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Teacher Education Certification Program
U.T. Dallas offers a rigorous university-based teacher certification
curriculum and has built an outstanding reputation for producing excellent
teachers.
Coursework and field experiences leading to teacher certification are
planned delivered through the U.T. Dallas Teacher Development Center
(972-883 2730) in coordination with the other UTD academic programs
which provide the content for the teaching fields. The Teacher Certification
Program uses the total resources of the institution rather than relying
on a school of education. The State Board for Educator Certification
(SBEC) and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board have approved the
content and procedures of these curricula.
Initial teaching certificates may be earned by undergraduates, concurrently
with their degree studies, or by graduates from this or other institutions.
Additional teaching field(s) may be added to valid certificates presently
held.
As of September 1, 1999, all Texas teaching credentials must be renewed
every five years. SBEC (State Board for Educator Certification), working
in conjunction with the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, has revised the rules governing educator
preparation, shifting the process away from a prescribed schedule of
required classes and semester hours to a standards-based system that
identifies the knowledge and skills required for a beginning teacher
in Texas. These standards are aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge
and Skills, the state’s required curriculum for public school
students. SBEC reduced the types of certificates offered but each new
certificate requires a greater breadth and depth of knowledge on the
part of the beginning teacher. This greater breadth also enables the
teacher to teach more than one subject in their teaching field. Rather
than a rigid list of courses, Texas law now requires persons seeking
educator certification to perform satisfactorily on comprehensive examinations.
The educator preparation program is required to determine their candidate’s
eligibility to test as part of the registration process for these testing
programs. The SBEC web site (http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/) is the best
source of up-dated information.
Certification Subject Areas
The following are subject areas in which The University of Texas at
Dallas offers approved teaching fields leading to teacher certification.
Grades 8-12 Certification
Undergraduate students must complete at least 24 semester hours
of appropriate course work in the teaching field, a reading course
in the content area, and 18 semester hours of professional education,
including student teaching. All UTD student teacher candidates must
have passed both state required examinations prior to being placed
in a student teaching assignment. Certification for grades 8 - 12
is offered in the following fields:
English Language Arts and Reading
Social Studies
Computer Science
History
Life Sciences
Physical Sciences
Science
Mathematics
Grades 4-8 Certification
Undergraduate students must have an academic major with 24 hours
of appropriate coursework in the teaching field, complete 18 hours
of professional education, including student teaching, nine semester
hours of reading, nine semester hours of mathematics, and twelve semester
hours of science. In addition, candidates must pass state required
TExES examinations for Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities
and content in the appropriate certification area prior to student
teaching.
Certification fields for Grades 4-8:
- Science
- Mathematics
- Social Studies
- English Language Arts and Reading
- Generalist – because this certificate qualifies a candidate
to teach multiple subjects, additional academic course work is required
in order to prepare the candidate for the rigorous, broad-based
“Generalist 4-8” TExES examination.
Early Childhood - Grade 4 Certification
Generalist
The Generalist Certification is the only certification available
for students interested in Early Childhood – Grade 4. The content
related TExES for this certificate will test for a broad-based content
mastery. Students are advised to work with advisors in the School
of General Studies or the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences
if they seek degrees that lead to teaching certification in EC-Grade
4.
Undergraduate students need to consult with the appropriate academic
program to design an undergraduate degree plan. All teacher certification
candidates must register with the Teacher Development Center and take
their upper-level professional development and education related course
work and field experiences through the Center and the School of General
Studies. It is the responsibility of the Teacher Development Center
to assure that content and the professional development curricula meet
the certification accountability requirements outlined in the Texas
Education Code and monitored by the State Board for Educator Certification
(SBEC).
All Teaching Fields
All undergraduate students must meet the 42-hour core curriculum for
The University of Texas at Dallas. All candidates for certification
at U.T. Dallas are required to pass 18 hours of professional development
courses, including six semester credit hours of student teaching. In
addition to the professional education courses, state requirements for
courses in Reading are required for each certification level. Candidates
must also demonstrate computer literacy, effective public speaking and
complete twelve semester hours of English.
