Students interested in Siena College’s Teacher Certification program must first complete three education core courses as a prerequisite for admission to the program.*

EDUC 210 – Issues in Contemporary American Education (includes 20-hour field experience)

EDUC 260 – Educational Psychology (includes 20-hour field experience)

EDUC 261 – Foundations of Language and Literacy (includes 20-hour field experience)

Second, applicants must receive approval from an Education Professions Committee (EPC). This interdisciplinary review committee considers many factors, among them:

• academic record (applicants must maintain an Education GPA of at least 3.0 and meet the academic and overall GPA requirements established by their academic departments);
• portfolio (including writing in the applicant’s subject area, specified graded assignments from education courses, and reflective writing related to initial teacher preparation);
• demonstrated success in working with students in an educational setting (documented by Siena’s Field Experience Activity Record and Assessment);
• evaluation and recommendation by the student’s academic major department;
• evaluation and recommendation by the Education Department.

Once admitted to the program, students complete the Professional Year, which consists of the following:

First Semester

EDUC 481 – Instructional Theory and Practice in Inclusive Classrooms (includes two 20-hour field experiences)

Second Semester

EDUC 487 – Clinical Experience in the Middle School
EDUC 488 – Clinical Experience in the High School

EDUC 461 – Literacy in Middle and High Schools
EDUC 485 – Student Teaching Seminar: The Reflective Practitioner

EDUC 495 – Drug, Alcohol, & Tobacco Workshop
EDUC 496 – Child Abuse and School Violence Workshop

In addition, students may extend their New York State certification to include a grade 5,6 extension by completing the following courses: 

EDUC 385 – Teaching and Learning in the Middle School (includes 20-hour field experience)

EDUC 360 – Adolescence and Schooling (includes a 20-hour field experience)                 
EDUC-365* – Exceptional and At-Risk Learners is strongly recommended, but not required.

New York State Education Department requires a study in a foreign language for all teachers