How do I apply to the TEACH! UrbanSouth program?

Application materials for COHORT IV were due by January 16, 2012. 

However, the deadline has been extended! 

Please contact Tyra Lopes Mendes directly for more details at tlopes@umassd.edu or (774) 929-3038! 

Thank you!

(1)   Download the attachment document below - How to Become a Teacher in Massachusetts - read through it carefully and jot down any questions that you have about its contents.

(2)   Please complete our online advisement form referred to as the "TEACH! UrbanSouth Candidate Profile & MTEL Status" survey.  We use this form as a first step in the formal advisement process here at the TEACH! program.  How you reply on this form tells a lot about your educational background and your professional goals.  We can more effectively guide you through the process of determining which pathway is the best one for you to take as you work toward becoming a licensed teacher in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Please send either Tyra Lopes Mendes (tlopes@umassd.edu) or Kym Welty (kwelty@umassd.edu) a quick email message now, requesting an invitation to complete our online advisement form.  Thank you! 

(3)  For Cohort IV applicants (coursework beginning in February 2012), the Graduate Admissions Office is requesting that ALL applications be completed on line.

• Click on the link above ("applications be completed on line") and READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY before beginning your online application process.

• At this point in time, you must decide if you are applying to the Master degree program or the initial licensure certificate program (a teaching license only, with no degree). 
  • In order to maximize your financial aid options, we strongly encourage you to complete the Teaching (MAT) application (please see the third bullet from the bottom of the list on the "online graduate application" web page). 
  • If you are choosing to apply to the initial licensure program (a teaching license only, with no degree), then please select the web link at the very bottom of the "online graduate application" web page - Certificate Programs (all).

• On the first page of either application, you will be asked "supplemental application" questions.  The last question on this page is #10 -- "If you have any specific information that would help us understand your application better, please provide it via the following comment box:").  In that comment box, you MUST enter and indicate that you are applying specifically to the "TEACH! UrbanSouth off-campus program in Brockton."  Doing so will ensure that your application is expedited in the system between now and February.

• Application fee:  Please be prepared with a credit card to pay the $50.00 application fee to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth during the online application process.  Thank you!

(4)   Compile the following documents and mail them to:

Office of Graduate Studies, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA, 02747-2300

• An updated professional résumé

• Required essay
  • In addition to the directions on the UMass application (see above), please submit an essay describing your professional goals and your commitment to teaching in an urban high or middle school.

• MTEL program exam scores
  • Reports from both the Communications and Literacy Skills Test and Subject Matter Knowledge Test
  • Have you taken and passed two MTEL program exams yet?  For support in passing the MTELs, please see below

• Two recent letters of recommendation
  • One of which must address either your experience or your potential to work with middle or high school populations

• Proof of a completed bachelor’s degree
  • An official transcript (in a sealed envelope) from an accredited institution of higher education with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. 
  • PLEASE NOTE: Applicants who do not meet the minimum GPA requirement should still considering applying.  Members of the Admissions Committee would like to see your overall application, including your essay and your letters of recommendation before they make their final determinations.  They have been known to be flexible with certain cases.  Please speak directly with Tyra, Kym or Traci for more details if you are concerned about the GPA requirement.

How much does the TEACH! UrbanSouth program cost?

• Semester ONE (Spring Semester - 3.0 credits):
  • $1,422
    • $0 - covered by the Teach Grant
    • $1,422 - student payment due*

• Semester TWO (Summer Session - 9.0 credits):
  • $4,206
    • $4,000 - covered by the Teach Grant
    • $206 - student payment due

• Semester THREE (Fall Semester - 9.0 credits):
  • $4,856
    • $4,000 - covered by the Teach Grant
    • $856 - student payment due

Substantial financial assistance is available to TUS program applicants during their second and third semesters via the federal Teach grant (forgivable loan program), which covers a total of $8,000 toward your tuition and fees over the course two academic years while completing your MAT-I program.  

You are expected to fund the remaining balance of your tuition and fees from other sources, such as:

• To assist our students during the first semester of coursework, UMass Dartmouth offers the "Monthly Payment Plan," administered by Tuition Management Systems. The Monthly Payment Plan makes paying your education balance more manageable, and can help limit loan debt.  Please visit this web site for more information.
• Your school district may reimburse you for "Professional Development" (see your local Teacher Association contract)
• Regular financial aid at UMD - Perkins student loans (unsubsidized student loans), etc...  see UMD Financial Aid web site

Please remember that the TEACH! UrbanSouth program is a cost-effective model in that your student tuition and fees also covers instructional materials in most courses (books), technology [TaskStream and Video Analysis Tool (VAT) subscriptions], mentoring and professional development.

How do I know if the federal Teach Grant Program is really for me?

For more information on the Teach grant, please visit their official web site and then call Traci Almeida and/or Tyra Lopes Mendes for further advisement.  In the mean time, please note the following:

• For each Teach Grant-eligible program for which you received Teach Grant funds, you must serve as a full-time teacher in a low-income school for a total of at least four (4) academic years within eight (8) calendar years after you complete (or withdraw from) the academic program for which you received the Teach Grant.

• Schools serving low-income students include any elementary or secondary school that is listed in the Department of Education's Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.  There are many schools in southeastern Massachusetts on this list, including a substantial amount of schools in the following counties:
  • Barnstable County
  • Bristol County
  • Norfolk County (southern region)
  • Plymouth County

• To access this Directory, please visit https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp

How do I apply for the federal Teach Grant Program in order to receive a substantial forgivable student loan?

To apply for the Teach grant, please begin by:

• Completing a FASFA online at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov

• Completing the UMass Dartmouth "Certificate of Eligibility" and sending it directly to our Graduate Admissions Coordinator, Traci Alemida, as soon as possible via fax, email (send a scanned copy of your completed form), or through USPS mail. 
  • Email address - talmeida@umassd.edu
  • Fax number - (508) 999-9055
  • Mailing address - Traci Almeida, Graduate Admissions Coordinator, School of Education, Public Policy & Civic Engagement, UMass Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300

Please do note that if you do not complete the required teaching service obligation within eight years of graduation from UMass Dartmouth's Master of Arts in Teaching program, the Teach Grant funds you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that you must repay, with interest charged from the date of each Teach Grant disbursement.