Admission
Upon admission to the University, undergraduate students should meet
with a faculty advisor in the major field to develop a degree plan,
indicating to the advisor that the student is seeking teacher certification.
Students must then apply for admission to the teacher education certification
program, meet program GPA and THEA requirements, and complete a Certification
Plan through the Teacher Development Center
Post Baccalaureate Program
Persons who already have baccalaureate degrees may seek teacher certification.
They should consult with an advisor in the Teacher Development Center
after they have been admitted to the university through the Office of
Admissions to develop a certification plan. Post-baccalaureate students
may complete the required 18 semester hours of professional education
course work at the graduate level and apply most of these hours toward
a Masters of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies degree or they have the
option of taking many of these courses at the undergraduate level if
they do not wish to pursue a masters degree. See the U.T. Dallas Graduate
Catalog for details.
Post-Baccalaureate students must meet the 24 semester hour requirement
in the appropriate teaching field. A certification plan will be developed
based on an evaluation of the student’s transcript. When appropriate,
students may take the required courses in their teaching field(s) at
the graduate or undergraduate level. Post-Baccalaureate students must
demonstrate computer literacy, effective public speaking, and complete
twelve semester hours of English. All students must fulfill the U.T.
Dallas requirement for student teaching or supervised internship.
Guidelines for Admission to The University of Texas at Dallas
Teacher Certification Program
Guideline are in compliance with Chapter 227 of the Texas Administrative
Code and the HEA Title II accountability requirements.
Students seeking Texas teaching credentials at U.T. Dallas must meet
the following requirements:
- Provisional Admission - Entitles a prospective student who has applied
for admission to U.T. Dallas to be advised for a certification plan
and/or to take the initial courses related to certification.
- GPA of 2.75 overall or on last 60 hours of coursework.
- Undergraduate students must have 60 semester hours of undergraduate
coursework. This should include 12 semester hours at UTD with no grade
below a “C”.
- Post-Baccalaureate students must have an undergraduate or graduate
degree from an accredited university.
- TASP/THEA - Unless exempt, a candidate must pass the TASP/THEA with
the following minimum scores: 260 in Reading, 240 in Math, and 240
in Writing.
- Exemption from TASP/THEA: You are exempt from taking the TASP/THEA
if you meet the qualifying standards on the GRE, GMAT, ACT, SAT,
or exit-level TAKS.
- GRE: A minimum Verbal score of 450 and a minimum Quantitative
score of 450 for a combined Verbal/Quantitative minimum score
of 900.
- GMAT: A minimum combined score of 510 on the verbal and
quantitative sections.
- ACT: A composite score of 26, and English and Math subscores
of at least 22. (Scores can be no more than five years old)
- SAT: (Scores can be no more than five years old)
- Tests taken before September 1, 2005: A total score
of at least 1100 with 550 minimums in the math and verbal
sections of the test.
- After September 1, 2005: A total score of 1650 with
550 minimums in the math, critical reading, and writing
sections of the tests.
- TAKS: Students with TAKS scores of 2200 in English/Language
Arts and Math, as well as a score of 3 in the writing sample
(which is often not printed on your high school transcript,
but can be found on the TAKS score report) are TSI/THEA exempt.
TAKS scores can be no more than three years old.
- Appropriate documentation is required to qualify for the exemptions
from TASP/THEA. The official TASP/THEA Test Study Guide may be
purchased in the UTD Bookstore. TASP/THEA registration forms are
available in the Teacher Development Center, Founders North 3.118
or through the Learning Resource Center in the McDermott Library
at 972-883-6707.
- Undergraduate students should meet with a faculty advisor in their
academic major to develop a degree plan, indicating to the advisor
their interest in pursuing teacher certification. Students can then
make an appointment for certification plan advising with the Teacher
Development Center whenever they are ready to take upper division
courses. Freshmen should not register for education courses.
