A classroom teacher typically reaches 3,000 students over the course of a teaching career—helping transform the lives of those students through education, as well as their families and communities. But the U.S. today is facing a critical teacher shortage.
The CSU is central to preparing the next generation of teachers and leaders who will fill those roles and uplift the lives of students across the state and nation. In 2022-23, the CSU awarded 6,390 teaching credentials: 2,637 multiple subject, 2,753 single subject and 1,000 special education. Plus, the university prepares almost half of California's teachers and 4% of the nation's teachers—as well as a large part of the state's school leaders, counselors and psychologists. See 11 factors that set the CSU's educator preparation programs apart.
1. The CSU offers a variety of pathways to obtaining a teaching credential, allowing students to tailor their educational experience to their needs. These include the CCC-CSU pathways, the integrated teacher education pathways that lead to a bachelor's degree and credential in four to five years, the traditional post-baccalaureate credential, intern programs that allow students to work while earning a credential, teacher residencies that allow candidates to work alongside master teachers in a school district while completing a credential, and graduate programs that earn a student a master's degree and credential.
2. Partnerships with California Community Colleges streamline CSU students' path to education credentials. Since Cal State Long Beach first partnered with Cerritos College 25 years ago to develop the first CCC-CSU educator preparation pathway, the CSU has expanded and added to its community college partnerships, helping more community college students transfer to the CSU. These pathways are particularly important as 55% of CSU teacher candidates begin their academic journeys at community colleges. In addition, the CSU is creating a framework that will help its universities form new partnerships and educator preparation pathways with community colleges.
3.
CalStateTEACH offers teacher education opportunities to students across California. The systemwide online program provides all students a chance to earn a multiple subject teaching credential. Because of its accessibility, CalStateTEACH allows the university to recruit more teachers of color, especially men of color, as well as candidates in rural or remote areas—ensuring future educators are part of or familiar with the communities they will be serving. CalStateTEACH is especially focused on
recruiting men of color, who are underrepresented among teachers but are highly important to improving educational outcomes for boys of color. Of the more than 800 credential candidates currently enrolled in CalStateTEACH, the large majority are non-white.
4. The CSU is helping diversify the education workforce. Of the 9,633 candidates enrolled in CSU teacher credential programs in 2023, 73.7% of students identified as non-white. In addition to its efforts through CalStateTEACH, the CSU's
Center for Transformational Educator Preparation Programs (CTEPP) is specifically dedicated to recruiting, preparing and retaining educators of color—and is closing out a four-year, systemwide effort to make the university's educator preparation programs even more diverse and equitable. Within CTEPP,
The Transformation Lab brings together 10 campus improvement teams to better understand systemic challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion within its programs and implement improvements to address these. Equally important to recruitment is the retention of educators of color. To
retain men of color in educator preparation programs, CSUs provide targeted support groups like CalStateTEACH's men's group, Cal State Fullerton's
Men of Color in Education program, Cal State San Bernardino's
Project Impact and San José State's
Male Educators of Color Initiative.
5. The CSU ensures widespread access to educator preparation programs. While there is growing attention on teacher education deserts in California—regions that do not have access to educator preparation programs—the CSU maintains offerings that help reduce and eliminate these deserts. First,
Imperial County has been identified as a teacher education desert, and San Diego State offers an educator preparation program at its Imperial Valley campus. In addition, the CSU provides fully online educator preparation programs through CalStateTEACH and at four of its universities:
East Bay,
Humboldt,
Sacramento and
Stanislaus.
6. CSU programs offer quality teacher education at an affordable cost. In addition to competitive tuition rates, CSU educator preparation students have access to
myriad financial aid options, including grants, loans and scholarships. While each university offers funding options, there are two scholarships for teacher candidates managed at the systemwide level. The Skyline Foundation provides at least 150 scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each for teacher candidates participating in CSU residency programs and who are committed to teaching in a high-need school for at least two years. The Schusterman Foundation offers scholarships of up to $10,000 to students at Bakersfield, Fresno and Stanislaus who are committed to serving in bilingual settings or serving linguistically diverse students.
7. The new PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential addresses the need for early childhood teachers. As California moves to offer universal transitional kindergarten by 2025, the CSU's
PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential programs will help educate the 12,000-15,000 new early childhood teachers needed. The credential is currently offered at Dominguez Hills, Fresno and San José and prepares candidates to provide age-appropriate and culturally responsive instruction.
8. Strong relationships with local school districts help connect students with clinical practice. To earn a teaching credential, students must complete 600 hours of clinical practice through classroom observation, tutoring, small group facilitation and student teaching. The CSU's connection to school districts provides students with both this hands-on learning and mentorship. In addition, while some credential courses have field work incorporated into classwork and clinical faculty will observe student teachers and provide feedback, the teacher residency programs and intern programs allow candidates to graduate with significant classroom experience.
9. Earning a teaching credential at the CSU gives graduates varied career options. Beyond classroom teaching, graduates may work in counseling, school psychology, educational administration, higher education advising and other non-school based professions. In addition, more than half of CSU campuses offer an
Ed.D. in Educational Leadership or Ph.D. in Education, which enable graduates to enter leadership positions within the education system.
10. All CSU educator preparation programs are accredited by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Accrediting Commission for Schools's Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Some CSUs have even acquired national accreditation.
11. As part of its commitment to prepare quality educators, the CSU takes steps to continuously improve its educator preparation programs. The
Educator Quality Center is dedicated to collecting and providing data that empowers its universities to improve their programs and graduates' outcomes. The Center also created the CSU Educator Preparation Recruitment Community to address the challenges to and opportunities for increasing enrollment in the CSU's educator preparation programs.
Learn more about educator preparation programs at the CSU.