Graduate Certificate/M.A.T. in Foreign Language Education

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Foreign language teachers occupy a unique and increasingly important position in the U.S. educational system. If you choose this career path, it’s likely you’re doing it out of your own passion for the language and culture of the people who speak it. Our program will prepare you to be a teacher who makes languages engaging for students and who can inspire and lead change.

We offer licensure tracks in American Sign Language*, Arabic*, Cherokee*, Chinese, French, German, Greek (Ancient or Modern)*, Hebrew*, Hindi*, Italian*, Japanese, Korean*, Latin*, Portuguese*, Russian*, Spanish, Swahili*, and Turkish*.

*Due to limited availability of internship sites, candidates seeking licensure in these languages must be full-time residency teachers of the intended language of licensure and complete the internship in their own classrooms.

Our new, streamlined Graduate Certificate in Foreign Language Education program (16-17 credit hours) is offered primarily online, combining web-based courses with approximately three face-to-face meetings a semester. Graduates are eligible for the North Carolina Initial Standard Professional I (SP1) teaching license. Learn more about the requirements for admission.

Students who complete the graduate certificate have the option of pursuing the Master of Arts in Teaching in Foreign Language Education, which leads to the advanced “M” teaching license. Coursework focuses on teacher leadership, advanced methodology, and research methods. Hours earned in the certificate program may be applied to the M.A.T.

Why Choose Our Program?

Cost Effective

Complete our streamlined certificate in Foreign Language Education at a reduced rate. Learn more about scholarship opportunities and financial aid here.

Flexible Study

Classes are offered online, with three face-to-face meetings per semester. Courses are self-paced and/or self-directed, and students can choose to do the program on a full-time basis or a part-time basis. The program culminates with a year-long intership. During the first semester of the year-long internship, candidates spend one day per week in the classroom of a master world language teacher while completing coursework on campus. During the second semester, candidates spend a full semester in the same classroom, assuming the teacher’s instructional and non-instructional duties while demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and dispositions acquired during coursework on campus. Candidates also complete edTPA during the student teaching semester, which is a requirement for both program completion and licensure in North Carolina. Candidates who are full-time teachers in their own world language classroom may complete the internship in their own classrooms.

Licensure to Teach K-12

The graduate certificate will allow candidates to obtain a North Carolina state teaching license to teach grades K-12.

Academic Excellence

UNC Charlotte has a strong reputation for academic excellence and is a leader in the field of Foreign Language education

Strong Network

Curriculum supports residency teachers in North Carolina school districts who must enroll in a teacher preparation program while teaching

Graduate Employability

Our graduates are highly competitive securing employment in school districts as teachers in North Carolina and across the country.

Student Opportunities

A three semester-hour internship is required for graduate certificate students. This internship is the culminating experience of the certificate program, offering students the opportunity to demonstrate their readiness for the North Carolina Standard Professional 1 (SP1) Educator’s License. Students are assigned to a classroom for a full-time semester-long experience under the supervision of the classroom teacher and university faculty. Practicing foreign language teachers may complete their internship in their own classroom.
Students complete a variety of clinical experiences in diverse settings, so they are prepared to teach in rural, urban or suburban schools. During these experiences, students apply research and/or evidence-based practices gained in coursework, analyze PK-12 student learning, and develop the ability to impact learners in a positive way.
The Office of Teacher Education Advising and Licensure (TEAL) is an information and student success resource for current and potential teacher candidates. Their staff provides a variety of services such as information on (and preparation resources for) testing required for program admission and teacher licensure, verification of program completion for teacher licensure, guidance surrounding the teacher licensure application process, and information on campus resources and scholarships/loans for education students.
The Office of School and Community Partnerships provides support services to our students for school-based clinical experiences and during yearlong internships and student teaching. Field experiences – observing, interacting with, and teaching children and youth – are a critical part of all teacher education programs at UNC Charlotte.

Student Successes

A 2015 M.A.T. graduate, Rosalyn Rhodes, is currently teaching Spanish in a private school in the Charlotte Area. Rosalyn was named the K-12 Foreign Language Teacher of the Year in 2015 in the state of North Carolina. Her session presentation at FLANC was voted the “Best of FLANC” from over 100 other sessions. Rosalyn also came in second place for the 2016 Teacher of the Year from the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT), an organization representing fourteen states in the southeast.

Learn from Award-Winning Faculty

Our professors have been recognized repeatedly for their teaching, research and student mentoring. They have garnered several prestigious awards, including the Anthony Papalia Award for Excellence in Teacher Education from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and the North Carolina Foreign Language Teacher of the Year (Higher Education) from the Foreign Language Association of N.C.

Our faculty demonstrates an expert knowledge of their discipline through current research, professional presentations and consulting with public and private schools.

Professor Kristin Davin wins ACTFL’s Anthony Papalia Award for Excellence in Teacher Education

Do you want to be the foreign language teacher who can inspire and lead change? If so, click here to learn more about the requirements for the graduate certificate and Master of Arts in Teaching Program, graduate student financial aid and the graduate application process.

For more information on the program please contact: