Education Program

Home / Teacher Education / Requirements for the Major+Licensure

Requirements for the Major+Licensure

Students must receive a grade of B- or higher in order for coursework to be counted toward licensure requirements. (A grade of C may be counted toward the major or minor without licensure).

Licensure candidates fulfill all of the same Education Studies major course requirements, but within the major, the choices of elective and cluster courses are determined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Early Childhood Education (EEC) regulations.

ED 150b Purpose and Politics of Education
All Education Studies majors are required to enroll in this capstone course during their junior or senior year.
ED 165a Reading (and Talking Back to) Research on Education
Required research course to be taken in fall of sophomore or junior year. Students will review quantitative and qualitative research through disciplinary lenses. Students pursue some topic of inquiry by either reviewing and synthesizing educational research, or conducting some empirical research. Ideally, licensure candidates should take this course while engaged in a classroom teaching (pre-practicum) through ED 60a so that they can integrate research into their fieldwork.
Three elective courses in the focus cluster for all licensure candidates: Teaching and Learning In and Outside of Schools

For all licenses at any age/grade level

ED 10a Introduction to Teaching and Learning (should be taken before other licensure courses numbered 100+)
ED 100a/b Exploring Teaching (previous iterations of ED10a) may be substituted for ED10a

For elementary licensure (grades 1-6)

ED 101a Literacy, Literature, and Social Justice (grades PK-6)
ED 105a Structure, Concepts and Best Practices in Mathematics (grades PK-6)

For secondary licensure (grades 5-12)

ED 104a Pedagogy in the Disciplines (English, Math, History, Science)
The subject area rotates each year; take the course for the specific licensure area when it is offered.

An additional teaching and learning course for secondary education that includes an ED 60a pre-practicum and is approved by the advisor.

For Early Childhood (infant, toddler, preK)

ED 101a Literacy, Literature, and Social Justice (grades PK-6)
An additional teaching and learning course for early childhood education that includes a pre-practicum, (e.g., methods) and is approved by the advisor.

D. Four additional electives courses from four clusters, as specified:

One in each of two other clusters, and two additional elective courses from any of the four clusters. Courses cannot be double counted to fulfill any requirements.

Education, Equity, and Social Change

ED 175a Teaching Multilingual Learners (2 credits) This course meets the Sheltered English Instruction (SEI) requirement for licensure.

Teaching and Learning In and Outside of Schools

Only required for Elementary licensure (grades 1-6)

ED 101b Teaching Science and History for Social Change (grades PK-6)

Secondary licensure requires additional subject matter knowledge courses, and early childhood licensure requires additional fieldwork.

Human Creativity and Development

For all licenses at any age/grade level:

ED 125a Special Education: Teaching for Inclusion (2 credit course)
Early Childhood licensure candidates may substitute PSYC 168b Disorders of Childhood for ED 125a

For Early Childhood and Elementary (grades 1-6) Licensure:

PSYC 33a Developmental Psychology

For Secondary, grades 5-12, Licensure:

PSYC 36b Adolescence and the Transition to Maturity

E. Applied Learning Requirement

ED 89a Internship Seminar & Internship

Licensure candidates fulfill this requirement as part of their student teaching internship. 100 hours of their required student teaching hours count toward the ED89a internship requirement. They attend the seminar course alongside other ED Studies majors.

F. Foundational Literacies

As part of completing the Education Studies major, students must:

Fulfill the writing intensive requirement by successfully completing ED 150b
Fulfill the oral communication requirement by successfully completing ED 165a, or any OC-designated ED Studies course
Fulfill the digital literacy requirement by successfully completing ED 165a

G. Honors

Students who wish to be considered for honors in education studies will be required to complete a senior thesis. Students intending to do an honors thesis must discuss their potential topic with an education studies faculty advisor in their junior year.

Please note that majors who intend to do an honors thesis involving empirical research are required to have completed a research course before their senior yea

To Declare the Major+Licensure:

A. review the requirements carefully

B. request access to the ED Studies declaration worksheet (revised as of 1/10/2024)

C. download the declaration worksheet, read the directions (tab 1) and complete the worksheet (tab 2)

D. email the completed form to education@brandeis.edu

please use the subject line: ED Studies major+license declaration
we will also schedule a meeting for you with Prof. Rachel Kramer Theodorou, UAH, to select an advisor

Expand All

Fieldwork Requirements

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education governs fieldwork guidelines. More information can be found at https://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr7.html?section=04

Elementary and Secondary Licensure Fieldwork Requirements

TWO Pre-Practica at two different school sites.

