Ithaca College is a private, non-profit secular college founded as a music conservatory in 1892. Its mission is to "Educate, engage and empower through theory, practice and performance." Ithaca boasts a student population of 4,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students. It is known for its student-centered, hands-on teaching and commitment to educating students in the classroom and the field.
Ithaca offers undergraduate teacher preparation programs (B.M.) in Music Education and Music Education & Performance.
The college offers the following graduate teacher preparation programs:
M.S. in Childhood Education (grades 1-6)
M.A.T. in Adolescent Education (grades 7-12; biology, chemistry, earth science, mathematics, physics, English, French, Spanish or social studies)
M.A.T. in Agriculture Education (all grades)
M.A.T. in Art Education (all grades)
M.A.T. in Computer Science Education (all grades)
Ithaca offers all of these graduate programs through an intensive 13-month program or the Transitional B Certificate program.
Ithaca College offers two paths to becoming a certified music teacher in New York State, both at the undergraduate level: a B.M. in Music Education (4-year program) and a B.M. in Music Education and Performance (4.5-year program). If you have a strong background in voice or one of five areas of instrumentation (keyboard, guitar, wind, percussion, strings) you are an excellent candidate for these degrees, which require an audition to earn admission.
Ithaca's commitment to hands-on, field-based learning means you will observe classes in your freshman and sophomore years and teach classes in your junior year—earlier than in most undergraduate programs. Two years of foundational study—teaching techniques and educational psychology, for example—prepare you for the classroom. Then, to help refine your teaching skills, a teaching professional and mentor will provide you with one-to-one advice. You will gain additional professional experience and feedback in your senior year as a student teacher in a local public school. Maintaining at least a 2.3 GPA will allow you to student teach.
Courses that will help you meet the college-wide general education requirements
Ithaca recommends taking 31 credits, including:
Music performance and ensemble classes
Music education classes
Foundational education classes
You may have your first fieldwork experience this year connected to a course on inclusivity and special education. By the end of your second year, you should have completed the three 0-credit, state-mandated workshops offered by the college.
Ithaca recommends taking a total of 31 credits, including:
Music performance and ensemble classes
Advanced classes in teaching music
Classes that will meet general education requirements
Importantly, this third year is also when you will complete your junior student teaching!
The fourth year begins with a full semester (12 credits) of student teaching and completing all coursework, including the final required courses in general education. You will also want to complete your state tests during this year so that you are eligible for certification shortly after you graduate in May!
Program Hallmarks
You will complete at least 100 hours of fieldwork before your junior student teaching experience in your third year. These hours will be completed in conjunction with your music education coursework, which will provide you with the opportunity to discuss and reflect on your observations throughout your four years in the program.
Your coursework and field experiences will prepare you to work with diverse learners in an inclusive classroom environment.
You will:
Take a three-credit class, with 15 hours of field experience included, on understanding the principles of inclusive education and students identified through the special education system.
Spend at least 15 hours of your 100 hours of field experience working with and observing students for whom English is a new language.
Write observation reports and reflections associated with all of your field hours, focusing on students from underrepresented and historically marginalized populations and how your host teachers work to meet the needs of all learners in their classrooms.
The year before student teaching, you will meet one-on-one with the Music Education Senior Student Teaching Coordinator to determine which types of placements and locations would be the best for you. The Senior Student Teaching Coordinator works with college supervisors across regions to connect you with a highly qualified mentor.
A college-approved supervisor with extensive experience in music education will supervise all of your field experience. Your senior student teaching supervisor will:
Visit your classroom
Conduct observations
Provide feedback
Monitor your progress
Facilitate discussions between you and your mentor teacher
Faculty from all Ithaca College teacher education programs collaborate to monitor, assess and analyze programs, earning Ithaca full accreditation from the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation. Local K-12 partners are eager to partner with Ithaca by providing strong mentor teachers and serving on the Educational Advisory Council. Ithaca College teacher educators guide you through carefully designed and supervised programs where theory, research and practice combine to provide a solid foundation for you to become an engaged and effective teacher for all students.
Stats
Gender
Male
Female
38%
62%
Ethnicity
American Indian or Alaskan Native
Asian
Black
Hispanic/Latino
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
0%
3%
2%
9%
0%
82%
4%
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