Education Certification Program

Why chose Seton Hill University? We have a passion for education.

At Seton Hill, we take pride in preparing future teachers for an exhilarating career in education. Teaching is one of the most challenging and exciting career paths, offering some of the greatest rewards. The most significant being the opportunity to change lives!

Think about your favorite teacher. The teacher that made even the most boring lessons memorable and exciting. The teacher that made you feel like even your smallest accomplishments were ground-breaking achievements. The teacher that made every day in their classroom a new adventure. The teacher that made learning FUN.

Now imagine yourself as a teacher.  At your first parent-teacher conference you've just heard happy parents gush about how their once uninterested child is now excited about learning. You finally get through to your class of 30 high school seniors when they produce a music video to help them understand logarithmic functions.  After you come back from a field trip you ask your fourth graders to write about the high point of their day; you later read a paper that says it was your being there, because you are their favorite teacher. All of this rewarding - all of this made possible - by your efforts as an outstanding educator.  Make it happen with your degree and certification from Seton Hill University!

Throughout its history, Seton Hill has maintained a commitment to educating the next generation of teachers. Access to a quality education for all learners has been a guiding philosophy in our Teacher Education Program. We understand that we are preparing future educators who will make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children and young adults. At Seton Hill, we guarantee to get you excited about teaching!

Our Mission

The Education Program at Seton Hill University is dedicated to helping you become an effective instructor of all students, whatever the students' talents, special needs, or learning styles.

Through focused study in the academic major of your choice, as well as in education, and by completing the teacher certification program, you will gain the content knowledge, teaching abilities, and technological skills for today's classrooms.

Our Philosophy

Seton Hill is firmly committed to preparing you as a qualified, dedicated, and reflective professional educator.  Through coursework in the Education Program, Seton Hill faculty will introduce you to contemporary theory and research about how students think, learn, and act. 

Seton Hill's Education faculty members understand the challenges teachers face in today's classrooms. To deal with those challenges, our Education Program emphasizes that all students deserve special attention; no student should be left behind.

Our Objective

The Education Program includes the liberal arts requirements of the university and an academic major of your choice. The requisite courses required to meet and supplement the certification standards of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania must also be completed.

Seton Hill also provides you with the opportunity to seek elementary certification and be certified in special education through one integrated program of study. If you are seeking secondary certification you can also receive an endorsement in special education in the same way.

Real Experience

At Seton Hill, we believe that the amount of experience you have in a classroom directly relates to the level of success you will have as a teacher. As a result, you will complete your degree by learning through practicuum experiences and student teaching, in addition to completing your education courses.

As a candidate for certification you are required to complete a student teaching seminar and 14 weeks of full-time student teaching. Your field work is the culmination of the certification program and is done with the cooperation of the outstanding elementary and secondary schools in the Greensburg, Pa. area.

Students successfully completing Seton Hill's Education Program will be able to:

• Design instructional strategies using community resources and related disciplines.
• Demonstrate creative, effective, and reflective teaching practices that use varied student-centered educational methods and assessment techniques.
• Manage a classroom in a manner that creates quality experiences for all learners.
• Work together with peers to provide educational programs for all students.
• Show an awareness of students with disabilities and understand the need for appropriate accommodations.
• Have an understanding of the laws governing education.
• Express effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Show evidence of a commitment to life-long learning!

Seton Hill University's Teacher Education Program has been preaccredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) for a period of five years from September 2008 to September 2013. This accreditation certifies that the Seton Hill education program has provided evidence that the program adheres to TEAC's quality principles.