Bachelor of Science

The Urban Teacher Residency Partnership Program is a 5-semester full-time program. Upon completion, students earn an Elementary Education/ESOL endorsement teacher certification that makes them eligible to teach grades K-6 in schools across the state of Florida. The program fully prepares pre-service educators for a career in the field of Elementary Education. The program’s content is constructed to meet all state of Florida requirements for professional educators. 

The program is designed to be started after all general education requirements have been met or an associate of arts (AA) degree has been obtained. All students must attend a College of Education orientation before registering for any Elementary Education classes. Orientation dates are available from the Student Academic Services office.

Fall admit students will complete the program as a member of a residency program in 5 semesters with 15-18 credit hours in Fall & Spring semesters, and 12 in the summer. All students will graduate in the Spring semester.

As a part of the residency program, you will be contracted from 7:30am to 3:30pm Monday through Friday and will not have courses in the evening. Your coursework and residency placement will occur during those hours. You will have homework and planning to complete outside of your contracted hours. You may also be asked occasionally to stay after school for meetings, planning, or trainings. Although time in addition to the 7:30-3:30 contracted hours is optional, it is recommended that you take part fully in your school and classroom communities.

The value of the residency is that you have meaningful field experiences throughout  your entire program! As a junior, you will follow the USF calendar and spend one semester in a primary classroom (K-2) and one semester in an intermediate classroom (3-5). As a senior, you will follow the Hillsborough County Public School Calendar and be placed in a year long residency in an elementary classroom (K-5).

Students may also participate in an Alternative Field Experience class in the summer through the Cambridge Schools Experience – a four-week study abroad experience in Cambridge, England or a two-week study abroad experience in Costa Rica.

No, the placement for your Field Experiences are determined by program faculty. You will be placed in one of our 6 local partnership schools for each of your three placements. You will be responsible for arranging your own transportation to the school you are placed in. If you have an extenuating circumstance such as transportation needs or daycare issues, you can complete a petition. No guest internships are allowed in other counties.

Yes. There are deadlines for you to register for a college orientation, apply to take the Florida Teacher Certification Exam, graduation, and to submit your final internship application. These deadlines are usually sent via email or posted on CANVAS, but it is your responsibility to stay informed!

You will be registered for all your first semester courses after you attend the College of Education’s admitted student orientation. In subsequent semesters, you will register yourself in OASIS for the class schedule given to you by program faculty. As a member of the residency, you don’t need to worry about classes filling up. You will always have a spot reserved for you in the necessary courses.

All your courses are outlined in the course sequence. You will follow the course sequence and schedule for the residency program and will enroll in your coursework with other residency students. This means you will be able develop a strong sense of community and grow with a diverse group of colleagues. 

At orientation, your USF email will be subscribed to the Elementary Education program email list. Notifications of important program and course information are sent using this email list. You are responsible for regularly checking your USF email for this information.

For questions about the admission requirements or application procedures please contact:

College of Education Pre-Education Advising
Phone: 813-974-2979
Or schedule an appointment

For other questions about the program, please contact program co-coordinators:

Dr. Danielle Dennis, Program Coordinator
Email: dennis@usf.edu
Phone: (813) 974-0597Dr. Sarah van Ingen, Program Coordinator
Email: vaningen@usf.edu