Teaching Licensure Strand

A full immersion in the classroom as a teacher of record starting in the fall of the year following application

This model is a good fit for applicants who…

• Have prior teaching experience and/or experience working with young people in group settings
• Wish to fully immerse themselves in their practicum school for the entire school year (typically late-August to late-June)
• Are ready to make the most of their time at HGSE by taking on both a paid teaching position and TTL coursework at the same time
• Are excited to learn from a wide range of situations and individuals — from mentor teachers, school leaders, instructional coaches, students, and families as well as from course instructors
• Are motivated to make an immediate impact as a lead teacher
• Want to be prioritized for the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching 

The residency model is a rich and immersive year-long fieldwork experience. Teacher candidates admitted into the residency model participate in a TTL supported hiring process to find positions as part-time teachers in Boston-area schools — with  salary and benefits as per district or school policies. The residency model starts in January following acceptance to TTL, with a Spring Residency Experience (delivered remotely; Q&A below for more details). Residents will continue with remote coursework in June, arrive on HGSE's campus in July for the TTL Summer Field Experience, and assume their residency teaching responsibilities in late summer. Residency is contingent upon successful completion of preparation activities that began the previous January and continued through the summer prior to teaching. Applicants for the residency model must demonstrate their readiness for leading a classroom through a clear commitment to teaching, deep subject matter knowledge in the subject they intend to teach, and substantial experiences working with students in traditional and/or nontraditional settings.

The deadline to apply for the Residency Model, with priority for the Harvard Fellowship for Teaching is November 1, 2024.

A more gradual approach to the classroom; teaching responsibilities ramp up throughout the year

This model is a good fit for applicants who…

• Desire a more gradual entry into teaching
• Have less prior experience in U.S. classrooms
• Want preparation for teaching with more focused responsibilities
• Want more opportunities to spend time on campus, take elective courses, and participate in HGSE co-curricular experiences
• Are international students not eligible for the residency model

The internship model is a gradual-release learning experience that ramps up responsibility in schools and the classroom throughout the school year. The internship model starts in the summer following acceptance to TTL with courses starting in June and students arriving on HGSE's campus in July for the TTL Summer Field Experience. Interns match with an experienced mentor teacher and begin their year-long practice-based learning experience in late summer. Interns spend a minimum of 600 hours between September and May in their mentor’s classroom observing, working with small groups of students, planning and teaching lessons, assessing student learning, and participating in the school community.

The priority deadline for the Internship Model is November 1, 2025, with the standard deadline being January 5, 2026.

The TTL Program is designed to help you gain the knowledge and practice the skills essential to leading others in learning — and will create pathways to success that will allow you to thrive as an expert practitioner and mentor in your community. A minimum of 46 credits are required to graduate with an Ed.M. degree from HGSE and Initial Teaching License from Massachusetts.

The main elements of this academic year curriculum are:

• The HGSE Foundations courses — How People Learn, Evidence, Equity and Opportunity, and Leading Change — in which students gain core skills central to the profession of education.
  • Commence your Foundations studies with How People Learn, an immersive online course that runs June–July and requires a time commitment of 12–15 hours per week.
  • You’ll take a minimum of two additional Foundations courses in person:  
    • Equity and Opportunity: Offered as Identity in Context in August, as an approved elective during the academic year, or through a course in teaching students with identified (dis)abilities.
    • Evidence: Offered in August and January Terms for students in the internship model; offered in January Term for students in the residency model.
    • Leading Change: Offered during the academic year.

To fulfill the program requirement, students must take a minimum of 34 credits specific to TTL.

• The TTL Program Core Experience (4 credits), is a fall semester course where all students come together to observe, analyze, and reflect on high-quality teaching.
• Teaching methods courses (10 credits) in the chosen content area, which begin in June. 
• A Summer Field-Based Experience (4 credits), held on site in Cambridge in July, allows you to begin to hone your teaching practice. 
• Two courses focused on inclusivity and diversity in the classroom (6 credits).
• Fieldwork Seminar (2 credits), where you have opportunities to reflect on your experiences in your practicum.
• Field experiences (8 credits), where students in the Teacher Licensure strand will intern or teach in Boston-area schools.

