Admission to Teacher Certification Program

All students who plan to follow a program leading to initial certification must formally apply and be admitted to the Teacher Certification Program. Applications for admission into Teacher Education are accepted each semester. The application packet may be picked up from the Education Office.

NO STUDENT MAY TAKE COURSEWORK IN THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEQUENCE PRIOR TO UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE INTO THE TEACHER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.

Specific dates for the TCP application process are announced at the beginning of each semester. Applicants are responsible for meeting posted deadlines. The students must submit application packets containing the following information by the specified deadline.

1. A transcript issued by the Registrar's Office of each college or university attended (an unofficial transcript is acceptable) verifying that:
   1. At least 60 hours of college core coursework has been completed. Students are responsible for providing all documentation of coursework, including transfer transcripts.
   2. The student has a cumulative grade point average of a 2.75 or greater at time of application. Students are responsible for maintaining minimum GPA requirement of 2.75 until program completion. All courses taken at all institutions will be calculated to determine the cumulative grade point average. In the event courses are re-taken at the same institution, only the last attempt will be included in the calculation.
   3. For undergraduates, a grade of “C” or better must have been earned for every course taken; undergraduate students are responsible for maintaining grades of “C” or better in each course until the program is completed. Education minors must earn a grade of "C" or better in all courses in the major, supporting coursework, and the education minor.
2. A copy of a self-updated degree plan. If no degree plan exists for an undergraduate applicant, the student must formally apply to the major through Academic Advising. This application process occurs each fall and spring semester. Specific dates are announced at the beginning of each semester.
3. Verification that all three sections (reading, writing and mathematics) of the THEA (Texas Higher Education Assessment) exam have been successfully completed with a score of 230 or higher.
4. Verification of a score at or above 30% on the Nelson Denny Reading Test.
5. Verification that EDUC 2305: Foundations of Education has been successfully completed or is in progress.
6. Submission of a well-written one-page essay on an educational topic a score of 4 or higher indicates a passing score). The student will be given a topic on which to write. This “writing sample” will be monitored and completed during a scheduled thirty-minute period. Sign-up times for this writing sample are made available during the application period.
7. Submission of two separate written faculty recommendations. Forms are provided in application packet. Whenever possible, students should seek recommendations from non-education content area faculty members who have had the student in class and can attest to performance in academic coursework.

NOTE: Additional data regarding fitness for teaching - maturity, independence, responsibility, interpersonal relations, etc , - are solicited from the UIW members of the community who have come in contact with the applicant. This data may be considered in the Teacher Education Advisory Council's deliberations described below. This information is of great significance to the decisions made by both the Dreeben School of Education and the university-wide committee regarding acceptance into the Teacher Certification Program.

After all application requirements have been submitted, interviews are scheduled. These interviews usually consist of one hour sessions with five to eight applicants in each session. Dreeben School of Education faculty and administrators as well as University faculty and administrators from other disciplines, will make up the interview teams. Recommendations from the interview teams will then be presented as a component of the applications packet. Teacher Education faculty and the university-wide Teach Education Advisory Council will review the entire application packets and make a recommendation for program admission. A formal letter of unconditional acceptance or denial will be mailed to each applicant by the end of the semester. The committees may also decide to "hold" an application in the event an application requirement is lacking. The Certification Office will not make any announcements as to the status of any applicant until such letters are sent.

ACCEPTANCE INTO THE TEACHER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM DOES NOT GUARANTEE ACCEPTANCE TO THE TEACHER APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM NOR THE GRANTING OF STATE CERTIFICATION.