online Waldorf Teacher Training Certificate Program

Track 1 and 2: Elementary/High School Education / Early Childhood Education (COMBO)
The Foundation Studies and Waldorf Certificate Program are similar to the Foundation Studies and Waldorf Certificate Programs offered by the other Waldorf teacher training centers in the USA and Canada and prepare students to become Waldorf School Teachers (Track 1) or Waldorf Early Childhood Teachers (Track 2) to teach in Waldorf/Steiner elementary schools and Waldorf/Steiner high schools,  or to teach in Waldorf/Steiner kindergartens and pre-schools. Our graduates receive a certificate and have found work in Waldorf/Steiner schools or other Anthroposophical organizations. Foundation Studies and Waldorf Certificate Program students have also transferred successfully into other teacher training programs and have received full credit for the courses taken at Sophia Institute.

The Waldorf Certificate Program includes 6 semesters (42 credits). Choose Track 1 (elementary/high school education) or Track 2 (early childhood education) depending on your main focus for the coursework. You may also choose to complete both tracks (COMBO) in which case 2 credit courses will be added to each of the following semesters: WC04, WC05 and WC06.
"The essential thing is that with the means that are possible and proper to the human soul in the present epoch, insight be gained into the spiritual worlds, and that the riddles of man's destiny and of his life beyond the frontiers of birth and death be thereby penetrated. What matters is the quest for truth ... " - Rudolf Steiner in 1913
The online Sophia Institute Waldorf Teacher Training Certificate Program concerns itself with the basic and underlying principles of Waldorf Education, curriculum suggestions and practice, and Waldorf teaching methods. In addition related subjects such as Waldorf administration, artistic courses, internships, and research projects are included in the program. The knowledge and understanding of the basic principles, based on the insights and teachings of Anthroposophy, is essential for anyone embarking on or deepening their study - and ultimately their practical application - of this teaching method.

There are three fundamental principles:
1. The human being (whether child or adult) is not only a physical being, but also a being of soul and spirit relating to soul and spirit realities.
2. In growing up, the child recapitulates the development of consciousness of humanity and education needs to be tailored and moderated in such a way that it is truly age appropriate, meaning, it relates to the developing consciousness of the child out of insights into the reality of the development of consciousness of humanity.
3. The Waldorf (or Steiner) Educator needs to be on a conscious path of self development, being at the same time a seeker of spiritual truth and a practitioner of a therapeutic and artistic teaching approach.

online Waldorf Teacher Training Certificate Program Outlines

online Waldorf Teacher Training Certificate Program - Track 1 and 2 (48 credits)

Elementary/High School Education / Early Childhood Education (COMBO)

1st Semester (7 credits)
1. What is Anthroposophy? An Introduction (1 credit)
2. Foundation Studies/Core Studies I (4 credits)
3. Art 1 (1 credit)
4. Art 2 (1 credit)

2nd Semester (7 credits)
1. Anthroposophy in Everyday Life/Practical Training in Thought (1 credit)
2. Foundation Studies/Core Studies II (4 credits) 
3. Art 3 (1 credit)
4. Art 4 (1 credit)

3rd Semester (7 credits)
1. Evolving Consciousness/Cosmology 1 (1 credit)
2. Waldorf Curriculum 1 (1 credit)
3. Human Development (1 credit)
4. The Four Temperaments (1 credit)
5. Education of the Child in the Light of Anthroposophy 1 (1 credit)
6. Art 5 (1 credit)
7. Art 6 (1 credit)

4th Semester (9 credits)
1. Evolving Consciousness/Cosmology 2 (1 credit)
2. Waldorf Curriculum 2 (1 credit)
3. The First Three Years (1 credit)
4. The Wisdom of Fairy Tales (1 credit)
5. Waldorf Methods/Sciences 1 (1 credit)
6. Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math 1 (1 credit)
7. Education of the Child in the Light of Anthroposophy 2 (1 credit)
8. Art 7 (1 credit)
9. Art 8 (1 credit)

5th Semester (9 credits)
1. Life Phases (1 credit)
2. Early Childhood Education 1 (1 credit)
3. The Festivals and Their Meaning 1 (1 credit)
4. Waldorf Methods/Sciences 2 (1 credit)
5. Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math 2 (1 credit)
6. Waldorf Administration (1 credit)
7. Waldorf Remedial Methods 1 (1 credit)
8. Art 9 (1 credit)
9. Art 10 (1 credit)

6th Semester (9 credits)
1. Early Childhood Education 2 (1 credit)
2. The Festivals and Their Meaning 2 (1 credit)
3. Waldorf Methods/Sciences 3 (1 credit)
4. Waldorf Methods/Reading and Math 3 (1 credit)
5. Internship/6 weeks (1 credit)
6. Waldorf Remedial Methods 2 (1 credit)
7. Art 11 (1 credit)
8. Art 12 (1 credit)
9. Final Paper/Research Project (1 credit)