Department of Literacy Studies and Elementary Education (LSEE)

The goal of SSU’s Multiple Subject Credential program is to prepare aspiring teachers to play a vital role in California public schools. The diversity of our school population in terms of culture, social class, gender, language, and race is a significant focus of our coursework and field experiences. Upon completing the program, you will have both breadth and depth of knowledge about teaching and learning, and you will be capable of making informed decisions in diverse settings.

The University and the school districts within our service area view teacher education as a shared responsibility. The University provides a broad base of information about research and theory necessary for teaching, while school districts provide the classrooms for field experiences and student teaching. Collaboration between university-based teacher educators and school district teachers provides a strong foundation for the program's goal of excellence.

The Multiple Subject program is based on the belief that learning to teach requires building a professional knowledge base honed by practice in varied classroom settings. Thus, our curriculum integrates coursework with field study throughout the entire program in order to develop practical theory and to promote collaboration between the university and the public schools.

When you complete the program, your combined coursework and field experience, you will be:

knowledgeable and about learners, learning, and teaching
sensitive to diversity and informed about cultures and
prepared to continue your own professional growth and development
Upon completion of the Multiple Subject Credential program, you will be awarded the California Multiple Subject CLAD Teaching Credential. Depending upon your undergraduate or graduate standing and on the courses you take, the credential you receive will be either the Preliminary or the Professional Clear Credential. In either case, your credential will need to be renewed at the end of five years. (See description of the Clear Credential later in this document.)