Secondary Teacher Preparation Program

Contact

Marie Sarno, Teaching and Leadership Programs, 173 Huntington Hall mrsarno@syr.edu

This combined degree option, offered by the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education meets the academic requirements for the New York State teaching certification for the area of study. It is an alternative to the existing undergraduate Arts and Sciences/Education dual program in these areas, and an option that often takes less time and fewer credits than earning the entire master’s degree in education after completion of a general Arts and Sciences degree.

The combined bachelor’s/master’s teacher preparation programs were designed to meet the needs of Arts and Sciences undergraduates who, because of a later decision to become a teacher, would need to add a semester or more to their undergraduate study to complete the existing undergraduate Arts and Sciences/Education program. It also serves those who want or need more flexibility in their undergraduate program than the dual undergraduate degree allows.

Both the Arts and Sciences undergraduate degree with a major related to the subject to be taught, and the School of Education master’s degree are conferred at the same time, after all requirements are met - typically at the end of 5 years. Students begin taking education courses as undergraduates, including some in the fourth year that are taken for graduate credit, and apply to become graduate students for their last two semesters. Some summer study (not necessarily at SU) may be required.

The combined program has a two-stage admission process. The first stage involves meeting with the School of Education contact as early as possible to develop a plan, and, if a decision to pursue the program is made, completing a form signed by Education and a new declaration of program of study form in Arts and Science to declare the Arts and Sciences program with “Teacher Preparation/5 year” appended to the title (e.g., “History (TchrPrep/5yr)” instead of “History”). The second admission stage involves an application to the Graduate School. Each admission stage requires a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and a minimum 3.0 GPA in the courses from the subject to be taught. The second stage also requires successful performance in the undergraduate education courses.

The choices of Arts and Sciences majors, and the course requirements for the Arts and Sciences major, the Liberal Arts Core, and other requirements related to the major are the same for these combined programs as those for students completing the dual enrollment undergraduate Arts and Sciences/Education program. These details about specific adjustments necessary to the Liberal Arts Core and to Arts and Sciences major may be found in the section describing Dual Arts and Sciences/ Education Programs.

Because of the specific course requirements and sequencing of courses, it is important that students interested in one of these programs meet with the School of Education contact as soon as possible to develop a plan. EDU 204, the first education course, must be taken no later than spring of the junior year.