Early-Access Master of Arts in Education

Your time is precious! Use it wisely.

Consider our Early-Access Program in instructional leadership!  Undergraduate students from Clarke have the opportunity to complete up to 15 hours of graduate credit in their junior and senior years at the undergraduate price along with an early entrance into the Clarke University Online Master of Arts in Education (MAE).

Two birds, one stone!  You can earn your reading endorsement as an undergrad and those 15 credits can be applied toward 15 credit hours of graduate credit toward our Online Master of Arts in Education. By enrolling in the Early Access program, you will already be ahead of the ballgame and save money in the process! Those fifteen credit hours constitute 1/3 of the 36-credit MAE degree.

How Do I Start?

If you are an undergraduate who has completed at least 90 credits with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and have completed the application requirements,  you may start the MAE program by taking 3-12 credits of the reading endorsement courses at Clarke University during the spring semester of your junior year (after completing 90 credits).

Once you have completed your undergraduate degree, you will proceed through the MAE Program in an online format. Students who continue taking one class at a time during the academic year and two classes in the summers will complete the seven remaining courses of their program within 14 months after graduation. However, you may take up to seven years to complete the MAE program after officially beginning your graduate program as a graduate student in the MAE program.

Tuition Remission

Are you a dependent or spouse of a Clarke employee? If so, remember that you are eligible for tuition remission until you graduate with your undergraduate degree.  If you are an Early Access student taking graduate courses prior to obtaining your undergraduate degree, you are eligible to receive tuition remission benefits.  However, after you graduate with your undergraduate degree and your program changes from undergraduate to graduate, you will no longer be eligible for tuition remission. Don’t wait to take advantage of this great opportunity!

Pursuing Your Master’s Degree After Completing Your Bachelor’s Degree

If you do not plan on continuing your graduate coursework during the 12 months immediately following your graduation from your Bachelor’s degree program, or if you’re not sure when you will return to the MAE program at Clarke, please complete the Stop Out Form. For the “Semester of Planned Leave” field on the Stop Out Form, you can enter the term following your graduation date.

If you plan on continuing your graduate coursework within the 12 months after you graduate with your Bachelor’s degree, please email graduate@clarke.edu to let us know which term you plan on officially beginning your graduate program.  After you graduate with your Bachelor’s degree, you will need to complete the  Intent to Return form at least one month prior to the date of anticipated registration as a graduate student so that you can update us with your new contact/employment information. Following submission of this form, your Clarke account will be re-enabled (if necessary) and you will receive information regarding your Clarke username/password, academic advisor, registration, and more. Please contact Clarke University’s Adult and Graduate Studies Office at graduate@clarke.edu or (563)588-6595 with any questions.