The Mount Saint Mary College Division of Education offers six
undergraduate teaching programs, leading to New York State initial
certification in:
- Childhood education (gr. 1–6)
- Childhood education and special education
- Childhood education with middle school extension (gr. 7–8)
- Adolescence education (gr. 7–12)
- Adolescence education and special education
- Adolescence education with middle school extension (gr.
5–6)
The Division of Education also offers a 5-year combined
bachelor's and master's degree program leading to adolescence
education certification in either biology or chemistry.
Education and academic majors
Childhood education certification can be combined with any of
the following major courses of study: biology, chemistry, English,
general science concentration (an interdisciplinary major),
Hispanic studies, history, history/political science, information
technology, mathematics, or social sciences with a history
concentration.
Adolescence education certification can be combined with any of
the following major courses of study: biology, chemistry, English,
mathematics, Hispanic studies (certification in Spanish), and
history (certification in social studies).
Certification in childhood and adolescence education with a
middle school extension requires a major in biology, chemistry,
English, Hispanic Studies, mathematics, or social sciences with a
history concentration.
Resources and learning
technologies
Education courses take place in the college's "smart classrooms"
with immediate wireless access to the Internet and multimedia
capabilities. This enhanced technology is used, along with
presentation of up-to-date material, group activities, discussions,
and simulation exercises, to enable students to acquire the
knowledge, skills, and reflectiveness needed by today's
teacher.
Students can take advantage of the Curriculum Library and Design
Center, with access to books, kits, tests, software, and adaptive
equipment for use in fieldwork and student teaching. They can also
use the multimedia computer stations to develop high-powered
lessons and to plan effective uses of the Internet within their
field experiences.
Field experience
As part of their certification courses, students must learn to
apply their knowledge through extensive and varied fieldwork.
Depending on the program, students complete 100 hours or more of
field experience before student teaching.
In addition, students pursuing dual certification in general and
special education and students pursuing a middle school extension
engage in field experiences designed for practicing the special
skills learned in their additional courses. These students thus
complete at least 150 hours of fieldwork. Later, the student
engages in a full semester of student teaching, the only course
taken during that particular semester.
There are approximately 25 school districts in which students
complete fieldwork and student teaching. The Mount's strong
relationship with these districts enables our students to enter the
job market with resumes showing experience in a variety of schools,
at a variety of grade levels, and with a variety of pupils.
Bishop Dunn Elementary School
In some instances, the student is able to list Bishop Dunn Memorial School
as the place in which some field work was completed. This on-campus
facility is a combination elementary and middle school for pre-K
through grade 8 pupils. It offers a variety of programs, including
enrichment for honors pupils, special education, virtual field
trips, and other creative uses of technology.
The liberal arts tradition
While it is very important to concentrate on one area of study,
we believe that exposure to courses in other disciplines will
develop you as a whole person. No matter what course of study
you pursue at the Mount, you will take a number of required courses
in the liberal arts (arts and letters, natural science, math,
social science, and philosophy or religion.) Combined with the
elective courses you choose to take, you will become a critical
thinker and a life-long learner.
Teaching and the Mount
If you think you'd like to be a teacher, you owe it to yourself
and to your future students to take your teacher preparation
seriously. Teaching is a challenging and rewarding experience, and
the Mount's Division of Education helps our students rise to the
challenge, revel in the experience, become leaders in today's
classrooms, and make a positive difference in the lives of their
students.
The Mount's education programs enjoy a long-established
reputation for preparing highly qualified teachers. Our graduates
are sought after by many school districts throughout the Northeast.
In fact, in the least three years, 98% of our graduates have
successfully found employment as teachers within six months of
graduating.
Accreditation
The
Division of Education at Mount Saint Mary College is accredited by
the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
(NCATE), www.ncate.org. This
accreditation covers initial teacher preparation programs and/or
advanced educator preparation programs at the College in Newburgh,
New York. However, the accreditation does not include individual
education courses that the institution offers to P-12 educators for
professional development, relicensure, or other purposes.
As part of the maintenance of NCATE accreditation, the college
is required to display data revealing the success of our programs.
The following link displays a connection to the most recent results
of Mount Saint Mary College teacher candidate “completers”
(graduates of our programs recommended for certification) on
New York State Teacher Certification Exams.
Education Undergraduate
Programs
Education: Childhood
Education: Adolescence
Education Graduate Program
Master of Science in
Education