Teacher Certification Opportunities

Traditional Teacher Certification

Gettysburg College is an approved teacher education program by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and offers teacher certification in the following areas:

  • Biology (7-12 secondary)
  • English (7-12 secondary)
  • Math (7-12 secondary)
  • Music Education (preK-12)
  • Social Studies (7-12 secondary)

Students who secure the recommendation for certification by the college or university have met all requirements of the approved preparation program, the qualifying scores on the required tests, and other requirements established by Pennsylvania's State Board of Education.

Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification

Alternative routes to teacher certification are state-defined pathways through which an individual who already has at least a bachelor’s degree can obtain certification to teach without necessarily having to complete a college, campus-based teacher education program. These programs offer the opportunity to gain provisional teacher certification and classroom experience. These routes usually take one of two different forms, Teaching Residency Programs and Teaching Fellowship Programs. It is strongly recommended that interested students carefully research specific programs to determine their eligibility, the time commitment each program requires beyond certification, and the target organization’s ongoing support for professional development.

Teaching Residency Programs

Residency programs offer a combination of theory and practice, and integrate a yearlong classroom apprenticeship with carefully designed sequence of master’s-level coursework. Residents receive a stipend for living experiences throughout their training year, and a subsidized master’s degree upon completion of the program. Residents spend the full academic year in an urban public school, developing under the mentorship of a veteran teacher. Over the course of the year, Residents transition from a collaborative, co-teaching role in the classroom to a lead-teaching role. Some residency programs include:

Teaching Fellowship Programs

Teaching Fellows Programs recruit professionals and recent college graduates to teach in high-need districts and charter schools for at least two years. These programs are designed specifically to provide a streamlined path into the classroom. Rather than complete a traditional teacher education program, fellows complete an intensive summer training institute, including direct classroom teaching experience, which prepares them to be successful in their first year of teaching and beyond. Fellows begin teaching full-time in the fall, while simultaneously taking certification coursework to obtain initial licensure and oftentimes, a Master of Arts in Teaching or Education.

Private Schools

There are many private schools that do not require state certification. Gettysburg College graduates have been placed at schools through agencies like the following:

Southern Teachers Agency (www.southernteachers.com)

Carney Sandoe (www.carneysandoe.com)

Urban Teachers (www.urbanteachers.org)

For more information, please contact the center for Career Engagement athttps://www.gettysburg.edu/offices/center-for-career-engagement/