Graduate students in the M.A.Ed. program in Elementary Education complete a 45-semester hour program that includes educational foundations course work, methods courses in elementary school subject fields, clinical and student teaching experiences. The program leads to initial certification is open only to people who are not already certified. This program is designed as a full-time, 12-month (summer, fall, spring) program in which students complete all requirements in a cohort group. Classes typically begin the day after Memorial Day and the program concludes in May the following year. Students will have important field experiences prior to their student teaching semester. Because these students will be placed in the same school for fall and spring semester, they will be better prepared for their ten week student teaching experience. The seminar that accompanies student teaching also allows more group discussion and university instructor feedback about their teaching experiences.