Summer Experience for Teaching Licensure Candidates

All students in the Teaching Licensure Strand will participate in the Summer Experience supporting the Cambridge-Harvard Summer Academy (CHSA), which takes place in Cambridge in July. Through your work at CHSA, you will help middle and high school students in the Cambridge Public Schools with credit recovery, academic enrichment, and preparation for high school. Students in the Teaching Licensure Strand will teach students directly as part of a teaching team. This is an opportunity for you to immediately immerse yourself in a school environment and begin to practice the skills necessary to advance your career.

Advancing Research on Effective Teacher Preparation 

As a student in the TTL Program, you will have the opportunity to contribute to HGSE’s research on what makes effective teacher preparation. This research seeks to build an evidence base that contributes to the field’s understanding of effective approaches to teacher training, including how to support high-quality instruction, successful models of coaching and mentorship, and effective approaches to addressing the range of challenges facing our students.

TTL students will be able to participate in research studies as part of their courses.

Explore our course catalog. (All information and courses are subject to change.)

Note: The TTL Program trains educators to work in U.S. classrooms. Required coursework focuses on U.S. examples and contexts.

Students will work closely with faculty associated with their area of study. View our faculty directory for a full list of HGSE faculty.

The Teaching Licensure Strand prepares you to be a licensed middle or high school teacher in: 

• English language arts
• General science
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Math
• History/social science

Q: Is there funding available for Teaching Licensure students?
A: HGSE is committed to providing significant tuition funding to ease the debt burden for aspiring and experienced teachers. The Harvard Fellowship for Teaching is awarded to qualified, full-time candidates, and covers 80 percent of tuition and provides for a $10,000 living stipend. Preference is given to candidates pursuing the Teaching Licensure Residency Model. We offer a range of additional financial aid and fellowship opportunities to provide greater access and affordability to our students.

Q: Why the early application deadline for the TTL residency model? 
A: The early application deadline is necessary so that we have the time to identify our residency model teaching licensure candidates and have them ready to start teaching in our partner school's late summer. 

Q: What if I apply early and am not selected for the TTL residency model?
A: Immediately following the residency model deadline, we will begin the review process for all residency model applicants and communicate decisions by the end of December. Any applicant not selected for the residency model may automatically be considered during the regular cycle for admission into the internship model of TTL, and for an internship fellowship. Internship model and fellowship decisions, as well as decisions for all TTL applicants not seeking licensure, will be communicated by the end of March. 

Q. In which states will I be a licensed teacher after pursuing initial licensure through the Teaching Licensure Strand?
A. As a teaching licensure candidate in either the residency or internship model, you will be able to pursue Massachusetts initial licensure in secondary education. Massachusetts participates in an interstate agreement with all 50 states and the District of Columbia — meaning you will be able to apply for the equivalent license in another state, without the need to enroll in another teacher preparation program. Please note: The interstate agreement does not guarantee "full" reciprocity. The educator may have to complete additional requirements, such as coursework, assessments, or classroom experience, before receiving a teaching certificate in the new state. For more information, please visit NASDTEC. 

Q. When does each fieldwork model in the Teaching Licensure Strand start?
A. The residency model begins in January, with the Spring Residency Experience. The internship model launches in June.

Q. What is the Spring Residency Experience?
A. The Spring Residency Experience (SRE) kicks off the residency model. Starting in January, the experience is fully virtual, including 5–7 synchronous two-hour sessions and several asynchronous assignments. The SRE is centered around a key question: How can we, as teachers, contribute to improving our current education system by planning and executing instruction that supports our most marginalized students? Through this experience, you will have many chances to explore this question through observation, practice, and reflection, and gain a broad introduction to the skills and knowledge you will learn throughout your time in TTL.

As a TTL student, you will build a community around a shared commitment to teaching and teacher development. You will learn from and with colleagues from diverse backgrounds, levels of expertise, and instructional settings. To further connections with the field, you are invited to attend "meet the researcher" chats, engage in learning through affinity groups, and interact with teaching-focused colleagues across the larger university, by taking courses and participating in activities both at HGSE and at other Harvard schools.