FAQs

The student teaching experience has been carefully designed to be as realistic and as intensive as actual teaching. It is defined as a “full time, supervised, uncompensated experience.” You will have student teaching placements over the course of one semester. As a student teacher, you will follow your host school’s calendar and not that of SUNY Oswego.

During student teaching you will demonstrate the skills and knowledge you have acquired through your education classes and previous field experiences. Student teachers are also expected to participate in any required staff development including, but not limited to, Superintendent’s Conferences and faculty/ department meetings.  Student teachers are encouraged to participate in afterschool activities, school functions, etc.

You will be supervised in your classroom by a certified and experienced cooperating teacher. Supervision from SUNY Oswego is provided by professionals who have been successful classroom teachers/ administrators.

Assignments include lesson planning and adaptation, effective classroom management techniques, effective communication skills, strategies for working with special needs students, and use of developmental and content reading and writing strategies as part of the integration of language arts processes.

The Safe Schools, Healthy Students (SSHS) online workshop is $200 and is 0 credits. This course is offered once per quarter (2 times a semester) and over the summer. 

The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) online workshop is $90 and is 0 credits. The DASA workshop sections are posted on the myOswego registration page, with several offerings each semester. 

You must take both required workshops before you student teach. To find out more information regarding these required workshops you can visit The School of Education Required Workshops or Extended Learning DASA and Safe Schools.   

You may register for SSHS 1020 and DASA 1020 through your myOswego account as if registering for your semester courses. 

If you plan to student teach in NYC, fingerprinting is required prior to student teaching. Otherwise it is recommended, but not required. However, you will need to be fingerprinted for NYS certification. Visit NYSED.gov for more information.

The semester prior to student teaching, applicants must register for student teaching through myOswego the same way you register for all classes. You must also submit a student teaching application through Tk20, including a cover letter and resume. Visit Curriculum and Instruction Student Teaching for more information.

Return the printable Undergraduate Student Teaching Application for Academic Review Form along with your Degree Works Audit Report to the C&I Advisement Office, 102 Wilber Hall. 

Graduate Students complete their required field experiences before student teaching. See your advisor for field experience program requirements. *Registration and Orientation information may be found on Field Placement's Curriculum and Instruction Field Experience page.          

It is your responsibility to submit your application and all required documents via Tk20 by the deadlines given. This includes advisee submissions to the Curriculum and Instruction Advisement Office, 102 Wilber. Tk20 application and registration deadlines. 

The Clinical Practice and Partnerships Office/Field Placement Office is responsible for making all experiential placements for teacher candidates. We work hard to maintain excellent relationships with cooperating schools and are required to abide by their placement procedures and comply with all school and district policies. It is also important that we make sure we have trained college supervisors available in a certain area. Therefore, candidates must refrain from seeking their own placement; sometimes candidates can delay placement for everyone when they make an informal request for their own placement. Therefore, all field experience assignments must be arranged through the Clinical Practice and Partnerships Office. To find more information on student teaching placements, placement locations, & placement notifications visit Student Teaching Placements. 

Candidates must work through the Office of International Education and Programs to student teach abroad. Further directions and links to necessary materials will be provided in your Tk20 application. 

Candidates must fill out a separate NYC application.

No. C&I student teachers will only be placed in the designated field placement locations. To find more information on student teaching placement locations visit Student Teaching Placements.

The Clinical Practice and Partnerships Office works very hard to maintain and improve relations with our local schools so we can continue to find enough placements for everyone. When a school and cooperating teacher agree to host a student teacher, we do not like to disappoint them; therefore, you cannot change your placement. 

Student teaching requires a full-time commitment on the part of the candidate, so normally no other courses are taken during this period of time. In addition, student teachers are discouraged from holding part-time, evening and weekend jobs, as these added demands will cut into time that should be spent planning and preparing lessons and materials, and will diminish opportunities for involvement in afterschool meetings and extra-curricular activities.

You are required to attend student teaching every day but in the event of absence or tardiness due to illness or other unavoidable emergency you must: 

• Call your college supervisor, cooperating teacher and the school office as soon as possible but no later than one hour before school starts on the day of the absence.
• Arrange delivery to your cooperating teacher all materials that are necessary for instruction on the day of the absence.
• Follow school district policies for reporting and documenting teacher tardiness or absence to the school officials.

Tk20 by Watermark is the School of Education's online data management system used for candidates and program assessment. The cost is $100 for a ten-year subscription. Undergraduate and Graduate Student Tk20 registration and application deadlines. 

This learning management system, allows all students to access course content for their courses, submit assignments, participate in discussions, communicate with the instructor and classmates, take quizzes and exams, and more.  For more information or to log on to Brightspace visit SUNY’s Digital Learning Environment.  

Degree Works provides a degree audit utility for tracking all student progress towards a degree, as well as related tools and features. It can be accessed from the student records tab in myOswego.

