Humanizing & Culturally Affirming Teacher (HCAT) Program
Master of Education (M.Ed.)
Quick Facts
Main Campus (Tucson) | Chandler/Phoenix | Douglas | Flowing Wells | Nogales | Yuma
In Person and Online
We envision a world in which children in Southern Arizona have access to high-quality education, and we are creating that world through our Humanizing and Culturally Affirming Teacher Program (HCAT). The HCAT program is a two-year, context-specific program that prepares teachers for the borderlands of Arizona, culminating in an M.Ed Secondary Education and Arizona secondary certification for grades 7-12. The program’s philosophy relies on critical analyses of teachers’ sociocultural, political, and economic positionalities. This work is accomplished by knitting together clinical experience in partner schools with carefully crafted coursework. New teacher learning is supported by a robust professional learning community of peer learners and teacher leaders in our partner schools.
What is an Alternative Teaching Certificate?
In the state of Arizona, individuals with a bachelor's degree in something other than education can work in a classroom as the teacher of record while completing the requirements for certification as a teacher. In the HCAT program, students complete coursework and work towards certification requirements while teaching full-time in middle or high schools, deepening their teaching practice while being paid as full-time teachers. After the program is completed, students are eligible to apply for a Standard Professional Secondary Certificate and can teach grades 7-12.
More information about Arizona’s alternative certification programs
Get paid as a full-time teacher of record while you complete your degree.
Learn about equity-minded and humanizing teaching practices.
Graduate from the program with a Standard Professional Secondary Certificate and a full Structured English Immersion (SEI) endorsement.
With an MEd Secondary Education, you’ll be prepared to work as a middle or high school teacher.
- TLS 553 Classroom Management for Practicing Teachers (3 credits)
- TLS 516 Structured English Immersion (3 credits)
- TLS 566 Methods and Models of Instruction for Practicing Teachers (3 credits)
- TLS 593 C Field Experience in Secondary School (6 credits)
- TLS 584 Equity Literacy (3 credits)
- TLS 593 C Field Experience in Secondary School (6 credits)
- TLS 549 Transformative Ethnic Studies Teaching (3 credits)
- SERP 500 Introduction to Special Learning Needs (3 credits)
- TLS 577: Adolescent Development (3 credits)
- TLS 570 Introduction to Educational Research (3 credits)
- TLS 593D Internship (6 credits)
- TLS 593 D Internship (6 credits)
- TLS 597R Action Inquiry Workshop (3 credits)
Admission Requirements
- B.A. or B.S. degree
- GPA of 3.0 on upper and lower division coursework toward the Bachelor’s Degree (or the most recently completed 60 units)
- Submit an online application through GradApp
- Include a letter of intent stating why you want to be a teacher
- Two letters of recommendation
- A professional resume
- Documented proof of application for Fingerprint Clearance Card from the Arizona Department of Public Safety
- TOEFL (Total and TWE) scores - if applicable
Ready to learn more?
For inquiries about the program, please contact Program Coordinator Andrea Diane Lauritzen or Jeannette Sapiens Gabaldon.