Embrace Your Passion to Educate: Becoming a Teacher is Now Easier Than Ever at NLU
Teachers play a foundational role in maintaining a healthy democracy. Charged with helping children and young people to reach their fullest potential in their careers and as citizens, they are a vital part of the fabric of any community. Qualified, talented teachers are always in demand, but with an ongoing teacher shortage not just in Illinois, but nationally, right now the need is especially acute. Fortunately, a new generation of educators is stepping up to answer the call and join the profession.
For over 130 years, National Louis University has been designing path-breaking programs in educator training and helping aspiring teachers to launch successful careers. In continuity with its founding mission to promote education as an engine of positive social change, National Louis is now making it a little easier for those who want to pursue their calling as a teacher.
For NLU students pursuing a B.A. in Applied Behavior Sciences (ABS), NLU is now offering the opportunity to take graduate-level teacher preparation coursework as an undergraduate. ABS students can earn a Master’s degree (M.A.T.) and an Illinois educator license (PEL) in less time and begin teaching sooner!
This unique pathway merges the understandings of human behavior in NLU’s ABS program with our M.A.T. program’s focus on learning the art and science of teaching. Graduates of this joint program will gain the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experiences that will pave the way to a high impact career in the classroom.
Some of the benefits of this new track include:
- Cost savings: Reduce your overall cost significantly through this pathway instead of completing your B.A. and M.A.T. separately.
- Career Acceleration: Complete your Master’s and teaching license requirements in as little as 12 months, instead of two years, after your Bachelor’s program.
- Mentor Guidance: Receive support from expert faculty and former educators as both an undergraduate and graduate student.
- Income Increase: Improve your earning potential as a starting teacher by having a Master’s degree in addition to a Bachelor’s.
What are the intellectual and practical benefits of this track?
The educational philosophy and pedagogical understandings gained through the education minor are a valuable asset to any undergraduate student. The education minor has been thoughtfully planned to include educational understandings and skills which can be employed in a number of settings, and add value across multiple undergraduate degree offerings. It education minor consists of coursework curated to provide students with knowledge of educational theory, and practice towards application in a variety of settings. This includes historical analysis and social justice perspectives in education, cross cultural education theories, educational methodology for art and health instruction, human learning and development, as well as fieldwork and practicums. All of this content will enable pathways forward from direct engagement with schools and other educational settings, to organizations which serve schools, students, and educators.
More broadly, the psychology of human behavior is an essential discipline in today’s rapidly evolving society. Behavioral design, education, marketing, and non-profit work, are just a few of the fields now seeking those skilled in understanding why we do what we do, and how we might make adjustments for the better. The ABS approach to behavioral science centers the ways that adults learn – how we come to know – which not only impacts what we know and pass on to others, but our behaviors as well. This unique understanding sets our program apart from many others, in that there is a constant lens of both adult learning and knowing as a tool for understanding and impacting behaviors, and as a foundation of group knowledge as well, which positions our students to act in numerous settings with a deep understanding of how and why people, organizations, and communities do what they do.
