Students entering the program must be able and willing to devote themselves to a program requiring a minimum of 100-110 hours of daytime field experiences in schools. These school-based clinical hours are completed in conjunction with methodology courses that require students to spend daytime hours in schools. In addition, the student must spend a minimum of 10 weeks in full-time student teaching.
The program includes five distinctive features:
- Becoming a teacher is viewed as a developmental process continuing at least through the first year of teaching
- Multiculturalism is infused throughout the curriculum
- Field experiences are an integral part of the curriculum
- Students are exposed to a variety of educational theories
- The program includes a research component as a basis for further professional development.