- Post-Baccalaureate students interested in teacher certification
at U.T. Dallas are advised in the Teacher Development Center.
Official Admission
- Meet all requirements for "Provisional Admission."
- Complete an application for admission to the Teacher Development
Program. A committee of faculty, administrators, and public school
educators will review all applications before students can proceed
in the program.
- Complete Amercian Public School (ED 3314) and Educational Psychology
(ED/PSY 3339).
- Successfully complete 12 semester hours of approved courses at
U.T. Dallas including Classroom Management and a Reading course. (Students
must have completed the THEA requirement, American Public School (ED
3314), Educational Psychology (ED/PSY 3339), and have a 2.75 GPA before
enrolling in Classroom Management, Methods and C&I courses.
Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES)
All candidates for initial teacher certification must pass two TExES
certification examinations:
- Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities test at the appropriate
level
- Content specialization test.
It is the responsibility of the teacher certification program to determine
when a student is prepared to take certification examinations. U.T.
Dallas has aligned education courses with the competencies identified
as critical for teachers. For information on TExES registration and
eligibility, please review the Teacher Development Center web site –
http://www.utdallas.edu/teach/ or contact the Teacher Development Center.
TExES preparation manuals are available in the U.T. Dallas Bookstore
or they can be downloaded from the web at http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/.
Students should access this information before or during the first semester
of enrollment at U.T. Dallas. Students are encouraged to prepare early
for the content related specialization TExES examinations and to take
the PPR TExES exam during or immediately after completing Classroom
Management. Practice tests are available through the Teacher Development
Center.
Requirements for Student Teaching
Applications for student teaching will be accepted at one of several
information sessions held early in each long semester (before October
15 in the fall and before March 15 in the spring). For further information
contact the Teacher Development Center.
A committee of faculty, administrators, and field placement educators
will review all applications for supervised student teaching or Post-Baccalaureate
internships. All candidates must have exhibited professional maturity,
acceptable class attendance, and meet the following requirements:
- Adhere to the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators
as listed in Appendix III in the student teacher handbook.
- Meet all requirements for official admission to the teacher certification
program.
- Pass both required TExES exams.
- Complete all required course work in teaching field with a 2.75
minimum GPA.
- Have no grade lower than a 'B' in Classroom Management, C&I
or Methods courses.
- Have no grade lower than a 'C' in other required certification courses.
- Request a student teaching assignment where no family member works
or attends.
- Clear district criminal background check.
- Register for student teaching (6 semester hours). A student teaching
fee will be included in the total registration charges.
- Pay tuition expenses before beginning official student teaching
assignment.
U.T. Dallas Requirement for Teacher Certification
- A 2.75 GPA in all professional education coursework and in content
areas.
- Grade of 'A' or 'B' in Classroom Management, C&I or Methods
courses.
- No grade lower than 'C' in other required certification courses.
- Professional education coursework taken at U.T. Dallas.
- Computer literacy and effective public speaking demonstrated either
by completion of appropriate coursework or a letter of competence.
- 12 semester hours of English with no grade lower than a 'C'.
- 40 clock hourse of early field experience.
- Grade of 'A' or 'B' in Student Teaching.
Application for Certification
Students who successfully fulfill all requirements for Texas teacher
certification (GPA, course work, TASP/THEA and TExES examinations, etc.)
should apply for certification on the State
Board of Educator Certification website. The Certification Officer
will access student online applications and, upon verification of requirements,
will make recommendations for certification online. Students will immediately
receive an email from the certifying agency verifying recommendation.
Official Certificates are mailed by the state agency within six weeks.
Contact Information
U.T. Dallas Teacher Development Center, Founders North Building FN
3.118, (972)883-2730 phone; (972)883-4330 fax; http://www.utdallas.edu/teach/. |
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