Does NY State require that teachers have 30 hrs in a liberal arts before applying for a masters in education?

Question

I graduated from a four year accredited college with a BBA in Management. I decided I needed a career change and wanted to go back to school to get my masters in education so that I could teach childhood education (grades 1-6). One adviser told me their is a state requirement of 30 credits in an undergraduate liberal arts major (i.e. english, history, science) before I could even apply for a masters in education. Since my focus was business I only have about 9 credits in English (my subject of interest) so do I need to back to school and make up the rest of the credits before I can go to school for my masters? I have heard conflicting opinions.

Answer 1

I am in a different state so I can't give you particulars about New York (and I think they have their own standardized test system rather using the ETS ones) but-

     If you are going to become certified in elementary education through a master's program, you probably do need a particular combination of liberal arts courses.  You can usually do these at the undergraduate levels.  Elementary teachers must take courses in science, math, English, social studies, ... since they must be able to teach all those subject areas.  There may also be a standardized test for you to pass related to those areas (such as the Praxis fundamentals subjects test) as well.  

     If you are going to become certified in a subject area for secondary education, the requirements would be different.  You would need the equivalent of a  major in your subject area (you are interested in English) and would probably need to pass a standardized test (such as Praxis II -English Content Knowledge) to show your mastery as well.  There is also a good chance that there are math and English requirements you would need to fulfill (as many states ask that all teachers show basic proficiency in those areas).  

     At universities where I have worked, we have allowed students to work on fulfilling those undergraduate content requirements at the same time they started their master's program though they had to be fulfilled before a certain point.  To get good details, you really need to call a few universities in your area that offer MAT programs and get details on the New York requirements and how each university handles those pre-requisite courses.  

Good luck.