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School of Education Career Development

The School of Education is a close-knit community of professors, administrators and staff who rely on their years of experience, wealth of knowledge and unbridled enthusiasm to prepare pre-service teachers and administrators. Students start the programs eager to teach and lead; they leave with the necessary experience, skills and professional network to be successful. By the time our candidates finish our programs, they are fully ready for their teaching or administrative careers. Our graduates are in demand and our hiring rates reflect the very high quality of our students.
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By the Numbers

97% Success Rate

Percentage of our 2019 MAT graduates who are employed as educators within 4 months after graduation.

65 Partners in Education

Number of schools that are within our 20+ partner districts.

100% Making the Grade

Graduation rates from preparation programs in Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), Educational Leadership (EDL) and Special Education Cross-Endorsement. (2019)

Career Preparation Trajectory

An education alum hi-fives students as they pass in a hallway in a Milford elementary school

Take advantage of our resources

Beginning with the foundational Introduction to Education class and fieldwork inside local classrooms, we work with candidates at each phase to help them decide which career path to follow. We offer numerous career planning and placement resources:

  • Mock interviews and team-simulated interviews with school principals and superintendents

  • Individual career advising and counseling sessions

  • University-sponsored teaching job fairs

  • Resume writing workshops with alumni and local administrators

  • Teacher certification nights for both in-state and out-of-state certification

  • Assistance with Praxis and other required certification exams

  • Assistance with Applitracks, a repository for job applications

  • Interview preparation sessions with area administrators

  • Assistance with certification documentation in Connecticut and out of state

  • Out-of-state certification booklets

  • “Bridge,” a mentoring program that helps graduates transition from student to professional teacher

  • Virtual technology and strategy boot camps for both graduating students and candidates starting their internships

  • Workshops in curriculum development and career preparation for future teachers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)

  • Praxis preparation workshops

Internships and Clinical Experiences

Education student Kyanna Joseph works with two first-grade students in a classroom.

Students have many opportunities to practice educational theory and classroom management skills in classrooms throughout central and southern Connecticut.

Graduate MAT teacher candidates gain practical experience in their first two semesters. In their final year, they complete a full-time internship and gain experience through student teaching in a partner school.

Our dual-degree (4+1) MAT candidates complete 80 hours of work in public school settings throughout their junior and senior years and spend their graduate year in one school where they complete an internship and student teach under the guidance of a veteran educator.

Our Sixth-Year Diploma in Educational Leadership students complete 216 hours in an internship in a public school.

The School of Education hosts mock interviews for students to sit down with principals and superintendents from across the state of Connecticut. This year, 41 administrators — including 15 principals, 9 vice/assistant principals and 8 human resources directors and managers — from 36 different schools worked to make sure that graduates from the School of Education are primed to secure a job and begin their careers after graduation.

Students in the School of Education participate in a session of mock interviews with principals and superintendents from across the state of Connecticut.
Students in the School of Education participate in a session of mock interviews with principals and superintendents from across the state of Connecticut.
Students in the School of Education participate in a session of mock interviews with principals and superintendents from across the state of Connecticut.
Students in the School of Education participate in a session of mock interviews with principals and superintendents from across the state of Connecticut.
Students in the School of Education participate in a session of mock interviews with principals and superintendents from across the state of Connecticut.

Unique Learning Opportunities

Education alumni Marisa Laudano hi-fives a kindergartner in a classroom

More ways to meld teaching theory to extensive practice

We provide our Dual-Degree (4+1) MAT students with several additional opportunities to immerse themselves in school-based activities and hone their teaching skills as early as their first year. Some of these include:

The Quinnipiac Future Teachers Organization (QFTO): QFTO is a student-run club that organizes events in public schools throughout Connecticut, including:

  • After-school tutoring for elementary & secondary students

  • After-school programs that blend academics, nutrition & fitness

  • Holiday fundraisers & other special events

  • Stem Nights for local elementary students

  • Peer mentoring for first year & sophomore candidates

  • Leadership training & participation in the Connecticut Education Association

Teacher Leadership Conferences Study Abroad/International Travel: Dual-Degree (4+1) MAT students may travel or study abroad in their sophomore or junior years. Students who go overseas in their junior year:

  • Take coursework online

  • Have the option to complete fieldwork in an overseas country

  • Have the option to take faculty-led credit courses that include study abroad

Career Paths

Avg. Salary: $59,670 / MAT Elementary Education

Our elementary school teachers instruct young students in basic subjects, such as reading, language arts, math, social studies and the sciences to prepare them for middle school.

Avg. Salary: $60,460 / MS in Special Education

Special education teachers work with students who have learning, mental, emotional or physical disabilities. They adapt general education lessons and teach various subjects to students with mild to moderate disabilities. They also teach basic skills to students with severe disabilities. Special education positions may require additional training and certifications.

