Criteria for Admission

• A baccalaureate degree from an approved college/university and fulfillment of the requirements for the academic major in which you want to certify or a passing score on the Praxis test before student teaching.
• 3.0 GPA or higher earned in your baccalaureate degree. Candidates with a lower GPA can be conditionally accepted after 12 semester hours of coursework with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. A 3.0 GPA must be maintained for successful program completion.

A transcript review will determine whether a candidate will be required to take additional coursework.

Fees

All teacher intern coursework will be charged at the teacher intern rate of $635 per credit hour for the 2024–2025 academic year. Tuition costs are subject to change according to university increases. 

 For course withdrawal information, see Teacher Intern Course Withdrawal & Tuition Adjustment Policy below.

Documents

Deferred Tuition Payment Agreement

Applying to this program is a 2 step process: Initial Application & Applicant Portal access.

TIP Application Deadlines (including materials uploaded to the portal):
Spring Semester: January 1
Summer Semester: May 1
Fall Semester: August 1

First, you will create an account and complete an initial application at this link.
Note that you will be asked for the emails of three people who are willing to act as recommenders for this program. They will be sent a form automatically.

When you press the “submit” button, you will get an email with your username and password to the applicant portal. You will collect and upload the items below in that portal – over time or all at once. When all materials have been submitted, a decision will be made about admission. All applications must be completed at least three weeks before the start of the semester when you want to take classes.

1. Proof of American citizenship (copy of birth certificate or passport) or valid visa
2. Field Experience Log, complete the “Recent Experience” section.
3. Required clearances

• • Act 24
  • Act 34
  • Act 114
  • Act 126
  • Act 151

1. TB test results

The following items are not done in the applicant portal. Instead, they will be sent directly to Annemieke Stassel (see address below).

1. Official transcripts sent from your former college directly to Annemieke Stassel
2. $50 application and transcript review fee, payable to Susquehanna University

Field Experiences

Field experiences allow candidates to apply principles and theories learned in their academic coursework to actual practice in the classroom setting. Field experiences also provide opportunities for interactions with diverse populations, ages, and school settings.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires field experience totaling 190 hours, prior to student teaching. These 190 hours include:

• 40 hours of observation and exploration (externship - single school setting)
• 150 hours of pre-student teaching interaction with teachers and students. Some of the 150 hours will take place throughout the required coursework, and will align and integrate with the topics of focus in the course materials, and program goals

Consideration for field experience credit will be given to recent experience in working with children in an instructional setting. Candidates will discuss recent experiences with the Director of the Teacher Intern Program during the personal interview portion of the program intake process.

Student Teaching

Student teaching, as a teacher intern, requires a minimum of 12 weeks/12 credits. These are full-time assignments and are arranged through the Director of the Teacher Intern Program. School sites for student teaching are planned early in the semester prior to the actual student teaching experience. Additional time may be added to the beginning or end of the 12-week assignment in order to meet the required field experience hours.

School sites for student teaching are selected from school districts within a 50-mile radius of Susquehanna University. The university’s teacher intern supervisors will observe the interns a minimum of four times during the student teaching experience, and intern student teachers will attend a minimum of four seminars.

Upon successfully completing all program requirements with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, teacher interns are eligible to apply for an Instructional I Teaching Certificate through the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

If you become aware of a teaching position that you would like to apply for during the course of your Teacher Intern Program, an Intern Certificate from the PA Department of Education can qualify you for this position while you earn credits towards your Instructional I certification.

If this need arises, please contact the program director for Letter of Intern Candidacy that can accompany your job application. You can apply online for the PA Intern Certificate through the TIMS system. Pennsylvania Intern Certification is valid for three years and costs $200.

English as a second language (ESL) Program Specialist PreK-12 certification can be added to an initial certification in another content area. The certification requires four courses (listed below) and includes observation time.

ESL

• ELL Language and Literacy Development
• Sociocultural Contexts of Teaching and Learning Language
• Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners
• Understanding Second Language Acquisition for Educator

Susquehanna University’s Withdrawal & Tuition Adjustment policy determines the percentage of applicable charges earned and unearned by any student withdrawing from a course at the university during the semester.

* A week is defined as Monday through Sunday for the purposes of this policy.