Hi, I’m a senior and I’ve gotten into OSU with the Morrill Prominence Award. I’ve also received big scholarships from CUNY Queens College (Macaulay Honors) and University of Houston (via National Merit). Its a very tough decision. I plan on going into teacher education (specifically TESOL), and was wondering if anybody knew anything about the teacher ed program at OSU and the College of Education and Human Ecology? Are they regarded well? Thank you!
I’m so glad I’ve found another person that wants to study education at OSU! I heard that they have an undergrad program that will give you the opportunity to graduate with a teaching license, but I’m not 100% sure on the details/existence of that program. The website is a little lackluster in terms of information.
I called the college of EHE & they set me up with an undergraduate advisor…just waiting on her response email now.
Hey! Do you know what teaching subject you’re looking to study? I’m going to major in TESOL.
I’m interested in their Integrated Social Studies program - it combines history, economics, geography, psychology, and political science. Unfortunately, it is offered only at the graduate level. So, I’m looking at finishing my bachelor’s degree in three years at Ohio State and then enrolling in their one year Master’s program. This will let me graduate with a preliminary Ohio teaching license. It sounds like a nice program. Initially I rejected it, but after reviewing it again, I realized that it has its benefits.
What made you decide on TESOL?
TESOL because I hope to teach English abroad for some years after college, and also in the US because it is fast-growing and involves working with students from diverse backgrounds. However I’ve been told that I should get more than one teaching subject certification, so I’m also looking into teaching French and/or Spanish and then Social Studies I might actually look into the program you’re talking about, it sounds really cool!
For what they are worth, here is a link to US News and World Report’s rankings of teacher prep programs for elementary and secondary education: http://www.usnews.com/education/nctq?program=secondary
It ranks OSU’s graduate program pretty high. OSU’s undergraduate licensing program is fairly new. Last year, when my daughter was considering her options, she chose to go to OSU but to major in a substantive major (math) rather than to pursue the licensing as an undergraduate degree in education. She plans to get her license via OSU’s one year masters degree in education. This is what her advisers suggested, because it is a very competitive job market in many areas, and schools prefer an applicant with a substantive undergrad degree (plus a masters in education) over one with an undergrad degree in education.
We also heard a counter-argument: in some places, school districts prefer to hire an applicant who does not have a masters degree, because their starting salary will be lower (saving the district some money). In such places, we were told that a student should still pursue their masters degree up to but not including the final couple of courses; land the job, and then finish their masters to get the pay bump.
Because my daughter wants to teach where she went to school, a district where job opportunities are scarce, she is trying to maximize her credentials. It puts a lot of pressure on high school seniors to have to look that far down the road.
@baywood Very helpful advice, I wish your daughter good luck! I’m actually going to OSU because here are one of vry few schools that has TESOL licensure for undergrads.