Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts

New York State Education Department General Core in Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirements at Teachers College (TC)--IMPORTANT information: No longer required by the NYSED effective date: 4/27/2022


IMPORTANT information: No longer required by the NYSED effective date: 4/27/2022

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) requires Teachers College to determine that students have knowledge and skills in the following areas prior to recommendation for teacher certification: artistic expression; communication;  information retrieval; concepts in history and social sciences; humanities; a language other than English; scientific and mathematical processes; and written analysis and expression. At TC, we allow students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in each area through coursework or comparable relevant experience.

Upon application submission, prospective students applying to programs leading to NYSED teacher certification will receive an email from The Office of Admissions prompting the completion of a form detailing their knowledge and skills in each area listed above. The Office of Teacher Education (OTE) will review the forms and reach out to Academic Faculty as needed.  Once the review is complete, OTE will send a letter to each student stating what requirements are met, unmet, or request additional information. OTE will also provide recommendations for meeting any unmet requirements.

Please note that if a student applies for teacher certification via NYSED individual evaluation pathway  (not via a TC recommendation), or if they enter a teacher preparation program at another school in New York State, they may be required to do additional coursework to meet these requirements. Each school interprets this requirement differently and NYSED will require coursework and a minimum number of course credits for each area depending on the teaching certificate title and the grade level for which the candidate applies.

For more information, please feel free to contact OTE at ote@tc.columbia.edu.

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