Education Department

At Roanoke College, you can combine a liberal arts education with a Teacher Licensure Program allowing you to meet the challenges and complexities of teaching in the elementary or secondary classroom.  Forty-eight states and U.S. territories, including the District of Columbia, recognize teacher licenses issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Real World Application

Through partnerships with local schools, several licensure courses incorporate on-site projects in lieu of traditional course assignments, allowing you to experience today's classroom from the very beginning of your coursework.

Teaching in the Diverse Classroom

Teaching in the Diverse Classroom, Roanoke College's teacher licensure program, is designed to provide pre-service teachers with the content knowledge and pedagogical skills required for 21st century global classrooms. Pedagogical skills, content knowledge, and an understanding of differentiated instruction are essential for program completion.  Pre-service teachers are taught how to recognize readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles/styles of PreK-12 students and how to design lessons related to these characteristics by differentiating the curriculum's content, process, and/or products.  Emphases on content knowledge, research-based pedagogy, and cultural/linguistic diversity empower students to construct student-centered teaching practice for contemporary classrooms.

International Education

Through our comparative education travel courses and international student teaching placements, you may study abroad in a number of countries throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Teaching English Language Learners

Our English as a Second Language (TESL) program will prepare you to teach English language learners in PreK-12 public and private schools.  A concentration in TESL is also available should you be interested in working with speakers of other languages in non-school venues throughout the United States and abroad.

Do you already have an undergraduate degree and wish to teach?

At Roanoke College you can complete a "teacher licensure only" program. If you have a liberal arts degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning, we can provide the courses you will need to secure a teaching license for the PreK-12 classroom.  Learn more.

Copenhaver Institute

Roanoke College's Education Department offers an award winning, annual teacher professional development program for PreK-12 teachers and administrators.  Individuals from across the U.S. and Europe come to work with leading scholars in pedagogy and school leadership.  Each year, several Roanoke College students are invited to participate in the three-day summer institute.  Learn more.

Roanoke Education Department's National Accreditation

Roanoke College's Teacher Licensure Program which is designed to prepare competent, caring, qualified professional educators, is granted Accreditation by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) for a period of five years, from March 26, 2010 to March 26, 2015.  This accreditation certifies that Roanoke College has provided evidence that its program adheres to TEAC's quality principles.