University has announced that its Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Visual Art K-12 has received approval from the South Carolina Department of Education, and may begin accepting students in the fall of 2021.
The MAT program targets exceptional art students who aspire to be accomplished artists as well as artist educators, and explores the relationship between the teaching process and the creative process. In addition, the program fosters development of skills and sensitivities needed by art and design professionals and is a pathway to initial K-12 certification.
Upon completion of the program, students will earn K-12 teacher certification for Art in the state of South Carolina. According to the South Carolina Department of Education, there is a rising demand for art teachers in South Carolina, as Art is a "critical needs" area.
Students in the program will develop both as artists and teachers, by taking graduate level courses in Art Education, Art History, and Art Studio. Students will also have opportunities to showcase their work in exhibitions, including a final MAT exhibition at the conclusion of the program.
"The art faculty at Lander University are extremely excited to add the MAT program as an option for our BFA studio graduates, as well as for studio graduates from other universities across the state," said Sandy Singletary, associate professor and chair of the Department of Art at Lander. "This program provides students the option to take the maximum number of studio courses at the undergraduate level before pursuing teacher certification at the graduate level."
In addition to approval from the South Carolina Department of Education, Lander's MAT program has also been approved by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. For more information on the MAT in Visual Art K-12, or any of Lander's graduate programs, please visit www.lander.edu/graduatestudies.