Studying education at Linfield

Become a teacher at Linfield

The Linfield Department of Education is composed of passionate educators whose true fortune is developing young professionals seeking to make a difference in the educational system.

Our faculty and staff are invested in your academic and personal well-being. They inspire growth, dedication and compassion while offering individualized support and serving as a critical resource on your journey to becoming a professional educator.

If you join Linfield’s Department of Education, you will be able to leave Linfield in four years with a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science and a license to teach in:

• Preschool and elementary
• Preschool, elementary and middle school
• Middle school and high school
• Special education

In partnership with Linfield's Online and Continuing Education division, we are proud to offer the following pathways designed for working professionals:

• Adult degree pathway to a bachelor's degree in elementary education with a special education endorsement
• Elementary education licensure-only program
• Elementary plus special education licensure-only program
• Secondary education licensure-only program

Additional endorsement areas are offered in the undergraduate programs, adult degree pathway and at the graduate level.

Making an impact on the future

The Linfield Teacher Education Program is hands-on right from the start. Within your first year here, you will be working as an aide in a local school classroom. And by the time you graduate, you will have spent more than 50 hours gaining hands-on classroom experience, not including a full-year student teaching in one of our nearby school districts!

Our education department takes deep pride in being able to say that the personalized planning paired with small on-campus class sizes and a hands-on approach to learning has continued to yield successful, passionate graduates who are making a difference!

The Linfield education department supports the Case for Equity from the Oregon Equity Lens:

"Oregonians have a shared destiny. Individuals within a community and communities within a larger society need the ability to shape their own present and future, and we believe that education is a fundamental aspect of Oregon’s ability to thrive. Equity is both the means to educational success and an end that benefits us all. Equity requires the intentional examination of systemic policies and practices that, even if they have the appearance of fairness, may in effect serve to marginalize some and perpetuate disparities. Data are clear that Oregon demographics have been changing to provide rich diversity in race, ethnicity and language. Working toward equity requires an understanding of historical contexts and the active investment in changing social structures and practice over time to ensure that students from all communities have the opportunities and support to realize their full potential."

Our program embraces an Educator Equity Framework “BASEd” on values of identity, diversity, justice and action to best prepare education majors for “Becoming Educators for Anti-racism, Social Justice and Equity” or BASE.

In addition to training future teachers in their content areas and strong teaching practices, the curriculum in our program integrates the Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards.