Cornell students who wish to pursue careers as teachers now have more options, thanks to a new articulation agreement with Ithaca College.

The arrangement will allow Cornell graduates to enroll in the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) program at Ithaca College. There, they can earn certification in concentration areas not offered at Cornell, such as mathematics, history, English, French and Spanish.

Cornell's teacher-training curriculum is noted for its strength in science and agriculture, with certification and M.A.T. degrees available in biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences and agriculture, as well as general science extension.

It also offers undergraduate minors in education, which will allow Cornell students automatic admission into the M.A.T. program at Ithaca College, provided they successfully graduate with a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average and a major in the desired area of certification.

"[This new opportunity] paves a pathway for students to certify to teach in areas Cornell does not offer, and hopefully it will open a door to further collaboration with Ithaca College," said Travis Park, director of Cornell's Teacher Education Program, who worked on the new option with Linda Hanrahan, director of graduate programs in education at Ithaca College.

"Cornell's students are especially well prepared to become excellent teachers at the secondary level, and we are delighted that this collaboration expands that opportunity for our students," added Max Pfeffer, senior associate dean at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The agreement went into effect Jan. 1, and the first cadre of students will enroll in the Ithaca College program later this year. It is a 33-credit, 13-month graduate program in adolescence education that begins in late May.

Ithaca College also offers a one-year graduate program in elementary education and can provide graduate assistantships that include 12-24 credits of tuition support and a stipend.

Since the announcement of Cornell's Department of Education closure in October 2010, most of the department's faculty and staff have been integrated into other academic units, with a base in the Department of Horticulture. Interest in education courses remains strong among undergraduates across the university. There is a long waiting list for Art of Teaching (EDUC 2400), for instance, despite the addition of three new sections, Park said.

There are currently 19 students pursuing M.A.T.s at Cornell, 32 undergraduates completing the phased-out agricultural education major and about 80 students pursuing an education minor.

"Teacher education at Cornell is unique in that we blend background in both the basic sciences and the applied sciences," Park said.

Graduates of the program are great ambassadors for science and for Cornell, Park added.

"One of the best ways we can have an impact is by putting qualified teachers out there. We're pollinating and fertilizing our own future students with our brightest graduates," Park said.

Stacey Shackford is a staff writer at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.