Explore how we're preparing North Carolina's best educators.
North Carolina has an urgent need for more teachers, especially those who serve in communities with greater needs but fewer resources. The state also needs to foster the skills of K-12 students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to create a STEM-prepared workforce.
The NC State College of Education tackles both problems through the extraordinary educators we prepare. In fact, we produce the state’s most effective teachers. They educate with integrity and a commitment to equity in order to increase the educational outcomes of all students and to meet the state’s needs.
100% passage rate
Graduates of our teacher preparation programs have a 100% passage rate on the edTPA — a performance-based, subject-specific assessment that measures preparedness.
100% job placement
We have a 100% placement rate of graduates seeking employment in the field of education.
As a land-grant college, it’s among our highest priorities to prepare teachers who make sure all students have opportunities to achieve at their highest level.
Paola Sztajn
Dean, NC State College of Education
Preparing Effective Teachers
Our teacher preparation programs are aligned to meet the demands of teaching and learning, and they are infused with research-based best practices that equip educators with deep content knowledge and enriched learning experiences — all to ensure the teachers we graduate are effective from their first day on the job.
Our students begin teacher preparation on their very first day — through first-year inquiry courses, early field placements and/or our living and learning village, Students Advocating for Youth (SAY) Village.
Cultural immersion trips, service learning projects and student enrichment programs prepare our students with opportunities for hands-on learning.
Our students gain up to 926 hours of field experience before they graduate and enter their own classrooms.
Through our rigorous curriculum, students pursue extensive coursework in both content areas and instructional methods to ensure they build strong pedagogical skills and provide richer opportunities to their future K-12 students.
My first opportunity to start observing in the classroom was as a sophomore. That was the best experience ever. I loved that I got to work so closely and collaboratively with my lead teacher.
Matin Maani ’22
Middle grades English language arts and social studies education major
We are addressing a pressing need for qualified STEM educators in North Carolina by preparing middle and high school teachers with deep content knowledge and pedagogical skills — as well as STEM-equipped elementary school teachers through the state’s only STEM-focused elementary education program.
Mathematics education students take a minimum of 39 hours of mathematics courses as well as five methods courses.
Science education students take up to 54 hours of content area instruction across content areas including biological sciences, chemistry and physics.
Elementary education students engage in upper-level STEM content, including conceptual physics, calculus and instructional technology to enable them to teach STEM content more effectively.
#1 producer of STEM educators in N.C.
Only STEM-focused elementary education program in N.C.
Home to largest cohort of Teaching Fellows in N.C.
As school districts across North Carolina face teacher shortages, we are striving to fill the gap by inspiring young students to pursue careers in education and providing incentives for our highly-qualified graduates to teach in districts facing some of the greatest teacher shortages.
We are also working to diversify the education workforce and remove financial barriers that may deter promising students from considering teaching as a profession.
In the 2021-2022 academic year, the College of Education graduated over 215 students eligible to be licensed teachers in North Carolina. They join a network of over 5,025 alumni working in public schools in every corner of North Carolina. Meet a few of recent alumni who are prepared to make a transformative impact on the lives of their students as teachers.
“The courses, professional development opportunities and field experiences that the College of Education provides help us all to become the best first-year teachers possible. We are given so many opportunities to learn new things and observe classrooms and other teachers, so we can be exposed to as many things as possible. All of these things have increased my confidence in my abilities and skills as I prepare to go into the classroom.”
– Alliyah Rich ’22
Elementary education major with a special education add-on licensure
