Undergraduate Teacher Â鶹¹û¶³ Admission Requirements
Acceptance to Â鶹¹û¶³ does not guarantee that a student will be accepted into the teacher certification program. There is a two-step process for obtaining certification:
Step One
For initial admission into the program, students must have completed or been in the process of completing:
- 48 credit hours (12 course units).
- A 3.0 GPA in the 48 credit hours.
- 6 credit hours (1.5 units) of college-level mathematics. (These credits may be part of the initial 48 credits.)
- 3 credit hours in English composition and 3 credit hours in English literature. (These credit hours may be part of 48 initial credits and can be met by the Writing 100 course and the literature requirement.)
- U.S. citizenship or a declared intent to file for U.S. citizenship. (This requirement is mandated by the Pennsylvania Department of Â鶹¹û¶³ and applies to teachers of all subjects except foreign languages.)
Step Two
Students who intend to student teach must make formal application to the Â鶹¹û¶³ Department. Applications should be submitted during the academic year preceding the student teaching semester. Formal applications will be presented to the Teacher Â鶹¹û¶³ Committee for consideration. The Committee will review applications based on the following criteria:
- GPA. Students must achieve a minimum 2.70 overall QPA to register for professional education courses numbered 200 or above. Standards for admission to student teaching include a minimum 3.0 overall GPA, 3.0 in the academic major, and 3.0 in the professional education sequence.
- Recommendation of the major department. This recommendation is particularly necessary when the student's academic record is marginal in terms of the established standards. In the case of a post-baccalaureate student, letters of recommendation from current or past employers may also be required.
- Recommendation of the Â鶹¹û¶³ Department. This recommendation is based on completion and approval of all requirements listed on the Undergraduate Initial Application, as well as the Student Teaching Application.
- Evidence of successful experience with children or youth. This includes volunteer and required course-related work. All students are required to successfully complete stage 1 & 2 field experience, as well as the stage 3 pre-student teaching experience, prior to being approved for student teaching.
- Evidence of written and oral communications skills. Skills should be demonstrated by college work, fieldwork, and personal conferences or interviews.
- Evidence of positive character. Submission of the signed application to the teacher certification program will give the Teacher Â鶹¹û¶³ Committee the continuing right to review and report student personnel files relevant to the applicant's behavior at Â鶹¹û¶³.