About the Program

Accredited: Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) (formerly NCATE)

Enrollment in all teacher education programs follows the guidelines for "Admission to Teacher Education Programs" found in this catalog. Applicants who do not yet meet all admissions criteria should consult with the department.

Student Teaching

The program is clinically-rich with carefully designed field experiences that culminate in one full semester of student teaching. The culminating courses for the Childhood with social studies extension major include two supervised student teaching experiences with children at different age levels in different types of schools. Eligibility and placement for each student teaching experience is determined by the department office in cooperation with public schools in the greater Buffalo area. It is expected that students in this major will have at least one urban teaching experience.

Graduates in this major will be recommended for New York State Initial Certification to teach children in grades 1–6 and 7-9 social studies.

Transfer Students

Most courses taken at an accredited institution and relevant to a Buffalo State degree program will be accepted, but the majority of professional sequence courses applied to the childhood education with social studies major must be courses completed at Buffalo State. Grades for transfer courses are generally used in computing the required 3.0 cumulative GPA for admission to the major. Students planning to transfer as juniors into the Childhood program with social studies extension and wishing to complete their programs in four to five semesters must seek advisement at the institution in which they initially enrolled to assure that the prerequisite course equivalencies are met. Since the teacher candidate will graduate with recommendation for two certification areas, extension majors may need an additional semester of college work.

Candidates should consult the Teacher Certification website for current seminars and workshops.

About the Elementary Ed, Literacy, Ed Ldrsp Department

302 Bacon Hall
1300 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo, NY 14222
Phone: (716) 878-5916
Fax: (716) 878-6033
https://elementaryeducation.buffalostate.edu/

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to the Childhood Education with Social Studies Extension major (CSS), students must have an 85% High School average or a cumulative GPA of 3.0, as well as submitted ACT or SAT scores as part of the application process.

For students currently enrolled at Buffalo State, an acceptable application to the department includes evidence that the above requirements have been met. Applications to CSS are available in Bacon 302. Acceptance into the department enables students to proceed through the curricular courses of their selected major.

Childhood with Social Studies Extension education majors must complete one year of college-level study of one language other than English. Typically, two years of high school study of one language is equivalent to one year of college-level work. Childhood education with social studies extension majors must also complete a distribution requirement of at least 6 credit hours in each of the following areas: mathematics, science, social studies, and English (not including CWP 101 and CWP 102).

Social studies extension majors also complete a 30-credit-hour concentration in social studies as outlined in the elementary education handbook, available in Bacon 302 and on the college website.

Many of the courses in our professional sequence are taught in authentic settings for clinically-rich mentored experiences. As a result, the teacher candidates will have observation, tutoring, and teaching experiences in a variety of placements in our Professional Development Schools Consortium. In addition, social studies extension majors take SSE 303 in the semester prior to student teaching. See the social studies education department for seat availability and orientation.

Program Requirements

General Education 23 Requirements
30 credit hours 1 30

Social Studies Concentration
30 credit hours 30

Distribution Courses beyond IF
9 credit hours 9

Total Required Credit Hours in Education Major Requirements (57 credit hours)

SPF 202 CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION 3
SPF 203 SCHOOL AND SOCIETY 3
EDU 201 INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATION 3
SPF 302 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY: ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 3
EDU 211 INTRODUCTION TO LITERACY 3
EDU 310 TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 3
EDU 311 THE TEACHING OF READING AND THE OTHER LANGUAGE ARTS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 6
EDU 313 TEACHING SCIENCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD AND CHILDHOOD SETTINGS 3
EDU 316 TEACHING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS 6
EXE 362 BEHAVIOR AND CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT 3
EXE 371 FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 3
SSE 303 METHODS AND MATERIALS IN TEACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES 3
SSE 409 STUDENT TEACHING OF SOCIAL STUDIES IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL 6
EDU 402 SEMINAR IN EDUCATION 1-3
EDU 404 PRACTICUM IN ELEMENTARY TEACHING FOR EX ED & MIDDLE SCHOOL EX STUDENTS 6

Total Credit Hours 126
1 Up to 6 general education (IF 14) courses (math/quantitative reasoning, American Civilization, Western Civilization, Non-Western Civilization, Humanities, Natural Science, Global and Diversity) may overlap with required courses in the major which could significantly reduce the total number of credit hours required. Advisement is strongly encouraged.

The total number of required hours will vary with course selection. Students should refer to the Elementary Education Handbook and an academic adviser for more detailed information.

Professional Licensure Disclosure
New York State prides itself in the high quality of its licensed and certified professionals. For the protection of its citizens, each license and certificate has requirements that individuals must meet in order to be licensed or certified in New York State. SUNY’s academic programs leading to licensure or certification are carefully designed to meet and exceed these State requirements. This is a role SUNY plays in protecting the public. Other states frequently have their own requirements, so if your goal is to practice in another state, this disclosure will help you check to see what that state requires.

Enrolled students and prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact their State’s licensure entity using the links provided in the full disclosure document to review all licensure and certification requirements imposed by their state(s) of choice.

Review full disclosure and licensure by state (PDF, 132 KB)