Avg. Salary: $61,660 / MAT Secondary Education

High school teachers help prepare students for life after graduation. They teach academic lessons and various skills that students will need to attend college or to enter the job market.

Avg. Salary: $96,400 / 6th Year Diploma in Educational Leadership

Principals oversee all school operations, including daily school activities. They coordinate curriculums, manage staff, and provide a safe and productive learning environment for students.

Avg. Salary: $61,210 / MS Instructional Design and Technology

Training and development specialists plan and administer programs that improve the skills and knowledge of their employees.

Avg. Salary: $66,290 / MS Instructional Design and Technology

Instructional coordinators oversee school curriculums and teaching standards. They develop educational material, implement it with teachers and principals, and assess its effectiveness.

Career support after graduation

Our Alumni Bridge/Mentor Support Program matches recent graduates with experienced alumni volunteers to serve as resources and guides through their first years of teaching. The program has three specific goals:

  1. to support our alumni who are first- or second-year teachers

  2. to build a lifelong and continuing support of our teachers in the field

  3. to affect the declining percentages related to new teacher retention

Our roster of mentors is comprised of current teachers with anywhere from two to ten years of experience in the field. As our graduates navigate through their first and second years in the classroom, these mentors will serve as resources and sounding boards to share concerns and problems, successes and ideas.

If you are a first- or second-year teacher and would like to meet with an alumni mentor, please email schoolofeducationinfo@qu.edu. Include your grade level, subject area and the state where you are teaching and will connect you to an alumni mentor.

If you would like to serve as an alumni mentor, please email tracy.carim@qu.edu and provide your year of graduation, area of expertise (grade level and subject area) and state where you are teaching.

If you have already volunteered to assist with writing cover letters and resumes or with certification for out-of-state candidates, you do not have to send your information unless you want to be removed from the mentor bank list.

In Their Words

Student Michael Thorpe holding a textbook and smiling

Michael Thorpe ’19, MAT ’20

“The MAT program allowed me to go to local schools and work with students and learn from the teachers there. I also had the opportunity to travel to both Nicaragua and Guatemala to work with students. These experiences will help me be successful with my career because they gave me new opportunities to practice what I have learned.”

Headshot of Michael Syrotiak

Michael Syrotiak ’15, MAT ’16

History teacher, Pomperaug High School in Southbury, CT

“I landed an offer before I even graduated. That’s rare. It shows how well the program prepared me for the interview process. I still send my old professors questions and ideas about curriculum and pedagogy. They always make the time for me.”

Sarah Obuchowski smiles and holds her daughter while attending a lecture

Sarah Obuchowski, EDL ’17

“From my first class to graduation, the entire program met or exceeded every expectation. Many of my professors were former superintendents or worked at the district-level, offering an unparalleled breadth and depth of knowledge and professional experiences.”

Our deep network of collaborative partnerships includes the following school districts:

  • Beacon Falls

  • Branford

  • Bridgeport

  • Cheshire

  • Fair Haven

  • Hamden

  • Madison

  • Meriden

  • Milford

  • Naugatuck

  • New Haven

  • Newtown

  • North Branford

  • Norwalk

  • Orange

  • Southington

  • Trumbull

  • Wallingford

  • Westport

  • Wethersfield

  • Windsor

  • Woodbridge

In addition to the numerous long-standing partnerships we have with area school districts, we have special professional development relationships with Side by Side Charter School in Norwalk and the Metropolitan Business Academy and Fair Haven School in New Haven.

These partnerships enhance new teacher preparation, strengthen faculty development opportunities, facilitate inquiry directed at the improvement of practice and enhance student achievement. The partnerships offer candidates the opportunity to experience the complexity and challenges of urban school settings.

Alumni Network

Our alumni are busy shaping young minds, improving educational outcomes and advancing curriculums in school districts across the country. Quinnipiac graduates pursue diverse and rewarding careers as teachers, principals, administrators and special educators. We often bring them back as part time professors in our program. States where recent MAT graduates have obtained teaching jobs include:

  • California

  • Colorado

  • Connecticut

  • Maine

  • Massachusetts

  • New Hampshire

  • New Jersey

  • New York

  • North Carolina

  • Pennsylvania

  • Rhode Island

  • Vermont

Tips for First-Year Teachers video

Tips for First-Year Teachers

Beginning your first year can be exciting but it can also be a little nerve-racking. In this video, Taylor Chelo walks you through 3 tips for every first-year teacher based on her experience as a 4th-grade teacher.

Contact Career Development

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Contact the School of Education

We’re always here to help provide additional information and answer any questions you may have.

203-582-3354
schoolofeducationinfo@qu.edu

370 Bassett Rd.
North Haven, CT 06473

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