Overview

The Secondary Teaching program of Northwestern University completes three practical experiences before graduating. The first is a 30-hour internship with a community organization that students complete while enrolled in the Schooling in Communities course. Recent sites have included Facing History, Youth Media, Boys' and Girls' Club of America and Dewey School of Evanston.

Usually in the fall term of senior year, students complete a 100-hour clinical observation at a junior high or high school in Chicago or along the North Shore. That placement is typically the site for student teaching, a full-time quarter-long experience in the winter of senior year.

Career paths

Secondary Teaching students combine their strong academic preparation, hands-on classroom experience and their passion for working with adolescents to excel at jobs as secondary school teachers. Secondary teaching graduates teach in public, private and charter schools in Illinois and out of state or work in education-related industries. Generally, graduates go on to pursue graduate degrees after a year or two or more of teaching.  In recent years, two graduates have won Fulbright Teaching Fellowships and one, a Spanish national teaching fellowship.