online

Teacher Education

CA Preliminary Teaching Credential and MA in Education

Cultivating Love-Soaked, Humanizing, Critical Social Justice Educators

Program Overview

Claremont Graduate University’s Joint MA and Teaching Credential Program has been identified as one of the most effective teacher education programs in California. It combines rigorous, research-driven preparation with real-world classroom experience to meet the needs of today’s diverse students and schools.

Program Highlights

  • Fully online, synchronous coursework designed for flexibility and real-time collaboration
  • Year-long, in-person clinical residency in a partner school within 30 miles of Claremont
  • Completion timeline of 12 to 24 months for full-time students
  • Leads to a California Preliminary Teaching Credential and MA in Education (36–38 units total)
  • Evidence-based, culturally responsive instructional methods centered on equity and student success
  • Collaborative cohort model that fosters connection and professional growth
  • Two annual start dates: January (Spring) and July (Summer)

Candidates gain a deep understanding of the dynamics of teaching while learning to create inclusive, humanizing classroom environments. With strong support from faculty and district partners, you’ll graduate confident, adaptable, and ready to make a lasting impact.

Residency Pathways

All candidates complete a full-time, year-long clinical residency in a partner school within 30 miles of Claremont. Modeled after medical residencies, this in-person experience offers hands-on, mentored preparation that builds strong, sustainable teaching practices, especially for those new to the profession. In addition to the standard residency, CGU offers several district partnership residencies that combine classroom teaching with financial and professional support.

  • Standard Residencies: This model is supported by over 100 residency partners across the region. Residents typically spend a minimum of 20 hours per week at a local public or charter school. We regularly collaborate with a core group of trusted, long-standing sites while offering many additional placement options to suit each candidate’s goals.
  • District Partnership Residencies: We are proud to partner with six school districts to offer residencies co-designed with district leaders to meet local hiring needs and support both new teachers and their students. In this model, residents typically work 4 to 5 days each week, depending on the district partner, and includes a living stipend, structured differently across partnerships. Each residency is tailored to reflect the unique priorities of its district and community, and residents may be hired in an additional role beyond your residency.

Learn More

Standard Residencies

Please note that this list is not comprehensive and only represents a part of all the residency partners available to CGU students.

  • Alliance College-Ready Public Schools
  • Bonita Unified School District
  • Chaffey Joint Union High School District
  • Claremont Unified School District
  • Corona Norco Unified School District
  • Cucamonga Elementary School District
  • Green Dot Public Schools
  • Rialto Unified School District
  • Riverside Unified School District
  • West Covina Unified School District

Our Commitment to Critical Social Justice in Education

Critical social justice is core to who we are, what we do, and what we value in CGU’s Teacher Education program. The act of teaching alone is not social justice if we are not teaching in ways that honor our students and communities. For us, critical social justice is not an empty gesture or a checklist, but rather a challenging, humbling, love-soaked, reflective practice that takes practice. We operate from the premise that schools are not neutral because they contain and reflect the inequities deeply and structurally embedded within our nation. Therefore, we support our students in understanding this landscape so they can:

  • Actively seek and make change that disrupts inhumane, unjust, and inequitable patterns and practices.
  • Affirm and empower students (households, communities, colleagues, and ourselves) to harness the resources needed to navigate an unjust world with empathy, savvy, and agency.
  • Dismantle systems and practices of oppression and reimagine love-soaked, empowering ecologies.

To enact our values, we developed Critical Social Justice Competencies that guide our faculty’s and students’ teaching practices, we elevate scholarship and experiences of diverse voices, and we center collective wellness and community in everything we do.

Areas of Concentration

All students earn an MA in Education alongside one of the following California Preliminary Teaching Credentials:

  • Multiple Subject Credential
    Prepares you to teach all subjects in elementary school classrooms.
  • Single Subject Credential
    Prepares you to teach a specific subject in middle or high school settings.
  • Education Specialist Credential (Mild/Moderate and Extensive Support Needs)
    Prepares you to work in a range of special education environments. This option requires 38 units.

Haseya Teacher Preparation

Haseya means “to rise up” in Navajo! Empowering Native Americans to rise up as future educators. CGU and the Navajo Nation partnered to help earn your California teaching credential and master’s degree with full financial support and mentorship, then make an impact teaching in Native communities. Join a community committed to culturally responsive teaching and the success of Indigenous learners.

