undergraduate major (30 semester hours) and a GPA described above. These students will not generally be required to take undergraduate courses unless the student is seeking licensure. Certain undergraduate courses may be required in this case. Departments may require appropriate tests.
   
2. Probationary admission will be the category for most applicants with the following deficiencies: (a) GPA below minimum standards listed above, (b) failure to meet academic requirements in the student's academic department, or (c) an MAT score of 40-44. Students who earn at least a B in 6 hours of coursework as directed by the committee become eligible for full admission.

C. Admission to Courses for Non-Degree Seeking Students

Students with an undergraduate major, minor, or 18 undergraduate hours in the content area are eligible to take graduate courses as non-degree seeking students. These courses may not be used as hours toward the undergraduate degree.

D. MAT and Licensure

The processes to complete the MAT and Licensure are same as those outlined for completion of licensure in the Undergraduate Bulletin.

Candidates for teacher licensure who replace Student Teaching with full-time teaching are required to enroll in a one hour Practicum course for Belmont faculty supervision.

Candidates who have completed the 18 credit hour professional education minor at Belmont University in the undergraduate program, with grades of C or above in each course, and a GPA in the minor of 3.0 or above, may be considered as meeting these competencies. With the approval of the Chair of the Department of Education, these specific candidates may have up to twelve (12) hours of the 42 hours required for the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) waived. Belmont University does not accept transfer courses as having met the professional competencies. To be eligible for this waiver in the M.A.T. program, candidates must take at least 60 credit hours at Belmont and complete the undergraduate degree at Belmont University. Students who elect the Montessori track may have up to six (6) hours of the 42 hours required for the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) waived.

E. Admission to Candidacy in the M. Ed.

1. Students apply for admission to candidacy after completing EDU 6010, 6020, 6030, 6040, 6050. At this point in the program, a Mentor Committee is formed.

2. Students granted probationary admission may apply for admission to candidacy when they have completed prerequisites and have a 3.0 or better GPA

F. Mentor Committee in the M.Ed.

Each student, in conjunction with a faculty mentor and a professional mentor will develop a personalized curriculum through a combination of coursework, on-the-job projects, independent study, seminars, workshops, or other educational work to meet the professional goals of the student. The mentor committee is formed during the first 18 hours of course work as part of the Developing and Sustaining Learning Communities Block. Mentor communities are formed in consultation with the Associate Dean.

G . Thesis/Project Proposal in the M.Ed.
Each student submits a proposal and preliminary bibliography for a thesis or project to the chair of the Mentor Committee. The committee approves or disapproves the proposal and, on acceptance, oversees the student's completion of the thesis or project.

Most of the three hours allotted to Thesis in Education will be thesis or project preparation. The student submits a final copy of the thesis or project, prepared according to the style manual agreed upon with the Mentor Committee. The committee will be available to the student for consultation during the preparation of the thesis or project and apprises the student of any deadlines for submission. The Mentor Committee approves the thesis or project. The thesis or project must be submitted for binding one month before graduation.

H. Thesis/Project Proposal in the M.Ed.

In order for the M.Ed. candidate to meet all deadlines and fulfill all requirements for admission, candidacy, and graduation, the following tentative time table has been compiled:

1. At least four weeks prior to the anticipated date of registration for classes, the applicant must submit to the admissions officer of Graduate Studies in Education
   1. an application for admission to the graduate program;
   2. an official transcript of all graduate work completed at other institutions;
   3. a letter of interest indicating why you want to pursue the graduate program;
   4. a resume
   5. a copy of the results of the MAT; and
   6. an application fee of $50.00.
2. After admission to the graduate program:
   1. A faculty mentor and a professional mentor in the student's area of interest. A mentor from the student's major area is assigned by the Associate Dean.
   2. The student should consult with this mentor as far in advance of registration as possible in order to determine what courses to schedule for each semester
3. Within three hours of graduation:
   1. Students take EDU 6900 Thesis project in which the focus is on preparation of the thesis or project.
   2. Students must register for EDU 6901, Continuation of Study each semester until the completion of EDU 6900.
   3. The application for graduation must be completed during registration of the semester in which the student will be graduating.
   4. The Teacher Education Council reviews the reports from the Mentor Committee and makes a recommendation to the Provost relative to conferring the degree .