These are credited in two different courses that each connects to a 2-credit ED 60a Supervised Fieldwork in Education. See list of courses that include a fieldwork option.

ONE ‘Full’ Practicum that includes:
1. 100 hours of full responsibility for classroom teaching as part of ≥ 300 of student-teaching
2. This is credited through:
  1. a four credit internship ED 110a (≥180 hours of fieldwork), PLUS
  2. a four credit seminar ED 89a (≥100 hours of fieldwork + 80 hours of coursework)

The full-practicum alongside 89a should be completed in the spring of senior year, after all other coursework has been completed.

Apply for student teaching during the fall of your junior year.

Elementary and Secondary Teacher Education Minors complete a full year of student teaching in one classroom during their senior year that includes 14 hours or 2 days/week in the fall and 5 full days/week in the spring.

Early Childhood Education Certificate (EEC) Fieldwork Requirements for Certification

Teacher & Lead Teacher Certification requires 450 hours of fieldwork at Lemberg Children’s Center including:

ED 10a - Intro to Teaching and Learning with 48 hours of fieldwork
8 additional credits of student teaching credited through:
- a four credit internship ED 110a (≥180 hours of fieldwork), PLUS
- a four credit seminar ED 89a (≥100 hours of fieldwork + 80 hours of coursework)

Apply for student teaching during the fall of your junior year.

Early Childhood Minors complete a semester of student teaching in their junior or senior year.

Subject Matter Knowledge (SMK) Requirements for Licensure

Overview

Please find the list of content areas needed to demonstrate functional subject matter knowledge at the elementary level and for specific subject area licenses in secondary (middle/high) school teaching. Consult your teacher education pathway advisor for specific guidance in fulfilling functional SMK requirements.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requires prospective teachers to demonstrate a functional level of subject matter knowledge (SMK) in order to pursue a provisional license and a fluent level of SMK to earn an initial license, the license for which the Brandeis Education Program licensure pathway prepares candidates.

According to DESE guidelines, functional knowledge is knowledge of the subject itself (at a university level). A fluent level of subject matter knowledge is not only knowledge of the subject itself, but an ability to teach the subject in a range of contexts; this is also called pedagogical content knowledge.

The Brandeis Education Program, licensure pathway includes coursework to develop fluent, pedagogical content knowledge in their subject areas. However, the program requires students to demonstrate functional knowledge of subject matter prior to beginning the full-responsibility student teaching internship.

The Massachusetts Department Early Education and Care cites 14 Categories of Study and requires prospective Lead Teachers to have completed course work in a minimum of 4 of 10 Categories of Study which are specific for LT certification. To demonstrate a functional level of skills in the 10 Categories of Study specific for Lead Teachers is assessed while you pursue this certification for which the Brandeis Education Program prepares candidates conjointly with the staff of the Lemberg Children’s Center, Inc.

Functional subject matter knowledge must be demonstrated in two ways:

1. Passing the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL)

All teacher candidates must pass the MTEL in the areas under which they will be licensed. At Brandeis, these tests, before beginning the full-year student-teaching internship. For clarification on which MTELs are required for which areas of licensure, please consult the DESE website. All licenses require passing the Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL in addition to the grade level and subject area test/s.

2. Earning a B- or higher in subject matter knowledge coursework

Candidates for initial licensure must have earned a B- or higher in sufficient coursework in the topics covered by the MTEL and Massachusetts frameworks listed below. Teaching at the secondary (grades 5-12) level requires university coursework in functional SMK. To teach at the elementary level, some of the functional SMK may be demonstrated through AP exams.

Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL)

All elementary and secondary licensure candidates must pass the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) in Communication and Literacy Skills by August 1 prior to their senior year and attempt all other required exams by December 1 in fall of their senior year.

Elementary candidates must also take Foundations of Reading and General Curriculum 03 (two subtests of math and multi-subject).

Secondary candidates must also take subject-specific exams.

Please visit the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) website for complete information.