Claflin University is located in the small city of Orangeburg, South Carolina, and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and approved by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. Among numerous accolades, Claflin is ranked the #1 HBCU in the state, and for its 11th consecutive year, the University is in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Top 10 of the Nation’s Best HBCUs.
As the oldest HBCU in the state of South Carolina, Claflin University’s commitment to teacher education has been consistently strong since its founding. It has produced teachers, principals, superintendents, and numerous other educational professionals who have made significant contributions to the myriad of classrooms and other educational contexts within the state of SC and across the United States.
The School of Education offers undergraduate degrees in Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Middle Level Education; PK-12 and Secondary Education Programs.
The goal at Claflin University is to prepare teacher candidates with an understanding of human values, a firm grounding in technology and a commitment to teaching, research and service. Graduates of the teacher education program are conscious and service-oriented leaders who are advocates for children and education, using research findings, best practices and ethics to guide decision-making. Claflin is committed to technology and cultural diversity.
The Education program is designed to provide sufficient training and experiences in content, professional knowledge, pedagogy and to enable graduates to perform successfully in the field of education. The School of Education and its K-12 Partners collaboratively offer experiences to support candidates in enhancing their development and demonstration of knowledge, skills, content and dispositions which they learn from their courses and field and clinical experiences. The program is committed to providing students with the most realistic experiences possible for a smooth transition into their own classrooms.
Students at Claflin University have reduced the cost of their program using these methods. Check with Claflin University to see if you can, too!
Amount
Description
Up to $28,936
Grants, Stipends, Scholarships
$28,936 The Presidential Scholars Scholarship: This scholarship is available to outstanding high school seniors committed to academic excellence. Students should be active in community service and leadership roles. Minimum SAT of 1200 or ACT 27.
$5000 Claflin University Honors College Scholarship: Available to incoming freshmen with high academic achievements and leadership potential. Minimum SAT score of 1100 or ACT 24.
$7500 Academic Incentive Award: Available to incoming freshmen with strong GPA, SAT Test scores of 1000 or higher/ACT equivalent. Students must demonstrate outstanding academic achievement.
$3000 United Methodist Scholarships "Double Your Dollars": For full-time students who have been members of a United Methodist Church for at least one year.
Up to $2,500 per year
Student Loans, Payroll Deduction
$2,500 United Methodist Loans: For active members of the United Methodist Church for at least one year prior to application.
Up to $2000 per year
Work Study, Working While Still Enrolled
Work study opportunities are available or the candidate can choose to find employment while enrolled.
Amount Varies
Call Me Mister
Call Me MISTER is a collaboration between Claflin University and Clemson University to recruit, train, and certify elementary teachers in the public schools of South Carolina. The mission of Call Me MISTER (acronym for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) Initiative is to increase the pool of available teachers from a broader more diverse background, particularly among the State’s lowest performing elementary schools. The Call Me MISTER program is contributing to the talent pool of excellent teachers by identifying and supporting young men who are literally touching the future by teaching children. The program provides: book assistance, performance-based stipends, an academic support system to help ensure success, and a cohort system for social and cultural support to designated program participants according to student progress in the program. Applications are reviewed once per academic year on a competitive basis. Interested students must have declared elementary education or early childhood education as a major, demonstrated record of high scholastic achievement, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. Apply Today!
Art Pre-K-12 Early Childhood Education Pre-K-3 Elementary Education 2-6 English 9-12 Language Arts 5-8 Mathematics 5-8 Mathematics 9-12 Music / Choral Pre-K-12 Music / Instrumental Music Pre-K-12 Music / Piano Pre-K-12 Music / Strings Pre-K-12 Music Pre-K-12 Science 5-8 Social Studies 5-8
Program Semesters/Steps Overview
Early Childhood Education Example
Year 1 First Semester
UNIV 101- Freshman Seminar Experience
GED ENGL 101
GED Cultural/Humanities
MATH 116 Quantitative Reasoning
EDUC 104 Introduction to Education
YEAR 1 Second Semester
UNIV 102- Freshman Experience
GED ENGL 102
Math 111: College Algebra
GED Behavioral Science
GED Cultural Arts
GED Religion/Philosophy
Year 2 First Semester
ASMB 202-Sophomore Assembly
Gen. Ed. Global Studies
GED Communication/Information Science
EDUC 221 Teaching Music to Children
EDUC 222 Teaching PE/Health to Children
EDEC 204 Child Growth & Development
EDUC 316 Educational Psychology
Year 2 Second Semester
ASMB 202-Sophomore Assembly
Gen. Ed. Global Studies
GED Communication/Information Science
EDUC 221 Teaching Music to Children
EDUC 222 Teaching PE/Health to Children
EDEC 204 Child Growth & Development
EDUC 316 Educational Psychology
Year 3 First Semester
SOCI 202 Marriage, Kinship, & Family
EDUC 306 Read/Writing Content Area
EDUC 320 History, Principles, Philosophy
EDEC 320 Early Childhood Curriculum
EDUC 342 Technology for Teachers
EDUC 391 Junior Seminar
Year 3 Second Semester
EDEC 305 Early Intervention & Inclusion
EDUC 323 Instructional Strategies
EDEC 322 Reading Assessment in the
EDUC 304 Foundations Rdg./Writing
EDEC 440 Methods and Materials for ECE
Year 4 First Semester
EDUC 317 Intro. to Exceptional Learners
EDUC 403 Classroom Management
EDEC 420 Families, Communities, & Schools
EDEC 324 Childcare Leadership & Advocacy
EDEC 431 Language and Literacy in ECE
Year 4 Second Semester
EDUC 450 Professional/Clinical Prac.
Program Hallmarks
Education majors at Claflin receive hands-on experience in the field of education in a variety of ways, such as attending and presenting at professional conferences with faculty. Additionally,field experience is available for several courses, with a requirement that students gain a set minimum number of related field hours in the specified course. Prior to becoming eligible for student teaching, all students must have achieved a minimum of 100 documented field experience hours.
Diversity and inclusion are central to the development of leaders and scholars at Claflin. As part of its general education requirements, students must take 6 semester hours in the cultural humanities as well as 6 semester hours in global studies. Additionally, students majoring in Education must take and successfully pass EDUC 230: Working with Diverse Learners.
Under the supervision of certified master teachers and professional educational faculty, teacher education candidates observe, monitor, tutor, diagnose and integrate theory with practice during their student teaching. Each teacher candidate is paired with a mentor teacher and university supervisor who support and coach the student throughout their experiences. Students are observed a minimum of four times during the required 60 days of student teaching and receive timely feedback in their areas of instruction, lesson pacing and structure, assessments, motivating students, etc.
The School of Education has a culture of assessment that is systematic and enables us to track data and share it to improve the quality of our programs. The quality assurance system/data tracking platform LiveText enables continuous uploading of clinical and field experience data by students. Instructors use assessment data from Capstone Assessments to make changes to instruction in order to improve the quality of our programs.
To ensure success of its programs, the School of Education partners with and receives buy-in from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Teacher Education Advisory Counsel. (TEAC) P-12 Partners, (Orangeburg County School District) Assessment Committee and Student Advisory Council (SOESAC).
Additionally, the Teacher Education program recently underwent a rigorous professional audit and review process led by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and was granted national accreditation through 2031. Earning national accreditation means excellence has been demonstrated in the areas of pedagogy, best teaching practices and program impact and shows our graduates are ready for the classroom on day one.
Stats
Gender
Male
Female
32%
68%
Ethnicity
American Indian or Alaskan Native
Asian
Black
Hispanic/Latino
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
White
Two or more races
1%
2%
93%
1%
1%
2%
0%
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