In order to teach in a public elementary, middle or high school in the United States, one must be certified by the state in which one teaches.

The traditional way to obtain a certificate to teach is to go through a college-based teacher education program that has been approved by the state. This path to teacher certification is called “The Approved College Teacher Education Program Route to Teacher Certification.” Historically, most of these programs were designed for undergraduate students who majored in education. A list of the colleges and universities that offer such programs can be found in each state section on this Web site.

If you do not already have at least a bachelor’s degree and want to become a teacher, visit the Website of Recruiting New Teachers at www.rnt.org.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO TEACHER CERTIFICATION

As interest in teaching has increased among individuals who already have at least a bachelor’s degree – many of whom are in non-education-related careers, military, retirees, etc. – new alternative routes to teacher certification have developed in states throughout the nation.

Candidates who get certified to teach through these alternative routes generally share these common characteristics:

• Have at least a bachelor’s degree.
• Pass a rigorous screening process, such as passing tests, interviews, and demonstrated mastery of content to be taught.
• Begin teaching – usually full-time – early. They engage in on-the-job training.
• Take any coursework or equivalent experiences in professional education studies while teaching.
• Work with mentor teachers.
• Meet high performance standards.

Most alternate route programs occur while one is actually teaching and last from one to two years.

Individual alternative routes to teacher certification vary from state-to-state and from site-to-site within the states.

A description of each alternate route to teacher certification is described in detail on this Web site. The descriptions of each state’s alternate routes include:

• Requirements for entry.
• Program requirements.
• Length of program.
• Level of coursework required – if any.

You can also find individual places within the state where you can participate in an alternative teacher certification route.

Detailed descriptions of each alternative route to teacher certification in each state, as well as individual sites within the state, can be accessed in several ways on this site:

• Click on the map at the upper right of this page for the state(s) you are interested in.

Or

• Use the drop-down menu at the upper right of this page to find the state(s) you want to find out about.

Or

• Go to the Table of Contents, find the individual program(s) that interest you within each state, click on it to get a full description of what is required through that alternative route.

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