A female student was in teacher's residency.

Alternative and Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification

With your bachelor’s degree and teacher certification, you can make a difference in students’ lives.

  • Offered 100% Online.
  • 1.5-2 years
  • 18 credit hours
  • No thesis required
  • No foreign language needed for initial certification

Become an Educator

If you already have a bachelor’s degree and want to transition to a teaching career—with or without a master’s—our online teacher certification is uniquely designed with you in mind! The program requires 18-36 hours of online coursework along with field-based work and a teaching assignment.

Female teacher with elementary age girl at school desk.

Teacher Programs (MS) and Alternative Teacher Certifications

Alternative Certification Programs

Our standard certifications provide you with the opportunity to meet modern students' academic needs and varied educational settings. You are guided by our coordinators and enrollment specialists each step of the way. Their expertise helps you create a plan of action, including coursework, field experiences, tests and other program requirements.

  • Core Subjects with Science of Teaching of Reading
  • Core Subjects with Science of Teaching of Reading
  • English Language Arts & Reading with Science of Teaching of Reading
  • English Language Arts & Reading/Social Studies with Science of Teaching of Reading
  • Mathematics
  • Mathematics/Science
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Math/Physical Science/Engineering
  • Physical Science
  • Chemistry
  • English Language Arts Reading
  • History
  • Journalism
  • Life Science
  • Mathematics
  • Physics/Mathematics
  • Science (Composite)
  • Social Studies (Composite)
  • Speech
  • Art
  • Health
  • LOTE – French
  • LOTE – Spanish
  • Music
  • Physical Education
  • Theatre
  • Special Education – Only available by pursuing a master's in Special Education with Teacher Certification

Career and Technical Education Certifications

Our career and technical certifications build upon your previous work experience and professional credentials. Our coordinators and enrollment specialists help you navigate the path to certification. Together, we will help you create a plan of action, including coursework, field experiences, tests and other program requirements.

Master’s Degrees with Alternative Teacher Certification

If you want to become a teacher while earning a master's degree, we have two degree programs that include teacher certification to meet your career goals: curriculum and instruction, and special education.

ADMISSION

Note: If you are an international student on any type of VISA please contact the International Student Office at [email protected] for eligibility requirements for teacher certification.

You must have a bachelor's degree with an overall GPA of 2.75 or higher OR a conferred master's degree with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher to be eligible for the program.

The TX PACT is a pre-admission content test taken in the subject/grade that you wish to teach and is on our approved certification list.

  • You are required to pass this test prior to submitting your application through ApplyTexas and TK20.
  • The concentration area must match your teaching assignment.
  • Additional information can be found here: Registration Page

Submit Application

  • Create an account or login if you already have one
  • Complete your profile section first once you log into your account
  • Select “School Search” and select East Texas A&M
  • Choose the semester you wish to begin
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  • Select “Educator Certification” as your “Program.”

  • Pay the $50 application fee.

Wait to receive an application confirmation email before proceeding to the next step.

  • Within two business days of your application, the Graduate School will send a confirmation email to the personal email account you used for ApplyTexas.
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Note: Acceptance into the Graduate School does not give automatic admission into the Alternative Certification Program.

Submit the following documents to your graduate coordinator after you receive an application confirmation email.

Your Graduate Coordinator

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Contact your previous institution(s) and request that they send your official transcripts to your graduate coordinator.

  • We recommend that you request transcripts for all of your academic work.

All international transcripts must be evaluated and the evaluation submitted to the Graduate School.

We accept evaluations sent directly from the following Agencies.

  • If a normal evaluation is submitted, official original transcripts with all marksheets will still need to be submitted.
  • If a WES ICAP or equivalent is submitted, we will not need the official transcripts to be submitted separately.

A conferred bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum overall grade point average of 2.75.

If your institution is unable to submit a digital copy, hard copies may be mailed to:

East Texas A&M University
Attn: Graduate School
PO Box 3011
Commerce, Texas 75429-3011

We will need official/original documents. If those documents are the only copies you have, the Graduate School can mail them back to you upon request. Contact your graduate coordinator or more information.

Submit a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) which includes your academic and professional history and achievements.

Describe your preparation for graduate work and your academic interests and goals in no more than 500 words.

Look for application updates in myLeo > Apps > Check Application Status

  • Once an admission decision has been made, you will receive an email to your student email account at myLeo > Apps > Leomail.

  • Select one of these Master of Science programs associated with teacher certification.
    • Curriculum and Instruction (CINS), M.S.
    • Special Education(SPED), M.S.
  • There will be a question at the end of the application asking if you want to pursue a teaching certification—check yes. A $50 admission fee will be charged at the time of application. The graduate school will also need official copies of transcripts, sent directly from all regionally accredited colleges/universities attended.

**Candidates may seek master's in any content area, however, the 18 hours of required classes for teacher certification may not be available as electives in a non-education related field.

