All applicants to the Secondary English MAE program will provide an application package that presents evidence of their development of the necessary knowledge, skills, and disposition to become successful teachers of English.

Applicants have three due dates for submission of their materials each spring and fall:

• February 1, March 1, April 1 for spring
• September 1, October 1, and November 1 for fall

The application package includes:

• a completed application for admission to the Truman Graduate Program, including:
  • transcript
  • resume
  • a personal statement, indicating in one single-spaced page why the applicant would be a good teacher candidate and providing evidence to support that claim, focusing specifically on the applicant’s knowledge, skills, and disposition
  • at least three letters of recommendation, one of which should be from an English professor

• a reflective portfolio – submitted to Dr. Rebecca Dierking, Secondary English Program Director, in one pdf
  • maximum of 30 pages, including title page and table of contents
  • artifacts illustrating the applicant’s knowledge, skills, and disposition which illustrate their ability as a teacher candidate
    • artifacts may be any type of visual representation:  papers, poems, letters, drawings, photos, etc.
    • to conserve space, artifacts may be excerpted, such as the first three to five pages of a 15-page paper
    • each artifact needs its own reflection
      • this reflection should be placed BEFORE the artifact
      • each reflection should be brief (less than a page) and indicate what that artifact is intended to illustrate about the candidate’s potential as an educator and why it is included in the portfolio
• an interview

Applicants can demonstrate appropriate development of knowledge, skills, and disposition in a variety of ways.  In general, however, criteria for admission include:

• Required: 2.75 GPA overall
• Required: 2.75-3.0 Education GPA
• Required: 2.75-3.0 English GPA

Applications will be reviewed by a committee comprising the English MAE faculty, the Director of Graduate Studies in English, and faculty representatives from the English and Linguistics BA, BFA, and BS programs.  Each interview will be conducted by the MAE faculty and in some cases other member(s) of the committee.

In addition to informing the admission decision, the components of the application are designed to provide material for formative feedback that will both help applicants make the transition from student to teacher and prepare them to make similar applications for professional positions.

English Education Faculty

GPA Sheet—English Education

Please see your English Education advisor (Dr. Rebecca Dierking or Dr. Ben Batzer)  each semester to ensure smooth processing through the program.

Students seeking certification to teach in Missouri must have a 3.0 GPA or higher in their content area and professional classes (mostly education classes). The GPA sheet was created to help students keep track of the two GPA calculations and aid with advisement and enrollment. If students have any questions about their GPA, they should meet with their specialty area advisor.