With a teaching certificate: One year on a full-time basis and two years part-time. Without a teaching certificate: Depends on the prerequisites you need to complete before beginning the courses for the special education program. A timeline will be worked out with your advisor.

The courses range from one to seven, depending on previous coursework, experience, and/or Illinois state testing results. The courses are:

• CIEP 450 Educational Psychology
• CIEP 401 Exceptional Child
• CIEP 414 Instructional Methodology OR
  CIEP 437: Instructional Strategies for Social Studies and Language Arts
• CIEP 423 Advanced Literacy Instruction in Content Areas
• CIEP 438 Math and Computers Competencies for Elementary Teachers
• CIEP 439 Teaching in Science in Elementary Schools

Clinical experiences are designed to give students an opportunity to become involved in off-campus educational experiences. Clinical experiences include guided observations such as tutoring, attending school board meetings, observing classroom activities, conducting small group or whole class instruction and judging academic contests. All clinical experience hours must be documented and are kept in student's file in the Office of Student Academic Services. Students are encouraged to keep a copy of the clinical hours in their portfolio and handbook. Students are required to complete a minimum of 100 hours of clinical experiences prior to student teaching.

The professional education classes provide clinical experience hours for students.

The content area should be taken no later than the semester prior to student teaching. A passing score is required for admission to student teaching.

Registration and study guide materials are available online.

A passing score on the APT is required by the Illinois State Board of Education prior to issuing the LSBI certificate.

Student teaching occurs from Monday thru Friday for full school days for 16 weeks during Fall or Spring semester. Candidates with a teaching certificate and current teaching experience may qualify for a summer experience.

International applicants are welcomed to enroll in the M.Ed., but are not eligible for state certification unless they qualify as a U.S. citizen or have permanent residency status.

Student teaching is the third phase of the teacher education program. Students must apply for admittance. To complete the application, the student needs to provide:

• General information
• Checklist of classes with completion dates prior to Student Teaching
• Student teaching health certificate
• Personal statement
• Transcript release form
• Passing score on the Illinois Content Area Test
• Recommendation forms to be completed by three faculty members

Completed applications will be filed in each student's record. Deadlines for submission are March 1 for Spring and October 1 for Fall.

The applications must be submitted one year in advance of your student teaching assignment.

The Director of Student Teaching interviews students to assess their readiness for student teaching and to review their transcripts.

When you apply for student teaching, it is not guaranteed that you will get the school that you request. The placement decision is the responsibility of the university and is made by the Director of Student Teaching.

When you are student teaching, you are expected to abide by your school's schedule and not by Loyola's schedule.

Yes, you must attend all seminars. Seminars serve to provide students with vital information regarding the academic program, certification requirements and an opportunity for professional growth.

Yes, you must register for your program's specific student teaching.

The university supervisor visits the student teacher five times during the semester. The university supervisor and the cooperating teacher submit written evaluations of the student's teaching performance and lesson plans.

No. After you receive your application, signed and sealed by Loyola University Chicago, the Office of Student Academic Services (OSAS) sends your name to the Certification Section of the Illinois State Board of Education. The OSAS is located in Room 1123, Lewis Towers, at the Water Tower Campus. (The student teaching handbook has a checklist guide you can use for the certification process.)

The LSBI qualifies you to teach children and adolescents ages 3-21 with special needs excluding students who are blind or partially sighted and who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Read and follow the procedures for state certification here.

The Illinois State Board of Education joined the Interstate Compact Agreement. As a result of this, your certificate allows to receive a compatible initial certificate in most states. But, you must apply to each state in which you are interested in teaching.