1. How long will it take to complete the program? Generally, students complete graduation and all certification requirements (except for student teaching) in eight semesters. ENGL 485 (student teaching) may require an "extra" or ninth semester. It may also be necessary for students to enroll in summer school.
2. How does one "apply in writing to the coordinator" for admission to the program? A student's permit request for 300C and ILAS 201 serves as the written application. Permit requests are made mid October and early April. Specific dates are posted in Reavis Hall.
3. Besides ENGL 200, is any other English course required for admission? Students must complete 9 hours in English at NIU to be eligible. Typically, those 9 hours will consist of ENGL 200, 207T (unless the student has passed the proficiency exam, in which case a linguistics class will be substituted), and a third course in the major.
4. If students meet minimum requirements, are they guaranteed admission to the program? Generally, students meeting minimum requirements are admitted to the program and given permits for ENGL 300C and ILAS 201. However, because the number of requests varies substantially each semester, there is no guarantee that all eligible students will be admitted.
5. If students transfer from a junior college and have had a math course that wasn't articulated as one of NIU's math core classes (MATH 101, 155, 201, 210, 211, 229), will they have to take a math core before being admitted to certification? Yes, all core requirements, with a grade of "C" or better, must be met.
6. Do students select the schools for their clinical experiences, including student teaching? Placements for ILAS 201 and 301 are arranged by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences placement coordinator. Because of the large number of placements to be made each semester, students may need to travel outside the DeKalb area. The ILAS 401 clinical occurs during the ENGL 480 semester at the school in which student teaching (ENGL 485) will take place. Students may request a particular geographical area and level (middle or high school) but not a particular school or cooperating teacher. Clinical placements are always arranged and supervised by the college and department. Transportation to the site is the responsibility of the students.