The art classroom is a place where children are given the opportunity to explore and develop their personal dreams and goals, and to think independently. The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) provides a hands-on learning environment where student teachers investigate educational issues and techniques, develop their own educational philosophy and continue creating personal artwork. The program takes a child-centered approach to art education that emphasizes collaboration and community and addresses the needs of diverse populations, including those with special needs. 

Designed for students who have completed an undergraduate major in studio art, the MAT Art Education program can be completed either as a full-time, one-year intensive or as a two-year, part-time program, ideal for those who want to continue working while they complete the coursework required to qualify for the New York State Initial Certification in Visual Art.

Our faculty is comprised of professional artist/teachers who are experts at training artists to apply their creative skills to teaching art to children in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. The program provides the foundations and psychology of education as they are applied to diverse elementary and secondary populations. Seminar courses investigate age-appropriate materials, methods and educational concepts, which student teachers then apply directly to classroom practice in public school placements. Courses like Curriculum for Special Populations, that includes faculty-led practica at a homeless shelter; Museum Studies: Theory and Practice; Technology in Art Education; and Curriculum: Arts Integrated, provide students with further training in varied approaches to teaching art. The program culminates with the completion of a teaching portfolio, master’s thesis and an exhibition of mat student artwork.

Individualized student teaching placements are made at carefully selected public schools throughout the City. Our students have the opportunity to gain specialized teaching experience through SVA’s innovative children’s programs: Art Program for the Homeless and Art for Kids.

SVA offers its students state-of-the-art facilities and studios. In addition, as our campus, the City provides unparalleled resources—for field trips to museums and galleries and for classes held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Rubin Museum of Art. MAT students may also audit two courses from SVA’s extensive continuing education offerings.

At SVA we believe that to teach art, you should first be an artist who can use the power of art to open the minds, as well as the eyes, of the young to new experiences and individual fulfillment. One person—a gifted and caring teacher—can make a difference in a young person’s life. Our program is for artists who want to become teachers and make that difference.