Learn More

Program At-a-glance

  • 36-38 units

    required units

  • CA Preliminary Teaching Credential and MA in Education

    degree awarded

  • Online

    modality

  • Spring, Summer

    program start

  • 12-24 months | full time*

    estimated completion time

Where You Can Find Our Alumni

Faculty

  • Portrait of Delacy Ganley

    DeLacy Ganley

    Dean, School of Educational Studies
    Professor of Education

    Research Interests

    Culturally relevant education; resiliency and achievement of marginalized populations; intersection of families, community, and school; language acquisition; social capital theory; systems theory

  • Claudia Bermudez

    Claudia Bermúdez

    Clinical Assistant Professor
    Preliminary Program Coordinator
    Department of Teacher Education

    Research Interests

    Bermúdez's research and teaching interests explore the significance of healthy classroom ecologies and the tension between critical social justice teaching and subtractive schooling. Her work spans PK-12 to higher education, with an emphasis on antiracist, antibias and culturally sustaining pedagogies; the intersection of class/race in education; the value of testimonios y pláticas in qualitative research; linguistic justice and translanguaging; and critically socially just leadership.

  • Samara Suafo’a

    Samara Suafo’a

    Clinical Assistant Professor
    Assistant Director of Department of Teacher Education.

    Research Interests

    Indigenous research methodologies; the Indigenous art of storytelling as a high-impact practice in K-16 classrooms; Intersectionality of Dis/ability Research and Critical Social Justice; Role of Relationships as a Foundation for Creating Positive Classroom and School Ecologies; the intersectionality of race and athletics w/in K-16 systems; College Choice for historically minoritized communities; Impact of Colonization on the Educational Trajectory of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (NHPIs); Critical Social Justice in K-16 Education; Anti Racist/Anti Bias Pedagogy in K-16 classrooms

  • flame logo graphic

    Priscilla Guerra

    Administrative Director

  • Portrait of David Keallemeyn

    David Kallemeyn

    Data & Evaluation Coordinator

  • Melanie Kerr

    Melanie Kerr

    Clinical Placement Coordinator and Credential Analyst

  • Sabrina Ho

    Sabrina Ho

    Clinical Support Coordinator

  • Yesenia Perez

    Yesenia Perez

    Partnership Coordinator

  • Sheila Mateo

    Sheila Mateo

    Special Education Coordinator & Advisor

    Research Interests

    Inclusive Education, Anti-bias Curriculum, Differentiated Instruction and Supporting families and students with disabilities. I am an advocate for implementing developmentally appropriate practices and providing rigorous classroom lessons to promote skills students can apply into their daily lives.

Curriculum

Program Components

Graduate and Clinical Coursework

  • Teaching and Learning Process Series (4 parts): These courses are virtual and synchronous, blending culturally responsive theory with practical applications. They culminate in an MA Thesis/Capstone Ethnographic Narrative Project, preparing you to depeen your commitment to and understanding of critical social justice teaching.
  • Residency Foundations: This course prepares you with essential knowledge and skills for your clinical experience.
  • Literacy & Methods Series (2 parts): Dive into the pedagogy of your chosen credential area through these virtual, synchronous classes. They are essential for developing enriching teaching skills.
  • Teaching Performance Assessment Class (2 parts): This component offers both synchronous and asynchronous learning to support you in meeting California’s credentialing requirements.
  • Seminars: Based on your chosen pathway, you will engage in seminars tailored to help you support emergent bilingual students and students eligible for special education services.

Clinical Experiences

  • Residency supported and evaluated by a CGU Clinical Faculty Advisor.

The Teacher Education program is an online program that may not meet student visa requirements. Additionally, the program is designed to prepare California K12 school teachers. Graduates without U.S. work visas will likely find it difficult to find employment opportunities in California K12 schools.

Typically, classes meet 5:00-8:00PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Spring SPED class on Wednesdays. Monthly Critical Practicum on Monday evenings. We have optional “Spicy Saturdays” to gather in person on campus twice a semester.

