Student Teaching

Teacher candidates at Saint Joseph’s University are required to successfully complete a full-time student teaching experience in an accredited K-12 school in their grade levels and subject areas of endorsement. Each student teacher is engaged in full-time teaching responsibilities under the guidance of a certified, experienced mentor teacher and a student teacher mentor. Student teachers are welcome to provide input into their placements. Ideally, student teaching takes place in a classroom aligned with career goals. In some cases, teacher candidates may student teach in their own classrooms.

The student teaching experience provides teacher candidates with the space and opportunity to practice the craft of teaching in a reflective manner, receiving ongoing feedback from the cooperating teacher and student teacher mentor. All student teaching placements occur concurrently with a content-specific university student teaching seminar course. Student teaching is the culminating experience in the teacher preparation program.

Application for Student or Intern Teaching

The following certification areas require a 14-week full time student teaching experience:

• PK-4
• 4-8
• PK-12
• 7-12
• PK-4 and SpEd PK-12 (undergraduate double majors)
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Impaired PK-12

The following certification area requires a modified 4-week student teaching experience:

• SpEd PK-12

Note: Only graduate students who have completed a full-time student teaching experience as part of their initial teacher certification program and who hold a valid initial teaching certificate are eligible for a modified 4-week student teaching placement.

New clearances must be obtained prior to student teaching. The new (updated) set of clearances are needed by the beginning of the preceding semester; for example, if you plan to student teach in the spring of your senior year, you must have updated clearances in hand by the beginning of the fall semester. To participate in student teaching, students must obtain the following clearances 

• Pennsylvania State Criminal History Record (Act 34)
• Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (Act 51)
• Federal FBI Criminal History Report (Act 114)
• Proof of Tuberculin Skin Test
• Mandated Reporting

Updated clearances must be uploaded in EXXAT (Step-by-step instructions for the clearance process for Student Teaching. can be found here.) 

Learn more about Background Clearances.

The following resources are available to Student Teacher Candidates, Student Teacher Mentors and Cooperating Teachers.

1. Student Teacher Candidate Resources (including Student Teaching Application)
2. Cooperating Teachers Resources
3. University Supervisor Resources

Student Teaching Handbook

Saint Joseph’s University’s education departments place student teachers in public, parochial and licensed private schools in numerous school districts throughout the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area (including New Jersey). Student teaching placements, however, must be within reasonable commuting distance of SJU and meet the requirements established by the PA Department of Education. Students with special circumstances should contact the Director of Clinical Experience at rlevy@sju.edu