About
The post-baccalaureate program in teacher preparation at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) is designed for students who hold at least a four-year baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and have never been certified to teach. About one-fourth of all the students preparing to become first-time teachers through EMU hold a bachelor’s degree, or higher, at the time they start. In many of these cases, people are making a mid-career occupational change. This means, at any given time, hundreds of adults are studying at EMU to become teachers after having had a career in another field.
Certification
Completion of the post-baccalaureate program leads to provisional elementary or secondary certification in the state of Michigan. According to the American Association for Employment in Education, the Great Lakes region has a considerable shortage of teachers in special education and speech/language pathology, mathematics, chemistry, and physics. It lists some shortage in the fields of computer science, English as a second language, Spanish, biology, Earth science, integrated science, and technology education.
If you have an interest in special education, please contact the Department of Special Education at 734.487.3300, 128 Porter Bldg.
Program Requirements
EMU’s post-baccalaureate program requires that a student satisfy a set of general education classes, complete an EMU approved teaching major and minor, and complete a sequence of professional education courses concluding with a semester of full-time student teaching. Students may use coursework from their previous undergraduate studies to satisfy many of these requirements. Appropriate Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) subject area tests are also necessary to complete the certification requirements.
Information on teaching majors and minors can be found in the EMU Undergraduate Catalog.
Program length can vary depending on the courses a student has previously taken and whether or not he/she is going to school full-time, part-time, and during spring and summer. The average elementary program is 73 credit hours, and the average secondary program is 59 credit hours. It takes the average student 2 to 2 ½ years to complete the program; the quickest the program could be completed is in 18 months.
Requirements for Admission to Post-Baccalaureate Program in Teacher Preparation
An overall grade point average of 2.50 in bachelor’s degree coursework or a 3.0 in a completed master’s degree from an accredited institution is required for admission to the Teacher Preparation Program.
Interested persons with LESS THAN a 2.50 GPA should contact the Second Bachelor’s Office, 301 Pierce, 734.487.5497.
Applicants must also supply passing scores on all three sections (reading, writing and mathematics) of the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) Basic Skills Test as well as completed application materials described below. At no time is admission to the Teacher Preparation Program guaranteed until the appropriate representative of the College of Education (COE) grants approval.
Admission Procedures
The first step is to attend a Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification group advising session. The schedule for advising sessions is available at www.emich.edu/coe/oas/postbac/advisingpb.html or in the COE Office of Academic Services, 206 Porter Building, 734.487.0275. Group advising provides the information you need to make an informed decision and is required of everyone who is interested in receiving individual advising.
Send the following to the Office of Admissions:
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An undergraduate application which can be obtained from EMU’s Office of Admissions |
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A non-refundable application fee |
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Department Application for Admission to the Post-baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program |
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Civil/Criminal Convictions Issues |
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Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended, a minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 2.50 is required |
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Passing scores from the MTTC Basic Skills test; registration bulletins are available online at www.mttc.nesinc.com or can be obtained in the COE Office of Academic Services, 206 Porter Building, or by calling National Evaluation Systems at 800.823.9225; the test is only offered in January, April, July and October |
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A personal statement regarding your interest in becoming a teacher, explaining how professional experiences and/or work with children/youth have prepared you to become a teacher |
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A letter of recommendation from a professional source; the professional source should be able to talk about your professionalism and/or how your experiences with youth/children have prepared you to become a teacher. |
Once the Office of Admissions receives all of the required documents, your file will be forwarded to the COE for an admission decision.
NOTE: If you do not have all of your application materials ready, but would like to get started on a few general education or major/minor courses, then you can apply as a "post-bachelor's non-degree" student. This requires an undergraduate application to the EMU’s Office of Admissions. This admission status is only meant to help you get started. You will need to complete the formal admission process at your earliest convenience.
Eastern Michigan University prepares caring professional educators for a diverse and democratic society.
