Secondary California Teacher Preparation Program in Conjunction with a B.A. Degree with an Academic Major
Preparation for certification as a secondary school teacher in California consists of two components:(1) academic preparation and (2) professional preparation . In addition, other state requirements must be met, as described below. The Mount Saint Mary’s University Secondary Teacher Preparation Program is a California Commission on Teacher Credentialing approved program for the preparation of students for the Preliminary Single Subject Teaching Credential as defined by SB 2042. It is possible to complete both the academic and professional preparation as an undergraduate and to graduate with a preliminary teaching credential.
Academic Preparation. The undergraduate student interested in secondary school teaching majors in the academic subject she plans to teach. Students must satisfy the academic preparation requirement for a teaching credential by satisfying the subject matter requirement (SMR). The SMR is met in one of four ways: 1) Completing of a degree matching the subject to be taught, 2) Passing all subsets of the California Subject Matter Examination (CSETs), 3) Taking courses covering all required domains for the desired subject, or 4) A combination of coursework and exam.This requirement must be satisfied prior to the application deadline for supervised teaching. Note: Student teaching will be allowed with a degree in progress, but the degree must be posted prior to the credential processing.
Professional Preparation. Simultaneously with the academic studies, undergraduate students complete the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program courses to satisfy professional requirements. Fieldwork in public schools affiliated with the Education Program is required in each professional preparation class. The student must be able to arrange for transportation to fieldwork sites and have the Certificate of Clearance completed prior to placement.
Refer to Preliminary Secondary Teacher Preparation Program or the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program course list. Also see Preliminary Teacher Preparation Programs for teacher preparation program requirements and description of the Certificate in Inclusive and Responsive Teaching (CIRT) that is embedded within the Teacher Preparation Program. See Supervised Teaching for supervised teaching policies. Units taken in the Teacher Preparation Program may count toward the Bachelors degree but are not required for graduation.
Other Requirements
Students must apply to and be officially admitted to the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program to enroll in advanced professional preparation coursework: EDU 166, Principles of Secondary Education, EDU 167 Principles of Secondary Curriculum and EDU 168 Content-Based Reading Instruction. A Basic Skills Requirement (BSR) verification is required for official admittance. Passing scores on the CBEST exam or appropriate coursework in reading, writing, and mathematics with a grade of B- or better is needed for the BSR. Prior to filing for the credential students must fulfill the requirement related to the United States Constitution. POL 1, American Government and Institutions, currently meets the U.S. Constitution requirement. If a student wishes to fulfill this requirement by taking a course off-campus, she must submit an equivalency petition for approval to the Education Department prior to course enrollment. Prior to supervised teaching students must have passed all subtests of the appropriate Single Subject CSET examinations and have received a Certificate of Clearance (FBI fingerprint clearance) valid for the duration of the supervised teaching experience. Finally, all teacher credential candidates must pass the state-required Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) administered during the program coursework.
Speak to an advisor if you plan to teach in a state other than California to learn about additional requirements.