Admission Criteria

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Applications for admission to the Intensive Non-Degree Certification Program in the Department of Teacher Education Programs  are made to the Graduate Admission Office. Admission is based on a comprehensive review of multiple criteria, including the following:

1. A completed application form to the Intensive Non-Degree Certification Program.
2. Evidence documenting that the applicant meets the requirement for the New York State’s Transitional C Certificate.
3. A written agreement with a school district for a teaching position for three years, two of which will be mentored by a support team including:
   1. A college faculty member of the program.
   2. The school principal or designee.
   3. An experienced New York state-certified teacher.
   4. A school curriculum supervisor or specialist. The agreement shall specify that daily mentoring shall be provided by the experienced certified teacher during at least the first 20 days of the applicant’s teaching.
4. A written personal statement of professional intent and rationale.
5. Two letters of reference that address the applicant’s potential to succeed in the teaching profession.
6. A graduate degree with a major (or equivalent) in the content area of the certificate.

Program Requirements

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The program consists of three major components:

1. Content requirements.
2. 19 s.h. of professional education course work.
3. Mentored teaching and seminars.

Content Requirements

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Students should possess a graduate degree with a major (or equivalent) in the content area of the certificate. Students who do not hold a major in the content area of the certificate must be able to demonstrate completion of at least 36 s.h. of appropriate content, distributed over specific categories. Those students should consult their program coordinators for specific course requirements within the content area of the certificate.

Professional Education Requirements - Semester Hours: 19

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The student must present evidence of holding the Transitional C Certificate prior to the commencement of mentored teaching.

No more than 3 s.h. may be transferred into the program or exempted through testing or portfolio review. Courses transferred into the program must be graduate courses (excluding SED 260A, B, C, D), no more than five years old from the date of the awarding of the degree received. Student must have received grades of B or higher in the course. Such course must be deemed equivalent to program courses by the appropriate academic adviser and department chairperson.

• SED 205 - Perspectives on Educational Practice Semester Hours: 3
• SED 213 - Adolescent Development and Learning Semester Hours: 3

Graduation Requirements

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1. Successful completion of all program requirements.
2. Completion of all required Educational Law Seminars.
3. All course work taken in satisfaction of program requirements must have been completed within a three-year period.

Criteria for the New York State Transitional C Certificate

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The New York State Education Department awards the Transitional C Certificate to those individuals who meet the following criteria:

1. Possession of a graduate degree with a major (or equivalent) in the content area in which certification will be sought.
2. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher in graduate course work.
3. A written agreement with a school district for a teaching position for three years, two of which will be mentored by a support team including:
   1. A college faculty member of the program.
   2. The school principal or designee.
   3. An experienced New York state-certified teacher.
   4. A school curriculum supervisor or specialist. The agreement shall specify that daily mentoring shall be provided by the experienced certified teacher during at least the first 20 days of the applicant’s teaching.
4. Passing scores on the following New York State Exams: Academic Literacy Skills Test (ALST), Educating All Students (EAS) and Content Specialty Test (CST in content area of certification). 
5. Completion of all required seminars.

General Education Core Requirements

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In order to ensure that prospective teachers have a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences, all students must have completed undergraduate course work from each of the content areas below.

1. Artistic Expression/Humanities (3 s.h.)
2. Communication (3 s.h.)
3. Information Retrieval or placement exam (0-3 s.h.)
4. Concepts in History/Social Science (3 s.h.)
5. Language other than English (3 s.h.)
6. Scientific Processes (3 s.h.)
7. Mathematical Processes (3 s.h.)
8. Literature, Analysis and Written Expression (6 s.h.)

Course work for the general education core in the liberal arts and sciences must have a GPA of 2.75 or above with no grades below a C-.

Please note that programs may have general education requirements that exceed the minimum registered with the state. Degrees will not be conferred unless all general education core deficiencies have been met.

Content Area Requirements in Area of Specialization:

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Business Education:
36 s.h. in business-related course work including accounting, business law, business policy, computer tools in business, economics, ethics, finance, international business, management, marketing, quantitative methods, and political science or equivalents or established competency in the field.

English Education:
36 s.h. in English course work including English language, linguistics or general language, American literature, English literature and world literature or equivalents or established competency in the field.

Foreign Language Education:
36 s.h. in French, Spanish, German, or Russian in college-level course work above level four in the respective language including course work in the following areas: culture and civilization, conversation, grammar, composition and a minimum of 9 s.h. in literature or equivalents or established competency in
the field.

Mathematics Education:
36 s.h. in college-level mathematics including course work in differential and integral calculus, higher algebra, higher geometry, discrete or finite mathematics, applied mathematics, probability/statistics, or equivalents or established competency in the field.

Science Education:
30 s.h. in one content area for which certification is sought (below).

Geology (Earth Science): Including course work in historical and physical geology or equivalents or established competency in the field and additional course work in chemistry, physics, biology and calculus-based mathematics or equivalents or established competency in the field.

Biology: Including course work in general biology, genetics, comparative anatomy, general ecology, invertebrate zoology, and plant physiology or equivalents or established competency in the field and additional course work in chemistry, physics, geology (earth science) and 3 s.h. in both calculus and
statistics.

Chemistry: Including inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, quantitative analysis, and physical chemistry or equivalents or established competency in the field and additional course work in geology (earth science), physics, biology and calculus-based mathematics or equivalents or established competency in the field.

Physics: Including general physics, electricity and magnetism, modern physics, optics, thermodynamics, mechanics, and quantum mechanics or equivalents or established competency in the field and additional course work in geology (earth science), chemistry, biology and calculus-based mathematics or equivalents or established competency in the field.

Social Studies Education:
36 s.h. in history and the social sciences with a minimum of 18 s.h. in history or its equivalent and 3 s.h. in political science (American government), 3 s.h in geography, and 3 s.h. in economics or equivalents or established competency in the field.

NOTE: Students can establish some competency by documenting competency via portfolio.