The Faculty of Education offers two teacher education programs ("Pre-Service") leading to a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree and recommendation to the Ontario College of Teachers for an Ontario Certificate of Registration. The concurrent program allows teacher candidates to pursue an undergraduate degree at the same time as a BEd. The consecutive program, on the other hand, is for prospective teachers who have already completed an undergraduate degree.
Program information can also be found in the York University undergraduate calendar.
The Faculty of Education offers a Concurrent BEd degree and a Concurrent BEd (French) degree. This is a three-year program with a practicum to be completed in each year.
As a Concurrent BEd student, you must co-register in both the Faculty of Education and one of the following York University faculties: Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, Health, Science & Engineering, or Glendon. In order to co-register, students must be admitted to each Faculty separately. Only those students who are admitted to and/or are eligible to continue in an undergraduate degree program at York University are eligible to be admitted to the Faculty of Education.
Teacher candidates pursuing BEd studies are also working towards the completion of a BA, BES, BHS, BSc or BFA degree. While co-registered, the combined study program of each candidate is subject to the approval of the two Faculties. Upon successful completion of both programs, the BEd degree is awarded in conjunction with recommendation for the Ontario Teacher's Certificate of Qualification.
Students must complete an honours degree at York University in order to graduate from the Intermediate/Senior division in the BEd program.
Admission to York University’s Faculty of Education is a competitive process for very limited spaces. Typically 7,000 applications compete for approximately 700 spaces in the Consecutive program. Fulfillment of minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Applicants can apply to either the full-time or the part-time program (not both).
Changes to admission policies can occur from year to year. It is advisable that applicants read the information package related to the upcoming entry point and not refer to admission information from previous years. Admission information for the current year may be subject to change. Prospective students should always check the website for the most up-to-date information.
The part-time program – Primary/Junior, Junior/Intermediate, and Intermediate/Senior – is pursued over a three-year period. If you apply to the part-time program, you must be available for daytime courses which can be spread over three weekdays, including practicum placements which involve one full weekday per week, plus continuous teaching blocks in May. Applicants cannot find their own placements. Courses are taken at the Keele campus (unless otherwise specified) with Concurrent students and Internationally Educated Teachers. We offer only a few evening classes. Currently, there is an online course for the community practicum which is taken in the first year of the program.
The Primary/Junior – ECE option is not available on a part-time option. There are specialized programs, such as French Immersion and Jewish Teacher Education that can be taken in the part-time consecutive program with additional undergraduate courses required.
Applicants to the BEd French degree will also be assessed on their French proficiency (written and oral) at the time of their interviews. The BEd French degree is only offered at the Primary/Junior level and classes mostly take place on York’s Glendon campus with the BEd concurrent students.
The Jewish Teacher Education option is offered at all three certification levels and classes take place at York’s Keele campus with the BEd concurrent students. Students are required to study the BEd courses as well as additional prescribed undergraduate courses to satisfy the French Immersion or Jewish Teacher Education requirements. An additional application is not necessary for the BEd French and the Jewish Teacher Education options. Applicants should proceed with the regular TEAS application for York University to Primary/Junior (Y10), Junior/Intermediate (Y20) or Intermediate/Senior (Y30) and applicants should indicate their preference for the part-time consecutive for BEd French or Jewish Teacher Education on York’s Supplementary Information Forms Cover Page.
In the full-time program, you will enrol in the BEd degree for an extended academic year (from the last week in August until the end of May). This program is offered at several off-campus locations in and around the Greater Toronto Area with teaching subjects taken at Keele Campus for Intermediate/Senior teacher candidates. Teacher candidates usually spend two days a week at their program site for their classes and two days a week at a York-partnered host school for their practicum. Schedules may vary from site to site.
York University’s Faculty of Education carefully selects host schools that will offer teacher candidates exposure to different teaching settings. For this reason, applicants cannot find their own practicum placements.The site locations for our Consecutive Teacher Education program should not to be mistaken as the locations for practicum placements. Please note that Primary/Junior and Junior/Intermediate teacher candidates are placed in elementary schools and Intermediate/Senior teacher candidates are placed mainly in secondary schools (there is also a three-week observation block placement in an elementary school for Intermediate/Senior teacher candidates). There are continuous block placements at several points during the year. During teaching blocks, candidates are required to be at their host school Monday to Friday inclusive.
Several of our consecutive program sites offer specialized study. Combined with the foundational courses for the Bachelor of Education, the curriculum includes other courses that cater to the specific background of a group of applicants. This unique combination of courses gives York University Faculty of Education teacher candidates in the full-time consecutive program an enhanced learning experience.