Make an impact with your master of arts in teaching
Teaching is a powerful way to make a positive difference. Whether you are changing your career or are a new college graduate, this one-year combined residency and master of arts in teaching (MAT) empowers you to profoundly impact students, classrooms, schools, and communities.
I picked the NYU Teacher Residency program because it offered a lot in a short amount of time. Residency practice, a full-time job, and certification all in one.
It’s really cool that we get to be in our residency site at the same time we’re taking our classes because we are quite literally putting theory into practice every day.
Northside is a Title I school located in Williamsburg. One of the ideas I thought of a couple years ago was, “Hey, we should get partnership with NYU. We could start creating a pipeline with a great organization and filling in the gaps to get certified teachers within our building.”
This city does need committed teachers. The role that this program plays is ensuring that teachers are getting the right support.
The way NYU has designed the gradual release, it helps someone like Emerson and Jackie build that a little bit. Slowly, as the year progresses, they start taking on more time within each period. By the end of the year, the mentor is kind of watching you, and the roles are reversed. Emerson took over my periods three and five. Before, I was more lead teaching and he was supporting. Now it’s the opposite.
We have great chemistry. We can work together well. We can finish each other’s sentences in the classroom. He’s preparing his own materials. He talks to families. He talks to students. He’s more confident now than he was initially.
Students have told me in the past that they had really bad experiences with previous math teachers, with previous classes. Some students told me when I was working with them, “You know, this is the first time I actually feel like I’m learning math.” In high school, I had really negative experiences with math teachers, and a big reason why I wanted to become a math teacher is to be the math teacher that I never had.
Jackie is quite early on able to jump in and help out some of our English language learners in math class, so she had a very large positive impact in that way.
Anytime I go to see Emerson teach, he has a presence about him. The kids listen. He is a great addition to the classroom. The students love him.
I had a moment where I was like, “Oh my God, this is what it’s all about.” We were doing a lesson about misconceptions about Africa. I was like, “Oh, what do you think of when you think of Africa?” “Oh, it’s war-torn, poverty.” But then getting the opportunity to dispel those ideas, see the light bulb go off that it’s like what we’ve been told isn’t quite right. That was a moment where I was like, “This is why I wanted to do social studies. This is why I wanted to be a teacher.”
A benefit of the residents being here is the rest of the community really get to see their growth, and it pushes them. Having peers that are hardworking and passionate about the work, it sort of uplifts everybody.
I had a lot of really valuable experiences that I learned from my residency site. If I was doing an ordinary teacher prep program without that residency experience, I would not have learned as much as I did.
A year ago, I was nervous. Now I’m proud of everything I’ve gotten to do.
NYU Teacher Residency: It all starts with community
The NYU Teacher Residency is a comprehensive, intensive training program designed for aspiring educators. Our innovative curriculum combines rigorous academic coursework with real-world field experience. Participants gain the skills to meet the demands of modern teaching and earn a Master of Arts in Teaching and a recommendation for initial certification in education.
We offer a transformative experience by combining comprehensive instruction from a world-renowned research university with deep partnerships in districts and charter schools across the Northeastern US. Your practical preparation – which should be approached as a professional development experience – takes place in the classroom, where you assume responsibility in your dual role as student and educator as you learn to serve all students while upholding the highest ethical and professional standards.
Our team provides you with mentoring, coaching, advising, and moral support, creating a constructive environment in which to learn and grow.
We partner with school districts and charter organizations that share our goal to transform teacher preparation. Participation in the residency must be with one of our partner schools in these regions: New York City; Upstate and Central New York; New Jersey; and Washington, DC.
Preparation to serve all learners
The NYU Teacher Residency has been recognized by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education with the Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity. The program is built on the core beliefs that every child deserves an excellent education and that our diverse schools must have a teaching force that reflects local communities. As an aspiring teacher in our program, you are an important part of our promise to address longstanding issues of inequity and educational injustice in classrooms in the Northeastern US.
You will gain the knowledge to become a teacher who deeply understands how to serve students of all backgrounds and all instructional needs. Your cohort of peers mirrors this commitment to diversity. Our teacher residents represent a variety of academic, personal, and professional backgrounds and experiences.
While learning alongside and from this cohort, you take courses centered on culturally responsive teaching, building and respecting community, and meeting the needs of and serving all students. You will explore asset-based education and a variety of classroom management and pedagogical techniques, including restorative justice, strategies for authentic assessment, and individualized instruction.
The master of arts in teaching online (MAT)
The MAT in Inclusive Childhood Education degree provides you the student with a foundation to teach younger learners in Grades 1–6 and students with disabilities, Pre-K–Grade 12 (all grades). The MAT in Secondary Education degree prepares you with depth of knowledge in a chosen content area in English, mathematics, science, or social studies for Grades 7–12 (with a Grades 5–6 extension), or in Students with Disabilities, All Grades PreK–12. Degree option availability varies by location.
CurriculumTeacher residency pathways
The program offers three residency pathways, each providing hands-on teaching experience and the opportunity to apply your learning directly in the classroom. You will be supported in exploring the right pathways for you through the admissions process. The various pathways balance what residents are looking for in their experience and offer different opportunities for scholarships, stipends, and post-residency commitments.
The first pathway option places teacher residents in NYC Public Schools without financial support but offers the most flexibility with no post-residency obligation. The second pathway option places teacher residents in our network of district and charter schools across the Northeast, where they receive compensation and commit to teaching after program completion. Students with Disabilities teacher residents (Secondary and Inclusive Childhood) in the third pathway option are placed in NYC Public Schools, offered a stipend (through the Empire State Grant), and have a post-residency commitment.
Explore the Residency Pathways
Immersive design linked to coursework experience
As a student pursuing a master’s degree in teaching, you gradually take on more responsibility throughout the year while studying alongside your teacher mentor in one of our partner schools.
This immersive design intentionally connects learning theory with hands-on practice to build your confidence and skills as a new teacher. When you’re not in the classroom, you meet online in the evening twice per week with NYU Steinhardt faculty and peers. Your cohort becomes a closely-knit learning community for you to grow with and lean on throughout – and beyond – the residency experience.
Program Experience