Start your Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) application

Tips & Notes:

  • Try to complete an application by the earliest deadline.
  • Applications are assessed on the strength of the portfolio, personal essay, and academic achievement.
  • Maine College of Art & Design offers various scholarships or fellowships to reduce attendance costs. If accepted, materials submitted as a part of your application will be reviewed to determine your eligibility. No additional materials will be required.
  • Take some time to learn about the purpose, an award range, inclusion criteria, and an evaluation criteria for the available scholarship or fellowships. If you wish to be considered, highlight relevant themes throughout the personal essay you submit with your application.
  • If you are an international applicant, please also review the "International Applicants" section below to ensure additional requirements are met.

Applicants will be interviewed virtually by the MAT Admissions Committee upon completion of their application. All accepted applicants are considered for merit-based scholarships, regardless of country of citizenship.

Deadlines for entry in Summer 2023

Priority Application Deadline — Friday, February 3, 2023

You can complete an application anytime before this deadline. Complete applications will be reviewed as soon as possible. We aim to schedule interviews within a month of submission and return with an admission decision within two weeks of the interview. We strongly encourage applicants to complete an application on or before this deadline to make time for accepted student events and work with other departments (Financial Aid, Registrar, Business) to complete enrollment.

Rolling Admissions

After the Priority Application Deadline, applications are reviewed on a rolling basis as space permits. Although there are no differences in the admission process, students admitted during Rolling Admissions are not guaranteed decision extensions.

Notes

All applicants will be invited to have a brief interview with an MAT Admission Review Committee member, and the Committee expects to return with an admission decision within two weeks of the interview.

All incoming MAT students must start in late-July with the Summer Institute. We do not offer Fall or Spring admission.

How to apply to the MAT program

☐ Completed Program Application

A completed MAT application should include your Digital Portfolio, Personal Essay, Curriculum Vitae, two (2) Disposition Checklists from your recommenders, and all transcripts listed in your education history. You can submit your application before recommenders submit your Disposition Checklists, but your application is not complete without them.

Click here to begin or continue your application for MAT at MECA&D (Summer 2023)

☐ Application Fee

You will need to pay a non-refundable application fee of $70 to submit your application. The fee can be paid by credit card within the web application before submission.

☐ Digital Portfolio

Please submit a digital portfolio directly in your application. Your portfolio should include 15–20 digital images of work, or up to 10 minutes of video. At least 5 of your images should address your strength in a variety of mediums, showing a fundamental understanding of both 2D and 3D artmaking.

A strong portfolio should be properly documented to convey your studio practice, and include detail shots as necessary. We strongly encourage you to submit your most recent complete works to demonstrate an active creative practice at the time of application.

We do not accept portfolio submissions in other formats such as mailed in CDs, USB drives, or physical slides.

☐ Personal Essay

The Personal Essay for the MAT program consists of three prompts with a total word limit of 750 words. Please upload this document as one PDF attachment in your application:

  1. Please outline your interest in MECA&D’s MAT program. Why are you pursuing an MAT, and why now? How is MECA&D a good fit for you, and how do you see yourself being a strong addition to the cohort?
  2. Please describe your creative practice in the context of your portfolio submission and the program application. Why are you presenting this body of work for the program application? What art historical connections have you identified in your portfolio, and how might your relationship with your practice translate into teaching in the art classroom?
  3. Please share your goals for graduate studies. What do you want to achieve during your time in our MAT program? What are your goals as an art educator after graduate school? How can our community and network help you reach these goals?

A strong personal essay should place equal emphasis on all of the above, and show a clear understanding of the relationship between your own journey, your vision, and your goals for graduate study.

☐ Curriculum Vitae

Your full curriculum vitae should include education, employment history, exhibitions/publications, and honors. Please upload a PDF version of your CV directly to your SlideRoom application.

☐ Two Disposition Checklists

In the web application, you will enter the name, title, email and phone number for each of your two recommenders, as well as the nature of your relationships and how long you have known them. The web application will generate an invitation to your recommenders automatically with a link for them to fill out a Disposition Checklist.

Instead of composing a letter of recommendation, your recommenders will complete a form that directly addresses qualities that a strong art educator should possess, such as passion for the visual world, capacity for innovation and intuition, willingness to foster respectful critique, and the ability to reflect.

As you identify your recommenders, be sure to take into consideration whether or not they are able to speak to the above at a professional capacity. Even if your recommender is a friend, refrain from citing them as such in your application as it introduces bias.

It is possible to submit an application without submitted Disposition Checklists, so please be diligent with following up with your recommenders. The MAT Admissions Review Committee will not review incomplete applications.

☐ College Transcripts

All applicants should either be a bachelor degree holder or an undergraduate senior with an expected graduation date ahead of our program start date. We ask our applicants to have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 and above from all previous degrees and a minimum of 30 studio credits and 9 art history credits on their transcripts. However, each applicant will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants can either submit unofficial transcripts in the web application as a PDF attachment, or request official college transcripts to be sent to us electronically to admissions@meca.edu, or to the following address:

Maine College of Art & Design
ATTN: MAT Admissions
522 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101

Admitted and enrolled students must submit all transcripts included in the application as official documents with conferred dates (whenever applicable) either electronically by the issuing institution through a transcript delivery service, or by mail from the issuing institution’s registrar office.

