Teacher Certification for Persons With Degrees

Welcome! If you already have a degree and have decided to pursue a career in teaching, this page is for you. Utah State University has a teacher licensure program for persons with degrees. You may also qualify for a Second Bachelor's Degree after completing your Teacher Licensure. You may terminate the teacher licensure program at the Logan or SC (Statewide) campuses.

Please take time to read all of this material at one time and follow directions to obtain graduation and licensure. You will begin teacher licensure courses in the Department of Secondary Education after completing all of the following steps.

How to Apply for Admission to USU - Read this carefully!

There are several options for your status as an applicant. Entering your status as Second Bachelor's Degree (2BS) on the application for admission will allow you to pay undergraduate tuition instead of non-matriculated or graduate tuition. The Utah State Board of Education expects that your transcripts will document a degree in the subject area you want to become licensed to teach. If your Bachelor's Degree is not specified in the subject area you are seeking licensure for, you will need to complete your Second Bachelor's Degree in that specific subject. If you have a Bachelor's Degree in a particular subject, you can return for licensure in that subject and receive a Second Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education for your efforts. You may choose from the following options:

  • If your new teaching area for licensure is not precisely the same as the major of your degree, enter your Second Bachelor's Degree, and your new desired teaching major in the appropriate blanks on the application. For example, if you have a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and want to complete the Math Education Degree, then your status will be Second Bachelor's Degree in Math Education
  • If your new teaching area for licensure is exactly the same as the major of your degree, enter Second Bachelor's Degree and Secondary Education in the appropriate blanks on the application. For example, if your Bachelor's Degree is in English and you want to complete licensure for teaching English, you cannot apply for a second degree in English. Still, you can receive a second degree in Secondary Education in addition to your degree in English.
  • If you have a teaching license and are returning to complete a minor or endorsement for authorization to teach in an additional area, enter Second Bachelor's Degree and TCHR as your major code. You will not receive a Second Bachelor's Degree, but you will still pay undergraduate tuition.


1

Do the following

As a secondary school teacher, you will be licensed to teach subjects in grades 6-12. Think about what subjects you intend to teach, and carefully examine their relationship to your degree and the courses you completed. Then carefully go over the approved teaching composites, majors, and minors listed below. You must complete the content of a teaching composite major or a teaching major and minor that appears on this list. Try to find one or more composites, majors, and minors on the list that you may be interested in and match the subjects you want to teach. If you select a single-subject teaching major, you may also find it is beneficial to choose a teaching minor. Go over the list below, then go to step 2.

The following majors are approved for graduation and teacher licensure at USU. A teaching minor is optional except for History teaching majors.

 

LOGAN CAMPUS STEP Major/Minors


TEACHING MAJORS



Agriculture Education (requires a teaching minor)

Art Education

Biological Science Composite 

Business Education

Chemistry Teaching  

Earth Science Composite

English Teaching

English Teaching Composite

Family and Consumer Science Education

French Teaching

German Teaching



History Teaching (requires a teaching minor)

Kinesiology: Physical Education Teaching

Mathematics/Statistics Education

Music Education

Physical Science Composite

Physics Teaching

Spanish Teaching

Special Education (Double Major)

Social Studies Composite

Technology and Engineering Education

Theatre Arts Education



TEACHING MINORS (teaching minors are not required except for History teaching majors) 



Chemistry Teaching

Chinese Teaching

Computer Science Teaching

English Teaching

French Teaching  

Geography Teaching

German Teaching

History Teaching

Kinesiology: Physical Education Teaching



Latin Teaching

Mathematics Education

Physics Teaching

Political Science Teaching

Psychology Teaching

School Library Media

Spanish Teaching

Sociology Teaching

Theatre Arts Education


 

STATEWIDE CAMPUSES STEP Major/Minors




Majors

Biological Science Composite

Physical Science Composite

Business Education

English Teaching

English Teaching Composite

Mathematics Education

History Teaching (requires a teaching minor)




Minors
Computer Science

English Teaching

Psychology Teaching

History Teaching

Math Education

School Library Media


**Only available at Brigham City, Uintah Basin, Ephraim, and Price due to laboratories at the campuses.

(Secondary Education is not offered on every Statewide Campus)
2

Meet with Advisors

The list below has the names of the advisors associated with each of the majors and/or minors you have chosen. Contact the designated advisor in each department and ask for all department information on the composite, major, or minor. Arrange to meet with the advisors to go over the requirements for the teaching majors and minors you have selected. You will want to provide them with transcripts of all your previous courses from all institutions you attended and have the advisors evaluate those courses for your teaching major and minor subjects. The major and minor departments will sign your application for Teacher Licensure. After finding your advisors from this list, go to Step 3 below.
3

Stay Updated

Read all the information on this website over the next few weeks, especially the information on the requirements for admission to Teacher Education and the Application for Admission to Teacher Education. You may not begin the three-semester Teacher Education Program until your application is submitted and you are notified that you have been admitted to Teacher Education. While completing course requirements for your teaching composite, major and minor, you will complete the application to Teacher Education. When your department advisors recommend that you begin the three-semester Teacher Education Program, you will start the three-level series of courses and student teaching required for teacher licensure. Study all the information on this website to know what is expected of you.

DO THESE THINGS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID DELAYS

  1. Collect transcripts from all institutions previously attended.
  2. When you meet with your advisors, ask for an Application for Teacher Education, go over it with your advisor, and begin completing the requirements.
  3. Make an appointment with a Secondary Education advisor to go over and the requirements for application and make plans for beginning the 3-semester Secondary Teacher Education Program. Marilyn Cuch is the Statewide Campus STEP Advisor-marilyn.cuch@usu.edu

OVERVIEW OF THE TEACHER LICENSURE PROGRAM

The Teacher Licensure Program is exactly the same, regardless of whether you entered USU as a Freshman, transferred to USU, or completed a degree - you will complete three semesters of formal teacher preparation, and the third semester will be your student teaching semester. Since you already have a degree, you do not need to complete the original graduation requirements - you are responsible only for completing all the requirements of a teaching composite area or a teaching major/minor combination. The department(s) of the composite, major, or minor sign off your completion and currency of the appropriate courses. After those courses are completed, you will meet the three semesters of the Teacher Licensure Program.

DO THE MAJOR AND MINOR AREAS OF YOUR DEGREE MATCH AREAS THAT ARE APPROVED FOR TEACHER LICENSURE?

Although you already have a degree, this does not mean that you can obtain a teaching certificate in that degree program. For example, if you completed a degree in Electrical Engineering, that subject is not taught as a subject in secondary schools and is not an approved area of licensure. On the other hand, with an Engineering background, it might be good to look at your Mathematics and Physics courses for the possibility of completing licensure in Mathematics and Physics, which are approved licensure areas.

Did you graduate with a single-subject major and no minor? In this case, you need to be aware that teacher certification requires completing both an approved major and minor or completing a teaching composite for certification.

APPLYING FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNIVERSITY AND SECOND BACHELOR'S DEGREE STATUS

You will usually apply for admission to USU as a Second Bachelor's Degree student in Secondary Education. This option allows you undergraduate status, and you pay undergraduate tuition as long as you are completing courses toward teacher licensure. Suppose your original degree is not in the teaching major you have chosen. In that case, you should apply for admission and Second Bachelor's status in the department of your new teaching major, so your second degree will match your subjects of licensure. Remember that departments have minimum standards for admission. If you do not meet those standards, you may need to request admission to USU as a non-matriculated student.