San Diego Teacher Residency

Application Instructions

Applications for the 2021/2022 cohort are now closed. We invite you to join our mailing list for more information about the SDTR program and our next admission cycle!

Admissions Requirements

• Earned BA/BS degree
  • Degree earned from a regionally accredited university with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Applicants with a lower GPA should include an explanation of their academic qualifications in their application.
  • If the degree was earned outside of the U.S., the transcript must be evaluated for equivalence by World Education Services, Inc. (WES). A Course-by-Course Report from WES must be submitted with your application. The WES ICAP or WES Basic service is acceptable.
  • The GRE is not required for admission to the HTH GSE.

• Basic Skills Requirement
  • The basic skills requirement measures reading, mathematics, and writing skills. Candidates can meet this requirement by passing the CA Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST).  Candidates can also fulfill this requirement by providing scores from the following tests: SAT (550+ Math and 500+ English), or ACT (23+ Math and 22+ English). See Commission Leaflet CL-667 for additional methods of meeting this requirement.

• Fingerprint Clearance Requirement
  • Fingerprint clearance accounts for professional fitness to work in a CA Public or Charter school. Candidates can meet this requirement by applying for a Certificate of Clearance (instructions CL-900). Educators who hold a valid CTC issued substitute teaching permit have already met this requirement.

• Subject Matter Competency Requirement
  • Candidates must provide evidence of having: 1) passed the CSET, 2) attempted the CSET, 3) registration for the next scheduled CSET examination, 4) completed a Commission approved the appropriate subject matter preparation program, 5) made continuous progress toward meeting the subject matter requirement, or 6) enrolled in an organized subject matter examination preparation program. See more about CA Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) series.

• TB Screening Requirement
  • TB screening is to prevent the transmission of tuberculosis in CA public schools and charters. Educators must provide negative TB results or TB Assessment administered by a healthcare professional.

• Program Tuition is $22,000
• Year One Tuition: $12,000 
• Year Two Tuition: $10,000

Available Aid

Living Stipends:As a full-time student, all first-year residents receive a living stipend of $8,000.

Federal Student Aid:SDTR students are eligible to apply for federal financial aid. Aid consists primarily of William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans (Unsubsidized), Federal Graduate PLUS Loans, and Federal Work Study. Degree-seeking graduate students are eligible for federal financial aid if they:

• are enrolled in 4.5 or more units per term,
• meet the HTH GSE’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy,
• are in good standing with prior federal loans,
• are citizens of the United States (or eligible non-citizens)

Please review the Financial Aid FAQ’s for more information. To apply for aid, follow Steps to Apply for Financial Aid

Year Long Student Teaching Residency at a High Tech High Clinical Site

First-year students are apprenticed to a veteran teacher through an embedded, year-long residency with ample daily opportunities to practice and reflect on teaching.

Learn By Doing

Purposeful projects allow the real work of students’ teaching practice to become the text for their graduate studies.

High Quality Mentorship and Advising

All first and second-year students are assigned a supervisor who is an experienced teacher and/or a faculty member at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. Monthly coaching sessions support rich, transformative, personalized learning.

Leading for Diversity, Equity and Integration

The HTH GSE prepares graduates to dismantle systems that perpetuate oppression in schools by engaging in transformational teaching to reimagine what schools and classrooms can be.

SDTR residents complete a 30-unit degree program that includes course-taking, clinical fieldwork, and the submission of a capstone Master’s Project featuring three cycles of lesson study. This is a cohort-based program by design. A sampling of coursework is as follows: Equity I: Self Schools, and Society; Foundations of Classroom Culture; Foundations of Student-Centered Teaching; Foundations of English Language Development; Inclusive Classrooms; Instruction and Assessment in the Disciplines; Foundations of Reading Instruction; Equity II: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy; Equity III: Critical Pedagogy; Design for Deeper Learning; and Inquiry into Practice.

To learn more about program requirements, see the program at-a-glance. To learn more about the fieldwork experience (student teaching), see the Fieldwork Handbook.

SDTR is a participant in EdPrepLab, co-sponsored by Bank Street College and the Learning Policy Institute.