Education Certification

Students need to plan their programs so that they may follow the requirements of the year-long Professional Sequence. Students planning to study abroad are urged to consult early with faculty in the Education Department about their schedules. The international experience may not interrupt the Professional Sequence. Transfer students interested in the certification program should also contact the Education Department prior to planning their coursework at Siena.

Initial Teacher Certification for those already holding the bachelor’s degree. On a limited basis the Department offers the opportunity to attain an Initial Teaching Certificate in Adolescence Education (grades 7-12) or an Initial Teaching Certificate in Business and Marketing (all grades) to individuals who already possess a Bachelor’s degree. The program consists of a minimum of 30 credit hours, not including the State foreign language requirement. To be admitted to the program, the individual must meet the requirements for Returning Students outlined above. Further information is available in the Education Department. A minimum overall GPA of 2.75 is required. Individual programs will vary according to the prior educational experiences of the student; however, any program devised will always contain the requirement for completion of the entire Professional Sequence through Siena’s Education Department.

Education Electives: In addition to meeting the minimum requirements for certification, the Department encourages its students to elect other education courses that will broaden their professional knowledge and increase their ability to deal with the complex issues addressed by classroom teachers of today. These electives are also open to non-education teacher certificate students who desire to consider educational questions in a formal manner.

Graduate Program Agreements: Siena College has agreements with the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Clarkson University and various Master’s degree programs in education at Sage Graduate School.

Under the Siena College/Clarkson University Articulation Agreement, both institutions have agreed to a process leading to the automatic admission of qualified Siena students into the MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) at Clarkson following completion of their Siena degree. It will be required that these students:

1. have taken an undergraduate Educational Psychology course¨
2. have completed at least one semester of foreign language or sign language at the
3. college level, and
4. will graduate from Siena with a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher both in their area of concentration and in their overall program.

Furthermore, interested students will be asked to complete the Clarkson graduate application which includes:

1. application
2. essay
3. three letters of recommendation
4. official transcripts from all higher education institutions
5. interview with a Clarkson Education faculty including an on-demand writing sample
6. GRE results with a score in the top 50th percentile

Qualified Siena graduates will receive an automatic three-course scholarship from Clarkson, representing a 30% reduction in tuition costs.

Please see Siena Education Department’s Director of Field Experience regarding the Siena College/Sage Graduate School agreement details.