Note: We reserve the right to rescind offers of admission for undergraduate seniors who do not meet the GPA requirements upon completion of their undergraduate studies.

☐ Virtual Interview

Applicants will be interviewed virtually by the MAT Admission Committee upon completion of their application. You will be notified via email when the application is approved for the interviewing stage. Please note that you must meet the requirements listed above in order for the Admissions office to move forward with your application.

☐ Additional notes

At MECA&D, we understand applicants come from all walks of life. If you find yourself in the position where you don't meet some of the aforementioned requirements, please be in touch with Joel Tsui, Graduate Admissions Coordinator at joel.tsui-staff@meca.edu to discuss alternatives to demonstrate preparedness in pursuing graduate studies in art education.

☐ International Applicants

Maine College of Art welcomes applications from international students. In addition to the above application process and future communications related to enrollment, below are additional steps required to successfully join us as an international student.

Pay close attention to the following sections. Any delays from filing errors may impact your ability to join our program on time.

Due to the time involved in fulfilling legal requirements, we advise international applicants to complete their applications by the soonest deadline or no less than three months prior to the start of the program. If offered admission, we also advise you to enroll well ahead of the decision due date.

Please note that all dates are in MM/DD/YYYY format, and all currency listed on our documents and website are in US dollars.

Application

In addition to the above application materials, international applicants will also need to have their transcripts evaluated, as well as submit a demonstration of English Proficiency.

Evaluated Transcripts

Applicants who attended postsecondary institutions outside of the United States are required to have their transcript(s) evaluated by a member of the National Association of Credit Evaluation Services (NACES.org), such as World Education Services (WES.org).

All documents must be in English and converted into a 4.0 GPA scale, therefore official evaluations are required.

Demonstration of English Proficiency

If your primary language is not English, you will be required to demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English. The following are acceptable forms of documentation and their minimum test scores, if applicable:

  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
    • Written TOEFL Test: 550.
    • Internet TOEFL Test: 79.
  • Pearson PTE Test: 53.
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS): 6.5.
  • Duolingo English Test: 100.
  • Graduation from a US high school with at least two (2) years of high school English, not in conjunction with English as a Second Language (ESL), and documentation of a B average or higher.
  • Completion of two (2) consecutive semesters of English Composition taken at a regionally accredited US college while carrying a full-time course load and not in conjunction with ESL. A minimum grade of B is required in each semester.
  • Completion of the equivalent of two (2) years at an English speaking higher education institution and a minimum 3.0 GPA. A school official should provide a written statement that English is their primary language of instruction as documentation.

Evaluated transcripts, demonstration of English Proficiency, and other documents can be delivered electronically to admissions@meca.edu, or by mail to the following address:

Maine College of Art Attn: Graduate Admissions 522 Congress Street Portland, ME 04101 United States

Enrollment

In addition to paying the enrollment fee, accepted international students must also submit a completed Declaration of Finances form, a Verification of Finances document and a scanned copy of the passport you intend to obtain your Student Visa with. These documents are required in order for us to issue your I-20 form. Once you have your I-20 form, you can then apply for a Student Visa (F-1) at your local US consulate or embassy.

Declaration of Finances (DOF)

The United States Citizen and Immigration Service requires that international applicants submit a DOF to MECA indicating that the applicant has financial resources adequate to provide for their expenses without resorting to unauthorized employment.

The amount declared in your DOF must be enough to cover the total sum of tuition, fees and living expenses for one academic year of study. The completed DOF must be dated within a year of initial enrollment at MECA.

You can download the DOF form here:

https://www.meca.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2020-DOF-Form.pdf

Verification of Finances (VOF)

For your DOF to be processed, all funds declared on the DOF must be supported by a VOF. This can be a bank statement either from your own bank, or your sponsor's bank (e.g. your parents or your partner). All documents must be in English, and the funds declared should be in US dollars or the equivalent under current exchange rates supplied by the bank. The VOF must be dated within a year of initial enrollment at MECA.

Scanned Copy of Passport

For your DOF to be processed, we will need a scanned copy of your passport in color. Make sure the entire page is legible and the information matches what you provided in your DOF.

Note: if your mailing address is different from the address provided in the DOF, please let us know so we can properly mail your I-20 form.

To ensure prompt processing, please submit your DOF, VOF and scanned copy of passport directly to your Graduate Admissions Coordinator Joel Tsui at joel.tsui-staff@meca.edu.

If you have any questions about the application and enrollment process as an international student, you can contact our Assistant Director of Admissions and International Student Counselor Emily Brighi at ebrighi@meca.edu.

For more information, contact admissions@meca.edu or call 207.699.5023