PA Certification: Grades 4-8 Degree
BS, Middle Level Education
The Middle Level Program (ML) is designed to prepare teachers to work with students, including those with disabilities, in Grades 4 through 8. Middle Level majors choose among five concentrations: Mathematics/English-Language Arts-Reading, Mathematics/Social Studies, Mathematics/Science, Science/English-Language Arts-Reading and Science/Social Studies. Students who successfully complete the ML program are eligible for recommendation by the University to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) for teacher certification. The University’s recommendation and the successful completion of other requirements established by the state, including meeting the pass scores specified by PDE on the required battery of certification tests, qualify graduates for a PA Instructional I certificate. Pennsylvania has signed an Interstate Agreement through the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification which facilitates certification in other states. States’ requirements vary; graduates should determine what they have to do to become certified in a state other than Pennsylvania.
Pre-service teachers in the Middle Level program must successfully complete the University’s liberal arts Core Curriculum, a series of Teacher Education Department courses and field/ experiences, and the courses and experiences required by their chosen concentration. Middle Level majors must satisfactorily complete a series of field/practicum experiences that begin during the first year and continue every semester until graduation. By graduation, our pre-service teachers will have spent approximately 750 hours in community classrooms. During students’ final semester, they must complete two seven week student teaching assignments (two separate placements).
Return to: