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Hunter College Computer Science Teacher Education FAQ

What programs are offered by Hunter College?

Hunter offers two programs leading to computer science certification.

Advanced Certificate in Computer Science Educaiton

This program is designed for individuals who already possess New York State Certification in another subject area. The program consists of courses in both Computer Science content and Pedagogy as well as state required field work.

Upon completion of the program, participants will be eligible for New York State teacher certification in computer science.

  • You can find the Advanced Certificate FAQ here.

Master's in Computer Science Education

This program is designed for aspiring teachers. It includes the same computer science content and pedagogy classes as the Advanced Certificate program along with Hunter's required pedagogical core.

Upon completion of the program, participants will be eligible for New York State teacher certification in computer science.

  • Specific admissions requirements can be found here.
  • The actual application can be found here.

What computer science background do I need for these programs?

Applicants are expected to be comfortable with fundamental programming concepts in a text based language.

Specifically, applicants will be asked to submit a program that shows knowledge of:

  • Use of variables
  • Conditionals
  • Loops
  • Functions or Methods and Objects depending on the language
  • Arrays

Advanced certificate applicants will be required to complete pre-work demonstrating their comfort. The pre-work is described below.

Master's candidates are required to show expertise either through undergraduate or other coursework, or code sample and are required to complete the pre-work prior to enrolling in the first computer science class in the program.

What if I don't currently meet the computer science requirements?

You can bring yourself up to speed either by taking a course or through self study. A course such as Hunter's CSCI 12700 or similar would cover everything you need to know and more.

If you would like to self study, see the Resources section below for specific suggestions.

What should I upload as a code sample?

If you learned to program in a class you can upload a project you completed. If you taught a class, a program you wrote around which you taught a lesson. You can also upload a personal project.

The code sample does not have to be long but it should demonstrate the level of programming you're currently at.

Additionally, the required pre-work will count as the code sample. The pre-work site include instructions on how to complete and submit.

What is the pre-work

The pre-work is designed to bring candidates up to speed programming in Java. For the Master's program, it must be completed prior to the first computer science course which is generally not taken until at least the second semester in the program. Advanced Certificate candidates are required to complete the pre-work prior to the program start but candidates who complete the pre-work prior to the application deadline will be given higher priority for acceptance.

The pre-work material which includes instructions can be found here.

What if I don't know how to program in a text based language?

What if I have additional Questions?

Contact Michael Zamansky, the program coordinator at mz631@hunter.cuny.edu

Resources:

If you do not have experience programming in a text based language we recommend Java and/or Python.

Java is the language taught in APCS-A as well as the primary language used in our Computer Science Certification program.

Python is one of the most popular languages used in both Computer Science Education and industry. It is also used in our certification program.

Java resources

Python resources

Misc resources

  • repl.it - an online development environment. Can be used to code in Java, Python and many other languages. Very popular in HS CS programs.