The College of St. Scholastica's graduate licensure program is an innovative program designed to provide professional preparation of teachers for elementary, middle level, and secondary licensure and for K-12 library media licensure. We seek to prepare committed teachers who are firmly grounded in the content, pedagogy and dispositions needed to be highly effective and caring teachers. The varied courses and field experiences enable students to develop mastery of the Standards of Effective Practice for beginning teachers.

Program Description and Format

2007-2008 Information sessions

Duluth every month at 5:30

Tues., April 8 Tues., May 13 Tues., June 10

St Paul & St Cloud   at 5:30

Tues., May 6

Please RSVP by clicking here or emailing gradstudies@css.edu.

The Graduate Teaching Licensure Program (GTL) offers students an initial teaching license with an optional Master's degree, in an accelerated format. It is designed for those who have completed a baccalaureate degree in a field other than education, or for certified teachers who wish to add another endorsement to their license. The program is designed for flexibility and offers a hybrid model of online and onsite learning. Classes will be offered in the evening and weekends. Students may attend the program either on a full-time or part-time basis. Field experiences will occur in a variety of school settings and will require some school day hours. Students can complete the program in as little as one year providing they have the necessary content area requirements. The program is standards based and emphasizes active, results-oriented learning. The program is designed around four major strands: content integration, reflection and professional development, diversity, and technology. Faculty model best practices in each of the strand areas throughout the program.

Students may work toward licensure in elementary (K-6) with an academic specialty (5-8) in either communication arts & literature, social studies, science, or mathematics. Secondary licensure (5-12) includes; communication arts & literature, social studies, life science, chemistry, and math. K-12 licensure includes library media specialty.

This licensure meets the Minnesota Board of Teaching requirements.

Optional Master's Degree Requirements

The master's degree requires completion of 34 graduate-level credits. If students completed some of the licensure requirements at the undergraduate level, they may take electives from our other graduate programs, our professional development courses, or a maximum of 6 graduate credits transferred in from another accredited institution.

Program Outcomes

Program outcomes are aligned with the Standards of Effective Practice for beginning teachers.

Through coursework, clinical experiences, seminars, and student teaching, the faculty of the College of St. Scholastica assists the teacher candidate to:

• Meet the Standards of Effective Practice for beginning teachers.
• Demonstrate competence in subject knowledge.
• Understand and apply research-based knowledge in the field of education.
• Use technology effectively to improve student learning and aid in professional growth.
• Understand the importance of and use inquiry and reflective practice to critically examine theoretical bases of educational thought presented in the literature.
• Apply ideas of content integration to curriculum and instruction.
• Understand the importance of diversity and develop learning communities in which individual differences are respected.
• Identify and critically examine contemporary issues in education.
• Understand and apply the Code of Ethics for teachers.

We highly recommend before you apply to the program to fax or mail the coordinator (listed below) of the site you will be attending a: 

• copy of your undergraduate transcripts (can be a copy, does not need to be official)
• contact information including an email address
• area you are interested in teaching

We will do an informal analysis of how many courses you will need to be licensed in the area you want to teach.  We do this because program length varies due to our program being customized around your undergraduate degree and the Minnesota teaching standards in the area you want to teach.

Program Staff

Chery Takkunen, M.S., Chair
Graduate Programs
School of Education
College of St. Scholastica
1200 Kenwood Avenue
Duluth, MN 55811
Office: (218)723-7052
Toll Free: (800)888-8796
Fax: (218)723-6709
ctakkune@css.edu

Gail Gaetz, M.A.
Program Coordinator, Duluth
School of Education
College of St. Scholastica
1200 Kenwood Avenue
Duluth, MN 55811
Office: (218)723-6724
Toll Free: (800)888-8796
Fax: (218)723-6709
ggaetz@css.edu

Doreene Langason, M.Ed.
Program Coordinator, St. Paul
School of Education
College of St. Scholastica
340 Cedar Street Suite 50
St. Paul, MN 55101
Office: (651)298-1015
Toll Free: (888)298-4723
Fax: (651)298-8532
dlangeso@css.edu

Roxanne Bridges, Ed.D.
Program Coordinator, St. Cloud
School of Education
The College of St. Scholastica
4150 2nd St South, Ste 330
St. Cloud, MN 56301
Office: (320)529-6663
Toll Free: (866)211-2337
Fax: (320)534-0164
rbridges@css.edu