M.A.E. SITE Program

Program Overview

The University of Florida Site-based Implementation of Teacher Education (SITE) Program has received the Innovation in Teacher Education Award by the Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE).
It’s like your first year of teaching, but with plenty of support along the way.

If you majored in a subject outside of education, or worked professionally in a field outside of teaching, SITE offers training, certification and a degree to get you in front of a classroom after graduation. It’s a learn-by-doing Master’s program that can be completed in a single year.

Students in this program work in a K-6 classroom for two semesters while having access to their own mentors, coaches and professors from UF.

Like learning to fly an airplane, students are assigned a one-on-one teacher mentor who can take the steering wheel when there’s trouble. Online seminars provide research-based strategies customized to issues that SITE students face.

Advantages to the University of Florida’s SITE program:

• You’re getting a Master’s degree along with K-6 certification
• A two-semester internship is part of the year-long program
• Lots of personal attention
• Teaching support
• A UF coach
• Active observation

Program Highlights

Site-based Implementation of Teacher Education (SITE) is an alternative teacher certification M.A.E. program for career-path changers who possess an undergraduate degree outside of education.
Your Degree:

• You earn a 30 credit Master of Arts in Education degree (M.A.E.) in Elementary Education.
• You’ll be eligible for a professional certificate in grades K-6.
• The program is an intense 3 semester sequence (Summer, Fall, Spring) that includes a yearlong internship under the supervision of a mentor teacher and UF coach.
• SITE interns have the experience of co-teaching for an entire school year before assuming their first teaching experience.
• Your coursework includes the Florida Reading Endorsement and 60 hours of the ESOL requirement.

The Program:

• Formal course work is taught by the University of Florida’s College of Education. Because the internship coincides with course work, students apply the theory they learn to their daily classroom practices.
• This Educator Preparation Institute (EPI), an alternative to traditional teacher preparation, provides a learning environment in which the interns’ previous careers and volunteer experiences supplement their classroom instruction.
• SITE also has National program accreditation through CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation)