Fifth-year Certification Program for Teaching
Elementary and Secondary Education

***Please Note: This program is designed for prospective or current Bachelor's degree students. Currently, Behrend only has certification in Mathematics Education, so if you already have a Bachelor's degree completed, this program may not suit your needs.

Prospective Students (not currently enrolled at Behrend), please contact : Admissions at 814-898-6100

Students interested in Mathematics Education, please visit the Secondary Mathematics Site

Current Students, please contact : Emily Artello at 814-898-6260

 

Students may prepare for careers in elementary and secondary school teaching while remaining at Penn State Behrend to complete a Penn State Behrend bachelor's degree. 

An agreement between Penn State Behrend and Mercyhurst College in Erie provides students with the opportunity to pursue Pennsylvania Teacher Certification in a five-year program that combines a four-year degree in selected disciplines at Penn State Erie with a fifth year of course work in education and student teaching through Mercyhurst College.

Certification options:

The Value of Fifth-Year Certification Programs

Many experts on education believe that America currently faces an acute shortage of teachers, particularly in math and the sciences, and that the number of teachers retiring in the near future ensures a shortage in all fields. 

In fact, many districts are already experiencing difficulties hiring qualified teachers, raising the further question about what training produces a "qualified" teacher. In 2001, these issues were debated at the National Press Club, and among the conclusions was that alternative routes to teacher certification need to be established.

Once increasingly popular alternative to the traditional education major is fifth-year certification programs. This approach allows students to pursue an undergraduate major in an academic discipline and then complete their certification requirements in a fifth year of study and student teaching.

Dr. Tom Loveless, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, argued at the National Press Club debate that a good teacher is "a teacher who actually teaches children something and one who teaches children things that are important."

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the need for teachers will grow 10 percent to 20 percent over the next decade. It categorizes job opportunities for teachers as "excellent" due to the large number of retirements expected through 2010.

The Penn State Behrend faculty believe that students who pursue a traditional academic major before seeking certification should focus first on learning things that are important to teach. They believe that the interests of public education can be best served by offering students the strongest background possible in the subject matters they will be called upon to teach--and students seem to agree.

Since 1998, twenty-seven Penn State Behrend students have majored in biology, chemistry, English, mathematics, or history and then proceeded to Mercyhurst College for secondary certification, and an additional ten have majored in various subjects and gone on for elementary certification. All indications are that more and more students will find this program an excellent one for preparing them to be effective, knowledgeable teachers.

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Updated January 18, 2008
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