Application Guidelines

University Requirements
Application Fee

$80 (fee is non-refundable)

Official Transcripts

Undergraduate/graduate

Applicants must submit a sealed, official transcript from every undergraduate and graduate institution that has granted the applicant a degree. Electronic transcripts sent to admissions@cgu.edu are also accepted. For undergraduate coursework, applicants are required to submit proof of a completed bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Unofficial copies of transcripts are accepted for review purposes, but official copies will be required upon admission.

Applicants currently earning a degree that will be completed prior to attending CGU are required to submit a transcript showing work in progress for evaluation purposes. Once the degree has been granted, a final official transcript documenting the degree conferred must be submitted to CGU.

International applicants are advised to review the International Transcript Guidelines for additional information on submitting international transcripts.

English Proficiency Exam

Required (international applicants only)

A valid score on one of the following examinations TOEFL, IELTS, Pearson PTE, Duolingo English Test is required of all non-native English-speaking applicants. The examination is not required for the following applicants:

  • Citizens or permanent residents of countries where English is the sole official language of instruction, e.g., Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada (except Quebec), England, Ghana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad, Tobago, Uganda, and Wales (see the CGU Bulletin for a complete list of accepted countries).
  • Applicants who hold an undergraduate or advanced degree, or will have earned such a degree prior to enrolling at CGU, from an institution in the US or in countries where English is the sole official language of instruction (see above).
  • Applicants who have successfully completed an academic English pre-master’s or intensive graduate bridge program from a nationally recognized, regionally accredited four-year college or university in the United States in the last two years, with submitted evidence of successful completion, and subject to curriculum approval.
  • CGU allows for an English proficiency waiver if the applicant has received, or will receive prior to enrollment at CGU, an undergraduate or advanced degree from an institution where English is one of the primary languages of instruction for the majority of courses in the student’s program. To receive the waiver, documentation must be provided by the applicant to show that English is the language of instruction at their university/college.

CGU’s school code for the TOEFL exam is 4053.

International applicants are encouraged to visit our International Applicants page for more information, including score requirements.

Resume

Applicants must submit an up-to-date copy of their resume.

Program Requirements
Statement of Purpose

In three pages maximum (typed, double‐spaced, 12 point font), respond to the following prompts.

1. Describe how your personal and educational background has shaped your desire to be a teacher.
2. Explain why you think this program is the best fit for you given what you know about the mission of CGU’S Teacher Education Program.
3. What personal assets (intellectual, linguistic, physical, or spiritual) will you bring with you to the challenge of teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students?

Academic Prerequisites

Completed a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, ideally with a minimum 3.0 GPA. If GPA is below 3.0, please address why in your personal statement.

Letter of Recommendation

2 letters required

When filling out the online application, please enter references acquainted with your potential for success as a teacher who will submit a written recommendation on your behalf. References from those who can speak to your experience with children, your credential area, teaching in any context, etc. are preferred. Please do not enter family members as references. For programs requiring two letters of recommendation, you are welcome to enter an optional third reference. If you are struggling to secure two letters of recommendation, please reach out to an admissions representative.

Standardized Test Scores

CBEST and CSET

Basic Skills & Subject Competency Requirements

If you have not graduated from a regionally accredited university with a BA/BS, please enter your CBEST scores in the online application, and send a copy of your test scores with your application or upload documents demonstrating proof of meeting the basic skills requirement in another CTC approved way.

If you are using the CSET to show your subject matter proficiency but have yet to pass it, you must submit proof of registration for an upcoming CSET examination. If you are using another CTC approved method, please upload supporting documents.

You may upload score reports, proof of CSET registration, and any other relevant documents in the “Upload Supporting Documents” section of the online application (upload under “Additional Documents”).

If you receive your test scores after submitting your application (or if you have more score reports than you are permitted to upload) please send them to the Teacher Education Office (925 N. Dartmouth Ave., Claremont, CA, 91711) or email an electronic copy to admissions@cgu.edu.

Interview

You will go through a central interview and reference check process before being admitted. Invitations to interview are extended once basic eligibility requirements are confirmed.

Key Dates and Deadlines

CGU operates on a priority deadline cycle. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit complete applications by the priority dates in order to assure maximum consideration for both admission and fellowships.

Once the priority deadlines have passed, the University will continue to review applications for qualified candidates on a competitive, space-available basis. The final deadlines listed are the last date the University can accept an application in order to allow sufficient time to complete the admissions, financial aid, and other enrollment processes.

