Requirements

Baccalaureate Level/Bachelor’s Degree

The UW-Madison Teach Master’s program requires a bachelor’s or comparable undergraduate degree in the field of study relevant to the licensable area. Students currently earning their undergraduate degree must have it completed before classes start.   

 If you do not have one of the degrees listed for your desired subject area, but believe you have a special case for consideration, you may email the program lead explaining your situation. These may include life or work experience in the subject area, or other similar university courses.

Transcripts

The UW-Madison Teach Master’s program’s initial evaluation can be done using your unofficial transcripts. However, if you accept an offer of admission to the program, you must submit an official transcript to document courses taken and grades earned. Students currently earning their undergraduate degree at the time of admission will need to submit a second official transcript to document the degree. Our policy allows this documentation to be done after the program classes have started.  

Official Transcripts

If you are recommended for admission by the department, you will receive a request for your official transcripts from the Graduate School at that time. Send official transcripts, or academic records from each institution attended to the Graduate School at the address below. Do not send transcripts to the department.

UW–Madison Graduate School

Office of Admissions

217 Bascom Hall

500 Lincoln Drive

Madison, WI 53706

The UW-Madison Teach Master’s program admits students based on GPA, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 over the last 60 credits of your bachelor’s degree. However, certain exceptions may apply for students who we feel are strong applicants. In this instance, you may be asked to take and pass an approved content exam within your desired subject area prior to the start of the semester.

In most cases, the school’s GPA evaluation will not include courses taken beyond the completion of your bachelor’s degree. If you feel that certain courses or degrees may be relevant, please list the details in your application, as these may be considered in determining your eligibility.

GRE: GRE not required.

TOEFL Scores: Applicants whose native language is not English or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English must arrange to have a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores sent to UW–Madison. Applicants may also be requested to have a conversation with the Secondary Education ESL staff. Refer to English Proficiency on the Graduate School Admission Requirements page.

All applicants to the UW–Madison Teach Master’s program must provide two letters of recommendation. Ideally, these letters should come from a respected individual, such as a professor, academic advisor, supervisor, or educational professional who knows you well. They should speak to your qualities such as leadership skills, maturity, responsibility, working with diverse populations, communication skills, teamwork, and interpersonal skills. These letters should also include your experience working with adolescents and why you show a potential for success in our program.

The statement of purpose is your time to shine. Tell us why you’re passionate about becoming a secondary or special education teacher. Tell us who you are by introducing yourself to the program faculty. Tell us about your important life experiences, related skills, and personal attributes that make you an exceptional candidate for the program. We want to know what makes you great!

Because the statement of purpose is one of the most important components of the application, you should carefully read, revise, and edit it before submission. It may be wise to seek assistance from external resources. See the link to the UW Graduate School’s advice on writing the Statement of Purpose. UW–Madison students may wish to contact the UW–Madison Writing Center for additional help.

A resume upload via the UW–Madison Graduate School supplemental application is required. This should include your professional and academic experience and any other information you believe is pertinent. No specific format is required, but the resume should not exceed two pages in length.

Secondary Education applicants will be notified by Feb 1 of their admission status for the June start. Offers of admission are provisional until all bachelor’s level grades are final and documented (if the bachelor’s degree was pending at the time of application) and until criminal background investigation results are reviewed. If, after a student has been offered admission, the final transcript review or the criminal background check results indicate that a student did not satisfy all the eligibility criteria, the offer of admission will be rescinded. Students should be aware that under these or similar ineligibility conditions, the offer of admission could be rescinded.

Program Restrictions

Students accepted into this program are not permitted to accept teaching assistantships, project assistantships, research assistantships, or any other appointments that would provide a tuition waiver.