Childhood Education Grades 1-6 Program, MST

Program Description

The MST Program leading to Initial Teacher Certification in Childhood Education is a full-time 15 month program beginning each year in May and culminating in August of the following year. This program is intended for candidates who have a Bachelor’s degree in an area other than education and want to become a teacher.

Application Requirements

Candidates seeking admission to the MST in Childhood Education must hold a BA or BS degree, provide evidence of having the equivalent of one college year (six credits college level or four years of high school) of language other than English, Child Psychology, Computer Literacy, an Art, Music or Theatre course, MAT 106 “Number Systems and Operations” (or equivalent).

The application packet is due by January 15 each year. Applicants are encouraged to attend a Program Advisement session well in advance of the application deadline.

The completed packet, including the following, must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Office, 606 Culkin Hall:

1. Completed Program Advisement Form (PAF) that you will complete at a PAF meeting. These meetings are scheduled prior to the deadline date by emailing cigrad@oswego.edu or calling 315-312-4052
2. Application for Admission to Master’s Degree and Part II Graduate Applicant Essay
3. Current resume
4. An official transcript for all undergraduate and graduate work
5. Two letters of recommendation: One from a college professor and one from a work supervisor
6. Minimum Bachelor’s GPA of 2.70. If the index is 2.69 or below, the score from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), (General Aptitude) or Miller’s Analogy Test (MAT) must be submitted with the application materials. To be considered, an applicant must score in the Fiftieth percentile or higher
7. Passing score the NYS Academic Literacy Skills Test (ALST) certification exam

Degree Candidacy

Students accepted to the MST-Childhood initial certification program must apply for Degree Candidacy after completing 12-18 credits of their program; any course work taken in excess of 18 credits is liable to forfeiture. Candidates must have a B- or better in all education course work and an overall cumulative average of 3.0 to qualify for Degree Candidacy.

The Program

This clinically rich program is a cohort model that combines coursework and supervised field placements. The Childhood program consists of 48 credits. The program prepares teachers to the level of excellence specified in the SUNY Oswego School of Education Conceptual Framework and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) guidelines.

Student Teaching

Each candidate will be provided two student teaching placements. Each placement is seven weeks in length and involves a full-time commitment, all day Monday – Friday. Candidates earn either a Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory grade for each of the two student teaching experiences. If an unsatisfactory grade is earned, the candidate may have another placement. If two unsatisfactory grades are earned, the candidate will not be placed a third time.
Requirements of Student Teaching
1. Completion of Degree Candidacy
2. Completion of SSHS 1020 —Safe Schools, Healthy Students (or equivalent) and DASA 1020 , DASA Training.
3. Completed Student Teaching Application packet