Program Overview

Computer Science Education for New York State Certified Teachers (Advanced Certificate)

The Computer Science Education for New York State Certified Teachers (Advanced Certificate) program is designed to provide certified teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to teach computer science in grades PreK-12.

Academic Plan

• The program code for this advanced certificate is CSCIEDU-AC.
• Students must earn at least 21 credits to complete the program.

Program Code for Certification

• The program code for certification is 40695.

Advisors

• Edgar Troudt, Program Leader and Clinical Placement Specialist
• Arisa Baksh, Certification, Graduation and Administrative Advisor

Program Sequences

• The program sequence provides a suggested order of courses for the program based on start date.
• It also includes when to take certification exams and apply for clinical experiences, as well as other important non-course requirements.

Transfer of Credits and Waivers

Transfer of Credits

• A matriculated student may request a transfer of credit for a graduate-level course completed at another institution.
• To be eligible, the course must have been taken within the past five years and closely match the content of a required course in the student’s Hunter College program.
• The request will be reviewed by faculty for equivalence.
• Each program sets the courses for which a transfer will be considered.
• Graduate students in advanced certificate programs are limited to 9 transfer credits.

Waivers

• A waiver of a course requirement may be granted to a student who has completed an undergraduate course at another college or a graduate course taken over five years ago with the same or similar content as a Hunter College course required in your program.
• Not all departments approve the use of undergraduate courses for use in waivers.
• A waiver requires you to take an approved elective course of at least the same number of credits at Hunter to replace the waived course.

Clinical Experiences

• Information forthcoming.

Graduation

• Graduation is the official completion of your program and conferral of an academic degree.
• In order to graduate, students must apply for graduation using CUNYFirst the semester before the semester of their planned graduation and complete any outstanding requirements by the stated deadlines.

Certification and Licensure

• The Computer Science (Advanced Certificate) program leads to New York State certification to teach Computer Science in grades PreK-12.
• Students must wait to apply for certification until they receive an email from the School of Education indicating their recommendation has been entered.
• This usually occurs six to eight weeks after the conferral of your degree.

Types of Certification

• Students are recommended for both initial and professional certification:
  • The Initial Certificate is the entry-level teaching certificate and is valid for five years.
  • The Professional Certificate is an advanced certificate.
  • Once teachers have completed three years of full-time, paid teaching experience, including one year of mentored teaching, they can apply for professional certification.

Application Checklist

Review Your Fingerprint Status

• All students in programs leading to New York State certification need to have their fingerprints cleared by the New York State Education Department (NYSED).

Take Required Certification Exams and Workshops

Exams

• All students must fulfill the following exam requirements over the course of their program:
  • Educating All Students (EAS)
  • Content Specialty Test (CST) – Computer Science (The Computer Science content specialty test is not yet available. Candidates will be manually exempted from this requirement until the CST is available.)

Workshops

• All students must fulfill the following workshop requirements over the course of their program:
  • School Violence Prevention and Intervention
  • Prevention and Child Abuse Identification and Reporting
  • Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) workshop

Apply for Graduation

• In order to be recommended for certification, all students in all programs, including advanced certificate programs, must complete their program and apply for graduation.

Apply for Certification

• Certification candidates must wait to apply for certification until receiving an email from the School of Education indicating their recommendation has been entered.
• There are 4 steps in the application process:
  1. Create/Log in to your TEACH Account
  2. Verify/Update Profile
  3. Select Certificate(s)
  4. Complete application (sign affidavit, sign application, make payment)

Additional Resources

Expiring Certifications

• If you will not graduate from the Advanced Certificate program prior to the expiration of your initial certificate, you may be eligible for an extension through NYSED’s TEACH Online Services.

Out of State Certification or Licensure

• Students applying for certification or licensure in states other than New York must complete the Out of State Certification and Licensure Form and upload the required completed form for the state they are applying to.

Hunter International Students (F1 Visa Holder) Certification or Licensure

• Hunter International Students who hold F1 Visas but do not have a Social Security number must email to request a TEACH Access Number (TAN).
• The TEACH Access Number (TAN) must be used in lieu of a Social Security Number for all processes involving certification.

Letter Requests

• Please use the School of Education Letter Request Form to request a letter from the School of Education to verify your education experience.

Internship Certification for Graduate Teacher Education Students

• The Internship Certificate allows a teacher or educational leadership candidate to serve as a teacher or leader of record while completing the master’s degree program.