When it began its first year, the Master of Arts in Teaching Fine Arts program at the University of Utah was already rated #11 in the top 50 Online Master’s in Education Programs by TheBestSchools.Org.

Recently, that ranking got a significant bump.

In the latest report, MAT-FA is now ranked #7, placing it among many prestigious peer institutions in the nation’s top ten. 

Now in its third cohort, MAT-FA is home to 32 students pursuing Master's degrees. In May of 2020, 20 students graduated from the first cohort, and this spring 15 more graduates will join them. MAT-FA graduates recently received their educator license lane change, earning them salary increases.

Our alumni share that beyond an increased capacity to teach the arts in public K-12 schools and community spaces, they experience a strong ability to advocate, understand and implement policy, and to pursue administrative positions. 

Here’s what our students had to say:

“The MAT-FA program allows practicing artists and teachers, like me, the flexibility to complete a graduate degree while continuing to do the work we love. With the support of committed faculty and classmates from each of the fine arts disciplines, my education in this program has helped me articulate, refine, and build beyond my professionalization to improve the quality of my students' learning in more meaningful and empowering ways.”
- Kelly Brooks, second-year MAT-FA student. 

“Upon starting the program online in the summer I was immediately engaged by the fabulous faculty and inspirational classmates. The content was valuable as a student studying the foundations of arts education, but even more beneficial was the direct connection to my new work as an online/virtual music educator in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
- Judson Armstrong, first-year MAT-FA student.

“As a high school theatre educator, I spent years searching for my "dream graduate program" and I found it with the MAT-FA program at the University of Utah. The hybrid online model is an amazing mixture of engaging in-person learning and rigorous online content that works with my busy schedule as a full-time teacher and single mom.”
- Jana Timpson, second-year MAT-FA student.

For more information about the Master's of Arts in Teaching Fine Arts at the University of Utah, click here.