Teacher Education at Gettysburg College

The path to certification in Pennsylvania can be fraught with peril, but with careful planning it is possible to earn a teaching certificate and start your teaching career as soon as you finish your coursework at Gettysburg. 

How do I get certified to teach?

Pennsylvania is known far and wide as an "exporter" of teachers, which means that accredited teacher education programs in Pennsylvania produce more certified graduates than the labor market in Pennsylvania will support. In other words: too many teachers, too few jobs. The good news is that the Pennsylvania certificate is reasonably portable. Because of interstate articulation agreements, and because Pennsylvania's requirements for certification are so stringent, it's almost always possible to take your certificate to another state and have it easily converted into a certificate that renders you eligible for employment.

The rules for certification in Pennsylvania, on the surface, are very simple: complete an approved teacher preparation program accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, take the appropriate Praxis exams, and usually that means you're in. At Gettysburg College we offer approved programs in various secondary subjects (including the sciences, social studies, English, and math), as well as K-12 programs in several foreign languages (French, German, and Spanish) and in environmental education. The Sunderman Conservatory also offers programs in K-12 music education, but these are only loosely affiliated with the Education Department.

Use the navigation menu to the left to explore certification options at Gettysburg College. Note that all the information on our programs found on this website is also available, with additional detail, in the Handbook for Teacher Education. You may also want to check the Frequently Asked Questions to see answers to some common questions about our programs.

The Education Department at Gettysburg College is accredited to offer certification programs in various secondary subject areas (7-12), in foreign language education (K-12), and in environmental education (K-12). Students at the College may also choose to major in music education via programs offered in the Sunderman Conservatory, which offers a Bachelor's of Science degree in Music Education. For more information on music education programs, visit the Conservatory's website, or contact Prof. Brent Talbot (btalbot@gettysburg.edu) or Prof. Russ McCutcheon (rmccutch@gettysburg.edu)

For other questions, contact certification officer Prof. Divonna Stebick (dstebick@gettysburg.edu)

Click on the links below to view more information about teacher certification programs offered by the Education Department. 

Certification Area	Grade Levels	Contact	Email
English	Secondary (7-12)	Prof. Divonna Stebick	dstebick@gettysburg.edu
Mathematics	Secondary (7-12)	Prof. Carol Rinke	crinke@gettysburg.edu
Science Biology Chemistry Physics General Science	Secondary (7-12)	Prof. Carol Rinke	crinke@gettysburg.edu
Social Studies American Studies Citizenship Social Science Social Studies	Secondary (7-12)	Prof. Dave Powell	djpowell@gettysburg.edu
Environmental Education	K-12	Prof. Carol Rinke	crinke@gettysburg.edu
Foreign Language Education	K-12	Prof. Kaoru Miyazawa	kmiyazaw@gettysburg.edu