STUDY AND WORK IN THE UNITED STATES
A Great Opportunity for Qualified Mathematics and Science Graduates
MACFAST (Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies Tiruvalla), Kerala is starting an innovative program in partnership with the well established and highly reputed McDaniel College in Maryland, USA to provide a post-graduate degree in Education which will enable successful candidates to obtain the Master of Science (M.S.) degree as well as the US teaching license from the MSDE (Maryland State Department of Education) under an accelerated and intensive course work including structured class room teaching in regular secondary schools. Unlike the regular master degree program that requires 18-24 months work, one will be able to get the degree from this very respectable academic institution with less cost and shorter time than otherwise. The MACFAST and McDaniel collaboration and partnership will facilitate interested and well qualified Indian students to pursue higher studies and thereby give them an advantage in finding suitable jobs. This is a great opportunity for enterprising and hard working students.
It is officially known that the US has severe shortage of qualified teachers in Mathematics and Science subjects. Last year alone, in the State of Maryland, there were 350 unfilled teaching positions. Teachers from the Philippines and other countries have been recruited to fill in the vacancies. This teacher- shortage will only increase as President Obama has set aside $5 billion to improve the quality of teaching Science and Mathematics in American Schools and make financial resources available to the School system on a competitive basis. They need qualified teachers. We believe the opportunities for getting jobs are excellent, provided one is qualified and can accept the challenge of teaching students in a different atmosphere than ours. This is an opportunity, but also a challenge.
The Programme
The McDaniel College offers an accelerated graduate program of 12 (twelve) months duration for selected students from India, based on its BEST (Better Educators for Students of Tomorrow) program, emphasizing on the STEM content areas such as Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Successful participants will receive the M. S. degree along with MSDE (Maryland State Department Education Certification in their respective areas of concentration, which in turn make the license holders eligible to teach in Higher Secondary Schools in Maryland (grades 7 – 12) and 30 (thirty) other States in the US.
McDaniel College is interested in establishing a partnership relations in this regard with MACFAST towards identifying and recruiting qualified candidates for the McDaniel’s graduate program with understanding that the selected candidates will be given the necessary preparatory training in language skills (spoken and written fluency and comprehension in American English) as well as remedial measures in the core subject areas, if it is judged necessary to meet the prerequisites of subject area competency for admission in the McDaniel’s Graduate Studies. This training will enable the students to satisfy all the rules and regulations pertaining to admission of foreign students in the US.
McDaniel and MACFAST will act only as facilitators for employment and not participate in the actual job offers.
MACFAST will identify and select well-qualified graduates in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, preferably those with Masters or those who have obtained high marks in degree. We welcome persons with past teaching experience and degrees in teaching. We will also consider candidates with B. Tech. or Masters in Science Subjects.
In the first batch we will take a maximum of 25 candidates. Men and women with qualifying degrees and those between the ages of 20-40 are preferred. We are looking for interested and mature persons with the ability to communicate and positively interact with young children.
The interested candidates can apply to the program with supportive documents about their educational qualification and job experience, if any. We plan to invite 30-50 applicants for a selection camp, which is scheduled towards the end of September or early October 2009. Prospective candidates will be interviewed, tested for their language skills (speak, write and comprehend English conversation) and competency in their core subject area (domain knowledge). Their interest in teaching and interactive abilities as well as communication skills will be assessed. After this initial screening, we will select 25 candidates to join the preparation course, which will be for 10 weeks.
During the preparatory course at MACFAST, participants will be provided rigorous coaching to speak in American English, improve composition and writing skills as well as study habits. We will carefully evaluate each individual’s knowledge in the core subject area and provide the necessary remedial instruction to meet the McDaniel College graduation pre-requisites.
Both the selection camp and preparatory course will be residential and use of English will be compulsory. We will prepare the candidates to participate successfully in the classroom and college life. The candidates will learn about American culture and life in America as we hope to have persons with experience and knowledge to play supportive roles in the program.
During the preparatory course participation, the application process to McDaniel College will be completed. Student visa and other travel requirements will be processed and completed (contingent upon US Consulate approval). It is our hope that the first batch will be able to go to America by the January 2010.
Students will travel to Washington-Dulles airport and will be received by the school and Dr. Varghese Keerikatte who will serve as an advisor/mentor while the candidates are at McDaniel College. Proper campus housing is planned and all necessary supportive assistance will be provided to make the entire transfer process smooth and pleasant. The School program also includes Medical insurance. Proper attention by the College staff is assured and the candidates will be able to meet the faculty.
The total cost of the program is estimated to be Rs.15 lakhs. This will include fees for the preparatory courses, tuition at McDaniel College, books, travel and visa application, Medical insurance and housing as well as food expenses (this cost may vary depending upon the kind of housing chosen and food plan selected). Our estimated cost will not cover clothing and personal expenditure.