I'm in New York...and student teaching is a MUST. I don't know how you could even survive without it.

It depends on the state. For example, in Colorado, there are no education majors. You major in a field such as english or physics. So you could get that degree without doing student teaching. But, if you want the teaching license, you have to do the student teaching. otherwise, you have to complete a whole other alternative licensure program after you graduate. I don't recommend that because the student teaching experience is extremely valuable and people who go through alternative licensure have to find someone willing to hire them so they can work their way through the program - which is not always easy to do, getting someone to hire you without a license. Plus, they tend not to do as well in the profession overall. Those who complete a college program including student teaching do much better.