Note: Acceptance into the Graduate School does not give automatic admission into the PBTC program.

You will need to have the following documents ready for upload in order to submit the application:

  • Alternative Certification Application fee receipt
  • TEA Assessment fee receipt
  • TX PACT Scores
    • You will upload a copy of your passing score report in TK20 as part of your admissions application
  • Resume
  • Essay: A 1-page, double-spaced, titled “What Inspired Me to Become a Teacher”
  • Statement of Qualification form
    • Only submitted if applying for a Career and Technical Education Certification (Trades and Industry, Marketing or Health Science)
  • Official transcripts from the Graduate Office will be reviewed by the certification office.
    • Official transcripts from all institutions must be submitted to the Graduate School in order to satisfy TEA certification admission requirements. Transcripts showing only pass/fail on the entire transcript with no established GPA will not be accepted.
    • A minimum GPA of 2.75 on a conferred bachelor's degree or on the most recent 60 credit hours is required for certification admission. Please note that certification admission requirements may differ from those of the Graduate School and are separate requirements.
If applicable:
  • TEA Transfers
    • If you have previously been admitted to another educator preparation program for alternative certification, you are required to submit a TEA transfer form.
    • You will complete Part A, have your previous program complete Part B and then return to the East Texas A&M certification office.
  • Transcripts from outside the United States
    • Contact the certification office for any questions about TEA requirements for transcripts from outside the United States.
    • If you received a bachelor's degree from outside of the United States, then a Foreign Credential Evaluation with a course-by-course summary will be required. This is to remain in compliance with TEA to verify a bachelor's degree and to compute a core GPA.
    • A course-by-course evaluation must be from a TEA-approved Foreign Credential Evaluation Service.
  • English Proficiency
    • Educators who apply for certification are required to demonstrate English language proficiency by fulfilling one of the following requirements:
      • Completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree at an accredited institution of higher education in the United States, not including US territories, or
      • Completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree earned at an institution of higher education in a country outside of the United States approved by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC); or
      • A standard certificate issued by the department of education in another state where examinations for the certificate were taken and passed.
    • If these requirements are not met, then a passing score, within the last 2 years, on the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL-iBT) exam must be submitted. You are required to score within the High-Intermediate level in each section.
  • Military Personnel
    • Military service members or military veteran candidates that have verified military service, training or education directly related to the certificate being sought may have that military service, training or education reviewed by an EPP to see if it satisfies any of the educator certification requirements.

  • Go to tamuc.tk20.com
  • Scroll down and click “Admissions”
  • Select “Click here to create your account.”
  • Complete the “Create Applicant Account” form.
  • Note: You will be creating a password for this account.
  • Store the password you create in a secure location so you can refer to it later.
  • After completing the “Create Applicant Account” form, TK20 will provide your username.
  • Store your TK20 username and password in a secure location so you can refer to them later.
    • You will use the username to log in to review your admission application once submitted.

  • Log into your TK20 account
    • Click on the “back to login” link.
    • Enter your username and password.
    • Click the green “Log Into Your Account” button.
  • Click on the “Create New Application” button.
  • Select “Alternative Certification” application
  • Click the “Next” button.
  • Complete the application.

  • Upload documents by clicking on the “+ Select File(s)” button for the item you are uploading.
  • Once you have completed all fields in the application, click the “Submit” button.
  • Look for an email from TK20 confirming your submission.

To check your application status:

  1. Log in to your TK20 Student Admissions account
  2. On the “Home” tab, locate your application under “Recent Messages”
  3. Click on the application.
  4. If you are admitted, the message will indicate your application was “Admitted”
  5. If you lack admission requirements, the message will indicate “Denied.”
    • Click on “Review Document” to view your deficiencies and reason(s) for denial.

Once both the Graduate School and Certification Program Applications are complete, the Alternative Certification Program Coordinator may reach out to schedule an additional interview.

Once accepted, please sign and return the “letter of invitation” that will be sent to you via email from Tracey Stedman.

Once registration opens and you are eligible to enroll, your certification coordinator will contact you to complete registration.

  • View your degree plan in DegreeWorks.
  • To register for classes, go to myLeo > Student Resources > Registration Menu.

Contact your certification coordinator if you have any questions regarding your degree plan and registration.

Your Alternative Certification Coordinator

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WE ARE HERE TO HELP!

Sherri Harwell Director Educator Certification and Academic Services
Tracey Stedman Alternative Certification and Post-Baccalaureate Alternative Certification Coordinator
Alum Bob Nottingham Certification Coordinator I
Alleigh Phillips Coordinator, Exam Administration
DeRene Sutton Graduate Student Services Coordinator: College of Education and Human Services, College of Science and Engineering, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, College of Innovation and Design
Alum Conner Kelley Graduate Enrollment Specialist for College of Education and Human Services

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