Urban Teaching Programs

To apply to the Urban Teaching Program in either Secondary/Adolescent Education or Elementary/Childhood Education, you must:

1. Attend an Open House and a Program Planning meeting in your first or second year.
2. Meet with a faculty member to complete an Urban Teaching program plan and a content core worksheet.
3. Complete the Urban Teaching Application (see below).
4. Complete an Interview for the program.

Criteria for Acceptance

There are 3 main criteria for acceptance into the program.

• GPA of 3.0 or higher, demonstrated by a review of your transcript.
• Your ability to complete the program, demonstrated by your program plan, other application materials, and letters of recommendation.
• Your desire to pursue a career in education, demonstrated by the essay and interview.

Open Houses and Program Planning 

Open Houses and Program Planning events take place in the fall and spring semesters. All students are welcome. Please find our upcoming Open House and Program Planning dates in the News and Events page.

The Application

Please prepare and complete all parts of the application:

• Urban Teaching Application: This portion of the application provides general background information. Please complete the linked form and attach all the required documents [essay, resume, and transcript(s].
• Program Plan and Content Core Worksheet: Be sure you have met with a faculty member to complete a program plan and content core worksheet for your certification area/grade level. We will review these documents to evaluate how you intend to complete the required coursework. 
• Essay: We are interested in how your interests and experiences relate to our commitment to serving urban youth since the Barnard Education Program is situated in an urban center, and you will be interning in urban classrooms.  Discuss briefly (500-1000) your interests in the field of education and the special interests or skills you feel you bring to it. Some autobiographical material would be helpful. Please include experiences you have had with children or adolescents. You should complete this essay as a Word document and submit it with your application.
• Resume: Please attach a current resume to your application.
• Transcript: Please attach a copy of your most recent transcript. Please include any transcripts from other schools if you are a transfer student.
• Recommendation Forms: You will be asked to provide the names of two people who will complete your recommendation forms on the General Information portion of your application. You will also be asked to waive or not waive your right to see the recommendation form. The first recommendation form should be from a faculty member from your major field of study. The second recommendation form may be from another faculty member or a current or previous employer. At least one recommendation form should be from a Barnard or Columbia faculty member. Recommendations should not come from Teaching Assistants. We will send the request for the recommendation directly to the people you indicate in your application.

Interview

After reviewing applications, program faculty will meet with all qualified candidates individually. Candidates will be contacted by the program’s administrative assistant to schedule the interview.

This program prepares students for a New York State Initial Certificate in Childhood Education (Grades 1-6).

This program prepares students for a New York State Initial Certificate in Adolescent Education (Grades 7-12) in the fields of English, Foreign and Ancient Languages, Mathematics, the Sciences, and Social Studies.

The Barnard Education Program requires three levels of clinical experiences for Urban Teaching candidates prior to student teaching. These experiences provide rich opportunities for prospective teachers to connect theory to practice and build a reflective practice as they apply their developing skills in informal and formal, school and community educational settings. Urban Teaching candidates must map out a plan to complete each level of clinical experience prior to the subsequent one. All experiences must be completed with children and youth in the age group for which you are seeking certification. For childhood certification, you should work with children in grades 1-6. For adolescent certification, you should work with youth in grades 7-12. Placements for Urban School Practicum and Student Teaching will be made so that by the time students complete the program, Childhood Education candidates have experience in grades 1-3 and 4-6 and Adolescent Education candidates have experience in grades 7-9 and 10-12.

As part of the NYS Certification process, students are required to complete a minimum of 520 hours of supervised education-based clinical experiences. Students spend 100+ hours in NYC public school classrooms as part of pre-student teaching pedagogical courses, and 70+ days in Student Teaching. Additionally, as part of the Barnard Education Program, students are required to complete a 40-hour minimum foundational fieldwork experience prior to the start of student teaching. These clinical experiences are described below. 
 

Foundational Clinical Experiences: Exploring Educational Settings (40 hours)

All Urban Teaching candidates must complete 40 hours of independent fieldwork prior to or during the first year of admission to the Education Program. This fieldwork may be completed during the summer or during the academic year and should be documented using the Fieldwork in Education Packet. Students must keep a journal during their fieldwork experience and write a reflective essay that is submitted with the completed packet.
 

Intermediate Clinical Experiences I: Course-Related Fieldwork in Education (35 hours)

For the Pedagogical Elective requirement for Urban Teaching, students enroll in one of the courses listed below and complete 35 hours of fieldwork connected to their coursework. This fieldwork is documented using the Fieldwork Record Sheets which must be signed by the candidate, the cooperating teacher, and the instructor for the course and forwarded to the Education Program Office. All Urban Teaching candidates should complete one of the courses listed below prior to taking the courses EDUC BC 3025 Inclusive Approaches to Teaching Literacy and EDUC BC 3053 or 3054 Multicultural Elementary or Secondary Pedagogy in the Junior year.

• EDUC BC 3050 Science in the City 
• EDUC BC 3058 Science and Engineering in the City 
• EDUC BC 3052 Math and the City
• EDUC BC 3055 Arts & Humanities in the City
   

Intermediate Clinical Experiences II: Multicultural Pedagogy (40+ hours)

EDUC BC 3053/3054 Multicultural Elementary/Secondary Pedagogy is usually taken in the fall semester of the junior year. Students who plan to study abroad must take it in their sophomore year since there is a year-long field placement attached to this course and the Literacy course. Students are placed in a public school to observe and work alongside an experienced teacher. Students complete a minimum of 40 fieldwork hours in the fall semester.

