What is distinctive about studying education at Sweet Briar?
Teacher Candidates get more than double the PreK-12 classroom experience required for licensure across their coursework’s clinical field experiences.
Our students take courses within cohorts consisting of elementary, mathematics, history and social science, English, chemistry, biology, dance, theatre arts, and visual arts teacher candidates. While each licensure specialty takes courses targeting their discipline, the bulk of our coursework spans licensure tracks so that teacher candidates learn from and with one another, deepening their content expertise and collaborative skills.
Teacher Candidates learn within interdisciplinary cohorts, deepening their understanding of content areas.
Our students take courses within cohorts consisting of elementary, mathematics, history and social science, English, chemistry, biology, dance, theatre arts, and visual arts teacher candidates. While each licensure specialty takes courses targeting their discipline, the bulk of our coursework spans licensure tracks so that teacher candidates learn from and with one another, deepening their content expertise and collaborative skills.
Teacher Candidates can enhance their abilities to meet the needs of all students by earning a Special Education Endorsement in addition to their primary licensure endorsement.
Our teacher education program offers an add-on endorsement in special education (general curriculum K-12). The special education endorsement provides in-depth coursework and hands-on field experiences working with students with exceptionalities to enhance every teacher’s ability to serve diverse groups of students.
Teacher Candidates can earn their Masters of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) in a one-year program after their B.A. degree.
During the M.A.T. year, teacher candidates fine-tune their teaching skills through graduate-level coursework and extensive PreK-12 classroom experience. While elementary teacher candidates earn their M.A.T. after earning their initial teaching license during their B.A. program, secondary and PreK-12 teacher candidates earn their initial teaching license during their M.A.T. year. The M.A.T. year is specially designed to maximize teacher candidates’ readiness to lead their own PreK-12 classrooms.
Teacher Candidates earn a Virginia teaching licensure, which is reciprocally accepted by 52 other states and territories.
Virginia is part of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) Interstate Agreement, which facilitates the mobility of educators among the nearly four dozen other states who have signed reciprocity agreements with Virginia. Teacher candidates who wish to be licensed in a state other than Virginia work with faculty to meet that state’s specific licensure requirements. More information about teaching licensure can be learned here.