The program emphasizes leadership in applying the principles of psychology, developmental psychology, and educational psychology to the practice of education. Special Education, M.S. Certification Emphasis is placed on developing special teaching competencies for work with children who have special needs. A 46-week, full day teaching internship, intensively supervised, is featured in this program. Permanent New York teaching certification is obtained upon successful completion of the program and two years of full-time special education teaching. The Graduate Provisional Certification Program satisfies the course work and field requirements for New York State Provisional Certification to teach secondary school academic subjects in middle and high school.
Students come to the program with a variety of goals.
Some wish to teach English as a second language to young children in bilingual education programs in U.S. schools, while some wish to teach at either the high school or adult level. Others wish to teach English as a Foreign Language in a variety of situations overseas. To meet the varying needs of these students, the program provides interdisciplinary study in several areas of education, anthropology, linguistics, and English.