Educator Certification

Graduate, MAC, and Post-Baccalaureate

If you have already completed a bachelor's degree or higher and seek initial teacher certification, this program is designed for you. Courses are offered in the evening (and/or with online components) to help accommodate working professionals. The majority of required teacher certification courses also count toward a master's degree in either Elementary Education or Secondary Education. Earning a master's degree is not required, but many students choose to complete their master's simultaneously through the Master's and Certification Program. The master's degree requires 36 credits, of which 21-24 credits typically come from the certification program.

After finishing the majority of classroom work, students pursuing certification must complete a field experience. There are two options for satisfying this field requirement:

• Internship: Interns work as full-time teachers for two school semesters. The intern is the instructor of record in the classroom and is assigned a certified teacher as a mentor. Interns earn the full salary of certified teachers.

• Student teaching: Student teachers spend a 13-week period working full-time in the classroom alongside a certified teacher. Student teachers are unpaid.

The Master's and Certification program is newly redesigned to allow you to complete your master's degree, along with teacher certification, in as few as 15 months. You must complete your degree before becoming certified.

Certification areas and the graduate degrees they correspond to: