Undergraduate Advisement
Spring advisement begins in October and extends into November. Watch for an announcement from your advisor concerning dates and times. Your programmatic requirements and other important information are available in the handbook (linked above) you were given upon acceptance into your major at your mandatory department orientation.
Handbook for Elementary Education Undergraduate Students (PDF)Graduate Advisement
Handbook for Childhood Education Initial Teaching Certification (Grades 1-6), M.S.Ed. Graduate Students (MIITC)
MIITC Student Handbook | Fall 2023 (PDF)
Handbook for Educational Leadership C.A.S. Graduate Students
General TC Advisement
All undergraduate and graduate teacher candidates should become familiar with the following:
For Undergraduates Interested in Early Childhood and/or Childhood Education
- Please talk to an advisor in the Elementary Education, Literacy and Educational Leadership (EELEL) department prior to completing the major change form. Email elementaryed@buffalostate.edu for an appointment.
- Download the fillable form online OR Pick up a paper copy in Bacon 302.
- Complete the information at the top of the form, including your Banner ID and GPA.
- Complete the first section of the form with your new major information using the codes and guidance found below.
- Sign your application (or type in your name).
- Email the electronic form directly to your advisor or to elementaryed@buffalostate.edu OR Submit the paper form to the EELEL office in Bacon 302.
Important:
- Degree is BS-ED (Program and School)
- Childhood is Grades 1-6
- Early Childhood is Birth-Grade 2
- The content area extension adds the middle school certification in that content area, Grades 7-9
- CEDW is the premajor for students who wish to become one of the majors above and need to get a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) in order to transition into the major. You will not list a concentration with the CEDW premajor.
- If you have a 3.0 college GPA or 85% high school average, you may be admitted directly into the specific education major of your choice. You will also declare a concentration.
- CED, ECE and ECC majors need to list a concentration (listed below). This is a NYS requirement for 30 credits in one content area or a combination of content areas.
Major - Code
Childhood Premajor - CEDW
Childhood - CED
Early Childhood - ECE
Early Childhood & Childhood - ECC
Childhood with English extension - CEN
Childhood with Math extension - CMT
Childhood with Social Studies extension - CSS
Concentration - Code
English - ENG
Liberal Arts - LIB
Mathematics - MAT
Science - SCI
Social Studies - SST
Spanish - SPA
Urban Studies - URB
Peruse the official New York State Teacher Certification Exams (NYSTCE) website
- View free outlines and sample items for each test
- Purchase full-length practice exams
Check out review books recommended by your peers
- NYSTCE: Complete Prep for the CST (Kaplan Publishing Group)
- How to Prepare for the CST (Barron's Publishing Group)
- NYSTCE: NYS Teacher Certification Examinations (XAMonline study guides)
Contact faculty for advice and guidance
Dianne McCarthy: advice and resources to help with the Math portion of the multi-subject CST
Try the Grade 4 and 5 math games ABCya! They are for students but good practice for the exam as well.
Corinne Kindzierski: advice about the EAS
Review general information about certification exams and when to take them
- Educating All Students (EAS): The EAS test consists of selected-response items and focused constructed-response assignments. Take this exam after EDU 310 (for ELL info) and EXE courses (for special education info).
- Content Specialty Test (CST): The CST is taken just before student teaching.
- Multi-subject – For Early Childhood and/or Childhood: This test includes three parts. You must take and pass all three parts to qualify for certification in this field. You may take one, two, or all three parts at one test appointment. Note that there are four Multi-Subject tests available for four different grade levels (Early Childhood, Childhood, Middle Childhood, and Adolescence). Each Multi-Subject test has three parts. Part Three is shared by all four Multi-Subject tests; therefore, if you are seeking more than one Multi-Subject certificate, you need to pass part three only once.
Part One: Literacy and ELA
Part Two: Mathematics
Part Three: Arts and Sciences (Transitional) - Content Specialty Tests for Adolescence Subject Areas: Content Specific CST (English, math, biology, Spanish…etc). These are also required for childhood students seeking a middle school extension in a content area.
- Multi-subject – For Early Childhood and/or Childhood: This test includes three parts. You must take and pass all three parts to qualify for certification in this field. You may take one, two, or all three parts at one test appointment. Note that there are four Multi-Subject tests available for four different grade levels (Early Childhood, Childhood, Middle Childhood, and Adolescence). Each Multi-Subject test has three parts. Part Three is shared by all four Multi-Subject tests; therefore, if you are seeking more than one Multi-Subject certificate, you need to pass part three only once.
- Computer-Based Testing (CBT): CBT is available at Pearson authorized test centers. There are 225 test centers in the US and 30 international centers, including Canada. Registration for CBT is available by selecting "Register Now" on the NYSTCE website.
-- Register in advance; appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis and seating is limited. You may not take the same computer-based test more than once in any 30-day period.
-- Watch this short video to learn about the Pearson testing experience including security measures.