Spring 2026
Priority Deadline – November 1, 2025
Final Deadline – January 1, 2026
Classes begin – January 20, 2026

Summer 2026
Priority Deadline: February 1, 2026
Final Deadline: June 1, 2026
Classes Begin: July 1, 2026

Apply Now

Cost & Aid

CGU has demonstrated its strong commitment to the Teacher Education program by reducing tuition by 50% starting in 2022.

Estimated Tuition
(California Residents, Non-Residents, International)
Program: 36-38 units
Tuition per unit: $1,000*
*Discounted rate effective for new students starting Spring 2022 or later.

Student Fees (Per Semester)

  • $245 Student Fee
  • $150 Technology Fee
  • International Student Services Fee: $802 (Fall), $898 (Spring)**
    **Applies to F-1 international students enrolled in coursework, doctoral study, or continuous registration. Covers ISO accident/sickness plans and administrative costs. Subject to change.

For estimates on room & board, books, and more, download CGU’s Cost of Attendance 2025–2026.

 

Funding Your Education

Our district partner programs are designed to be financially accessible. The combination of competitive tuition rates, substantial grants, loans, and a generous living stipend significantly reduces the financial barriers typically associated with graduate education.

Financial Aid and Opportunities

  • California Golden State Teacher Grant: Eligible students can benefit from this grant, which offers up to $10,000 in financial support.
  • Federal Unsubsidized Loan: Students can apply for this loan through FAFSA (due June 1) to potentially receive up to $20,500 annually in aid.
  • Living Stipend: Through our district partnerships, students receive a substantial living stipend of at least $25,000, easing the financial burden during their study.

Net Cost Consideration

  • Total Before Loans and Grants: The gross cost of the program is between $36,000 and $38,000.
  • Reduced Net Cost: After accounting for the California Golden State Teacher Grant and the living stipend, the net cost before considering loans could effectively be zero.
Back to the tabs

Pathways FAQ

Question Residency
How do I qualify for this opportunity?
  • Standard residency: CGU places candidates for a full year in the classroom of a Mentor teacher in a public or charter school, usually within a 30-mile radius for the standard residency.
  • Funded residency: Candidates are placed in local public partner districts. Locations may vary based on grant opportunities.
  • Residency placements are primarily in public or charter school districts.
How long does it take to complete the program?
  • When starting in spring, 18 months minimum.
  • When starting in summer, 12 months minimum.
When can I start?
  • Spring or Summer.
  • You can complete the program in 12 months, starting in late July and ending in July the following year.
Is this a paid opportunity?
  • Standard Residency: No, but you can often substitute for your Mentor Teacher.
  • Funded Residency: Includes a living stipend, typically around $25K.
What are the time requirements of this program?
  • At least 20 hours weekly at the clinical site plus graduate and credential coursework.
What are the typical working hours at the school site?
  • Standard Residency: 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM on three weekdays.
  • Funded Residency: 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday-Friday.
What credentials can I earn at CGU?
  • Multiple-Subject General Education (elementary).
  • Single-Subject General Education in Math, Science, Social Studies, English, or World Languages.
  • Mild/Moderate and Extensive Support Needs in Special Education.
What are the academic prerequisites?
  • Meeting the CA Subject Matter Proficiency Requirement or registering for the CSET before beginning TLP 1; fulfilling the Subject Matter Proficiency Requirement requirement by March of Residency year.
What documentation is required to start?
  • LiveScan & DOJ Clearance.
  • Proof of TB negative status.
  • U.S. Constitution Requirement fulfillment.
Can I earn an MA in Education simultaneously?
  • Yes. CGU candidates earn their credential and MA in Education simultaneously.
  • Math candidates can opt for an additional MS in Mathematics.
  • An MA/MS with a credential generally results in a higher initial pay level.
Can I transfer units from another graduate program?
  • General Education Residents can transfer in up to 2 elective units (subject to change).
  • Special Education Residents are not eligible to apply transfer units toward their degree.
General FAQ
Apply now

Request More Info

Contact us for more information

Loading...

While waiting for our answer, take a look at our FAQ

Maybe you'll find some answers to your questions

See FAQ