A senior checklist, or check form, is a document that ensures all requirements for graduation are complete. Once you have applied for graduation, you will download and print your senior checklist. This will be reviewed and signed by Sandra Kyle or Beth Smith* during a one-hour appointment with the Advisement Center. During the meeting, you will discuss course and certification requirements, and post-graduation plans. 

*Note: Dr. Russo and Dr. O'Toole meet with their advisees to complete any required checklists.

All students graduate and undergraduate must apply to graduate in order to receive their degree.  Undergraduate students who anticipate graduating in May need to file online before October 1st. Those students who anticipate graduating in December need to file online before February 2nd. 

• Be sure to declare all majors and minors prior to applying for graduation.
• Meet with your major/minor advisor(s) to review and sign your senior checklist form you printed. 
• August graduates participate in the May graduation ceremony.

Graduate students who anticipate graduating in May or August need to file online by February 15. Those students that anticipate graduating in December need to file online by October 1.  

* Note Dr. Russo and Dr. O'toole meet with their advisees to complete any required checklists.  

For more information about applying to graduate visit the Registrar's page, Applying to graduate.   

Like us on Facebook to find posting of current and future job openings. In addition, visit the following links: 

• SUNY Oswego Career Services
• OLAS (On-line Application System for Educators) 
• Southern Teachers Agency 
• K12jobs.com 
• Teachers-Teachers.com

The Main Campus parking permits are issued from the SUNY Oswego Parking Office located on Rt 104. For more information visit Parking Information or email [email protected]. 

Most MST graduate programs are located on SUNY Oswego’s Syracuse Campus. Parking information is available at Syracuse Campus.

Candidates are responsible for their transportation and should arrange in advance for reliable transportation and/or live in the community in which you are assigned. Travel times are generally within 60 minutes and maybe as far as 45 miles. 

Other transportation options if you do not have a car:

• Email the Clinical Practice and Partnerships Office at [email protected] to obtain contact information for other candidates who will be placed in the same area as you.
• Centro Bus
• lyft
• Uber

• First schedule a program advisement meeting by emailing your undergraduate transcript to [email protected]. Tell us the MST program you are interested in.   
• Or apply online by visiting SUNY Oswego Applicant Portal. Previous SUNY graduates sign on with their LakerNet ID and password. Follow the instructions to apply.  
• You will receive a response to schedule a program advisement meeting with a SUNY graduate program coordinator within 24 to 48 hours.     

Students accepted to the MST initial certification program are responsible for applying for Degree Candidacy at the midpoint of the student’s program, typically 12-18 hours of program course work taken at Oswego. To apply for Degree Candidacy, follow these steps:

• Log onto the SUNY Oswego Applicant Portal
• Sign on with your LakerNet ID and password
• Start a new application
• Select the drop-down, choose Graduate Studies (Supplemental)
• Select the second dropdown and choose Graduate Candidacy
• Then select create application and follow the directions

To be eligible to be employed in New York State's public schools, individuals must hold a NYS certificate issued by the Office of Teaching Initiatives. This certificate confirms that an individual has met all degree coursework, assessment, and experience requirements. In addition, you need to complete coursework or training regarding the identification and reporting of suspected child abuse or maltreatment and in school violence prevention and intervention among others, all of which are available through the SUNY Oswego SSHS 1020 and DASA 1020 courses.

Further requirements include fingerprinting and passing NYS Certification Exams. Visit Curriculum and instruction Certification Requirements.

The New York State Department of Education is the institution that grants NYS Teacher Certification. Upon graduation, the college registrar will recommend you to NYSED for teacher certification through a release form you receive with your diploma in the mail. You will then complete the certification process online using your "TEACH" account.

You may view a list of TEACH Services relating to teaching by visiting Teach Online Services.

There are currently two NYS Teacher Certification Exams. They are the Content Specialty Test (CST), and Educating All Students (EAS) test. Visit  Curriculum and instruction Certification Requirements for more information.

Undergraduate students should take the following exams according to the recommended timeline below. You must sign up for each exam at least one month in advance. Graduate students should refer to their Program Advisement Form. 

• Educating All Students (EAS): For Adolescence and Childhood, take the exam prior to student teaching.
• Content Specialty Test (CST): For Adolescence, take the subject-specific test when most or all content courses are completed and after methods course blocks. 
• Content Specialty Test (CST): For Childhood, take the exam midway through methods or after block 3.

You may sign up online at NYSTCE to take exams at multiple sites. The closest location is the Testing Center in Hewitt Union on the main campus. Visit Extended Learning Testing Services for more information.

• You should not apply too early for certification.  You should wait until SUNY has recommended you for the appropriate certificate. This takes approximately 3-4 weeks after graduation.  Waiting to apply, will place your pending application on the correct pathway; expediting the application process.   

There is a different code for each program/certification level. Be sure to carefully choose the right one from Undergraduate and Graduate Award Title and Program Codes PDF.