Internship Certificate

The Internship Certificate is a temporary New York State teaching certificate. It allows teacher candidates enrolled in graduate teacher preparation programs in New York State to be employed as certified teachers in public schools in New York State while completing their internship (i.e., student teaching) experience. The Internship Certificate must be issued in the same area and grade level teacher candidates are preparing to teach while enrolled in their graduate teacher preparation programs.

Eligibility

Teacher candidates are eligible for Internship Certificates only in the area and grade level of the certification they are seeking through their graduate teacher preparation program. The employment area must align with the specific requirements of their program, including grade levels and content area(s).

The Internship Certificate can only be issued during the student teaching semester. Field experiences before student teaching, such as 100 hours of field experience, are not considered part of the internship.

Teacher candidates need to meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply for an Internship Certificate:

Be enrolled in a SUNY Cortland graduate program that leads to teacher certification. 
Have completed all prerequisite courses required for their graduate program.
Have completed all coursework except for student teaching.
Have at least a 3.0 GPA in their graduate program.
Have successfully completed the CAR, SAV and DASA workshops.
Have been hired or received a hiring offer for a full-time teaching position that is in the same area of teacher certification and grade level as they are preparing for in their graduate teacher preparation program.

Supervision

Teacher candidates with an Internship Certificate must be supervised by their SUNY Cortland student teaching supervisor and by a certified, currently employed teacher at their placement school who holds the same certification the candidate is seeking.

Student Teaching Requirements

Teacher candidates who have the Internship Certificate must be registered in full-time student teaching courses. Therefore, they are required to complete all student teaching tasks, assignments and assessments during the time they are hired as full-time teachers of record. This includes being regularly observed by a college student teaching supervisor.

Approval, Validity and Expiration

Approval for the Internship Certificate is determined by the teacher candidates' graduate program coordinator in collaboration with the School of Education Dean’s Office.

Internship Certificates are valid only from the date of issuance provided by the School of Education Dean's Office until teacher candidates successfully complete their teacher preparation programs. Once teacher candidates graduate and NYSED receives SUNY Cortland's recommendation for them to receive initial teacher certification, Internship Certificates automatically expire. If teacher candidates who were issued Internship Certificates leave their teacher preparation programs before graduation, their certificates immediately expire.

Application Process

If teacher candidates meet all of the eligibility criteria, the following steps are used to apply for an Internship Certificate:

Provide the name of the school district where a job offer has been made or will be made in the certification area sought and obtain an employment verification letter from the school district.
- Share the resource link: Guidance for Internship Certificate Employment Verification with the hiring school district.
Complete the Internship Certificate application linked below and submit it along with the school district employment verification letter to the graduate program coordinator.
After the graduate program coordinator and School of Education Dean’s Office reviews and approves the Internship Certificate application, teacher candidates complete the following two steps:
- Submit or resubmit the Teach Authorization Form and check the box to authorize an Internship Certificate.
- Apply for the Internship Certificate in TEACH by completing the following:
  1. Login to TEACH and click “Apply for Certificate.”
  2. Go through the drop-down menu and select “Classroom Teacher.”
  3. Select from the drop-down menu the item related to the certification area, then select the option labeled “Internship Certificate".
  4. If prompted, enter the program code.
  5. Continue through the steps and pay $50.
  6. Check in TEACH under “Account Information/Certificate” for issuance of the Internship Certificate (teacher candidates will not receive notification that they have been certified).

Internship Certificate Application

Please note: Teacher candidates need to be logged into MyRedDragon to access the application.

Deadlines

Fall Internship Certificate applications must be submitted by Aug. 15
Spring Internship Certificate applications must be submitted by Jan. 2