Alternative and Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification

• Select “Educator Certification” as your “Program.”

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.

• Upload your documents at myLeo > Apps > Check Admissions Application Status & Test Scores or email your documents to your graduate coordinator unless otherwise specified below.

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.

• Go to the Educator Certification page on MarketPlace
  • Click PBTCC Application Fee
  • Click the shopping cart plus icon
  • Fill in your personal information to be associated with the fee and click “Continue”
• Go back to the Educator Certification page on MarketPlace
  • Click TEA Assessment Fee
  • Click the shopping cart plus icon
  • Complete your payment
• Download and save your receipts to upload to TK20

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.

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.