Educator Licensure
The School of Education offers 12 majors that provide the path for students to earn the State of Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL). The PEL qualifies graduates to teach children in state-approved public school settings. Students working toward the PEL must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program (TEP). Consult with your Academic Advisor about when to apply to the TEP.
Student Teaching Internships
The School of Education offers a year-long teaching internship for teacher candidates at SIU. In this program, teacher candidates have an opportunity to spend the entire school year in a public school classroom acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to become an excellent classroom teacher.
Teacher candidates spend a minimum of two full days in a classroom during the Fall semester. During this time, the intern carries out planned lessons and works with individual students, as well as small and large groups of students under the guidance of a trained mentor teacher. One of the highlights of the internship is that the intern follows the public school calendar rather than the SIU calendar. This results in not only
"This increased experience typically results in our interns being the first candidates sought by school districts for their teaching openings."
Teacher candidates interested in the year-long internship should contact the Office of Teacher Education.