Education Careers

Prepare for an in-demand career in one of USJ’s nationally accredited teacher education programs

The national teaching shortage creates an unprecedented opportunity for individuals interested in entering the teaching profession.

Program Offerings

  • Hybrid, Synchronous Models
  • Off-campus Locations
  • Partner School Districts
  • On-campus Laboratory Schools

USJ has a strong reputation for preparing students for diverse careers within the teaching profession, including programs that lead to teacher licensure in Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Special Education at both undergraduate and graduate level, as well as Early Childhood Education at the graduate level.

We also offer advanced programs for practicing teachers looking to deepen their knowledge or seek additional teaching endorsements in critical shortage areas like Special Education or TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages).

We prepare teachers whose work is grounded in current research, theory, and evidence-based instructional practices to become agents of change across the various careers in education. This is accomplished through close faculty mentorship, rigorous coursework, and high-quality supervised fieldwork in our clinical partnership placements.  

Undergraduate Teacher Licensure Programs 

In conjunction with academic majors offered at the University, undergraduate students’ complete coursework and clinical experiences that lead to a recommendation for teacher licensure while completing their undergraduate degree. Undergraduates can pursue teacher licensure in the following areas:  

Graduate Teacher Licensure Programs 

Qualified graduate students can earn a master’s degree in teaching (MAT) that includes coursework and clinical field experiences that leads to a recommendation for licensure in the following areas:  

Graduate Cross Endorsement Programs for Licensed Teachers 

Licensed Teachers can earn a master’s degree while also completing requirements for cross endorsement in critical shortage areas:  

Off-Campus Education Programs

Learn more about USJ’s convenient and flexible off-campus education programs:
https://www.graduateprogram.org/university-of-saint-joseph/

Why USJ for a Career in Education?  

  • Small faculty-student ratio provides the personal attention and guidance needed to be successful in today’s diverse educational settings  
  • High quality fieldwork experiences at the beginning, middle, and end of the teacher education program ensure that candidates have robust practice-based opportunities needed to be ready to learner ready on day one.    
  • State-of-the-art technology that supports learning, collaborative, and feedback while students are in clinical field placements and completing field-based course assignments.  
  • Education faculty who are renowned professionals involved in research, clinical practice, and professional scholarship at the national level.  

Advance in your career through clinical placements in partner school districts and renowned laboratory schools:  

  • The Gengras Center 
  • The School for Young Children 
  • East Hartford Public Schools 
  • Bloomfield Public Schools 
  • South Windsor Public Schools 

Alumni Network

Join an alumni network making a difference in their communities as teachers and leaders:  

Stay in touch and build your network by connecting with other USJ alumni on Facebook and Instagram.


portrait of Jahana Hayes

Notable Alumni:

Johana Hayes M’12, DAA’17
U.S. Representative
Fifth Congressional District of CT

All initial licensure programs are accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Educator Preparation Providers (CAEP) 2018. Our cross-endorsement programs in Special Education and TESOL are nationally accredited.  

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