Advanced Certificate Programs in Adolescence Education (7-12)

The programs are designed for candidates who already have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree and who seek New York State Certification for grades 7-12 in one of the following areas:

• Biology
• English
• Mathematics
• Social Studies, and
• Spanish
   

Admission Requirements

Candidates wishing to enter an Advanced Certificate Program must meet the following conditions as determined by the program coordinator:

1. Possess an approved Bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) from an accredited college or university that meets the State requirements for a general education core in the liberal arts and sciences.
2. Possess an approved Master’s degree in an appropriate content area.
3. Have completed a minimum of 36 credits in the area of certification.
   For mathematics, acceptable credits are from courses at the level of Calculus 1 and higher
4. Demonstrate the ability to successfully pursue graduate study by having a Master’s grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better.
5. Submit two (2) letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on career goals.
    

For Spanish applicants only:

• Completed of a graduate degree in Spanish and an earned 3.0 grade point average or higher on a 4.0 scale.
• Interview in Spanish via Skype or in person.
• Submission of scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
• Personal statement submitted through our web application.
• Two letters of recommendation, one from an academic source.
• Official Transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended.
• International students must meet additional criteria, including the following: TOEFL scores: paper exam = 550; computer exam= 213; Internet exam= 80. Students taking the IELTS English (Cambridge) exams must pass with a broad band score of 6.5. Students must also have their overseas documents evaluated by AACRAO International or WES (World Education Services).

* ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) & ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI or OPIc) in Spanish should be passed prior to student teaching (last semester in the program) with minimum score of “Advanced Low.”
 

Certificate Requirements

Students must consult with an advisor in the respective Graduate Education program before starting their certificate program. During their first semester, matriculated students are required to plan their program with the advisor. All students must complete the curriculum described below.

To receive institutional recommendation as a program completer, each candidate must complete the required course work of the Advanced Certificate Program in addition to all NYSED mandated workshops.

For NYSED certification, candidates are required to pass 3 examinations: EAS (Educating All Students); CST (Content Specialty Test - Subject Specific); edTPA (Education Teacher Performance Assessment - Subject Specific).