Intermediate Clinical Experiences III: Inclusive Approaches to Teaching Literacy (60+ hours)

EDUC BC 3025 Inclusive Approaches to Teaching Literacy is usually taken in the spring of the junior year. Students who plan to study abroad must take it in their sophomore year. These two courses are the first of two supervised fieldwork experiences. Student continue their fall field fieldwork placement and complete a minimum of 60 fieldwork hours in the spring semester. By the end of the year, students must have completed at least 100 hours to go on to Student Teaching.

Student Teaching (70+ days)

Student Teaching is the capstone experience of the Urban Teaching Program. Students are placed in New York City public school classrooms for the duration of their senior year. In the fall, while taking Critical Inquiry in Urban Teaching, students are engaged in fieldwork 1-2 days a week.  Students must complete a minimum of 10 days during the fall semester. In the spring semester, they attend student teaching five days a week, full-time. This full-time teaching experience allows students to put theory into practice with the guidance of an experienced cooperating teacher. During the student teaching semester, students can only take two additional classes. The classes must meet after regular school hours. Some majors have requirements or opportunities for seniors that conflict with student teaching; therefore, it is important for students to plan their programs carefully.

The Urban Teaching program is a member of the Association for Advancing Quality in Education Preparation (AAQEP) and approved by the New York State Education Department to recommend students who complete the program for Initial Certification in either Childhood Education (grades 1-6) or Adolescent Education (grades 7-12). 

Certification is based on demonstrated competency in both academic and field settings. Students are required to complete a minimum of 520 hours of education-based field experiences. Students must pass the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations.  Also required are workshops in Child Abuse Identification; School Violence Intervention and Prevention; and the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), offered at Teachers College.

Note: For certification in New York State, undergraduates must pass all courses counting toward certification with a letter grade of C or better. Pass/D/Fail grading is not an option.

Fingerprinting Forms 

• OSPRA 104
• OSPRA 103

Certification

• Certification Pending Letter Request Form

Links

• New York State Education Department
• NYS Teacher Certification Examinations
• New York City Department of Education
• TeachNYC
• Violence and Child Abuse Workshop
• Child Abuse and Maltreatment Workshop at CU
• DASA Training

We are proud of the accomplishments of our students and alumni, and the data support our claims that program students are skilled and reflective teachers who can effectively respond to the learning needs of diverse learners, and create supportive and intellectually stimulating classroom communities.

The Barnard College Education Program is registered with the New York State Department of Education and is accredited by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). The 2023 accreditation report can be found here. 

1. Indicators of program effectiveness & satisfaction of employers

Employer and Alumni Surveys conducted in 2022 as part of the accreditation process were designed to investigate program effectiveness, one item stands out as emblematic of the feedback we have received about the effectiveness of our program. This question on the Employer Survey asked, “How well do you believe your teacher was prepared to teach through the Barnard Education Program in comparison to other new teachers in your school?” Seven of the eleven employers surveyed had hired one of our completers during their 1st-3rd year of teaching. Of these, five (71.4%) said that our teacher was more prepared to teach than most other new teachers. The other two employers (28.5%) thought our teacher was as prepared as other new teachers, with a mean response of 2.7/3.0 (n=7, SD±0.0.49). None of the employers thought our completers were less prepared than other new teachers in their school. See Figure 18.

Figure 18. Employer Survey: Preparation in the Barnard Education Program

2. Indicators of program effectiveness & satisfaction of completers

 While the Alumni Survey was designed to investigate program effectiveness, one item stands out as emblematic of the feedback we have received about the overall effectiveness of our program. This question asked, “How well do you believe your experience in the Barnard Education Program prepared you in comparison to other new teachers in your school?” The majority of respondents thought they were more prepared, and 30 % (n=30) thought they were as prepared as other new teachers in their school, with a mean response of (67%, n=67) response of 2.7/3.0 (n=7, SD±0.0.49).

3. Graduation and completion rates

*Anticipated

4. Ability of completers to meet licensing requirements and additional state requirements

*This table does not account for completers taking certification exams in other states.

5. Ability of completers to be hired in education positions for which they have prepared

*Please note that teaching and enrollment in graduate school are not mutually exclusive.

** Currently working in an education-adjacent field.

6. Consumer information

Cost of Attendance
Below are Barnard College's tuition and fees for the following academic years. The expected length of time to complete the teacher education program is three years.

Student Loan Default Rates

Student loan default rates for Barnard College can be found on the Federal Student Aid (FSA) site.

Teacher Salaries

The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) provides teaching salary and benefit information for New York City.

Course and credit requirements for pursuing the Urban Teaching Program differ, depending on whether you are interested in the Elementary program or the Adolescent program. The Childhood Education Program (Grades 1-6)works with any major. The Adolescent Education Program (Grades 7-12) closely aligns with the content area majors below. 

When planning for their major, all students should plan to student teach in their final (spring) semester. Student teaching requires that students be in schools Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.