Certification. The Educator's License.
How to apply for your certificate or add to your
existing certificate.
Completion of your USF degree, and passing all three portions of
the Florida Teacher Certification Exams (FTCE) for B.S. or B.A.
in Elementary Education and M.A.T. students ordinarily results
in eligibility for your initial professional teaching certificate from
the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). Because you
will be graduating from a university that required you to pass
all state certification exams as part of your state-approved
teacher preparation program, when you graduate you will be
eligible for a five-year professional Florida teaching
certificate upon application and fingerprint clearance.
However, a teaching certificate is not something that is awarded
by USFSM. Nor is something you will automatically receive.
You must apply for it by completing the following the
following steps.
Steps to Initial Certification (B.A. or B.S. in Elementary Education
or the M.A.T.):
1. Submit a complete application package (CG-10 form) with
processing fee to the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE).
This application package must include official transcripts of
bachelors, or higher, degree and coursework from an accredited
or approved institution, as well as certificates from other
states, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or
American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence if
applicable.
2. Elementary Education students (MAT and BS) should apply for
professional teaching certification in Elementary Education
(K-6) AND ESOL endorsement (these are 2 different items on the
application).
3. Receive an Official Statement of Status of Eligibility
detailing your eligibility for both a temporary and professional
certificate and remaining requirements, if any, needed to earn
each certificate.
4. Obtain employment in a Florida school.
5. You will be required to be fingerprinted prior to hiring and
receiving your professional certificate.
Steps to take to add to your Existing Certificate (M. Ed.
Educational Leadership and M. A. in Reading Education):
1. The student is responsible for applying to the Florida
Department of Education (FLDOE) to add to an existing
certificate. You apply online at
http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/ and pay the appropriate
fees.
2. You must provide a sealed, official transcript to the FLDOE
to complete your application. You can order your transcript from
the Registrars Office
http://www.registrar.usf.edu/index.php AFTER your
degree and final grades have been posted (approximately 4-6
weeks after the graduation ceremony). If you send transcripts to
the FLDOE without these items on your transcripts, your
certification will not be granted.
3. Educational Leadership graduate students apply to add the
subject area, Educational Leadership (K-12) to their certificate.
4. Reading Education graduate students apply to add the
subject area, Reading Education (K-12) to their certificate.
Moving out of Florida?
Florida currently participates with 37 other states and the District of Columbia in the Interstate Agreement on Qualifications of Education Personnel-a reciprocity agreementIf you complete a state-approved teacher preparation program (education degree) and move within these states, you should not be required to complete additional coursework and should be eligible to teach in the area of your degree. Testing requirements may vary. Your USFSM transcript will have a detailed, very complete degree statement, including date of graduation, certification eligible and USFSM program accreditation status.
Once you get your teaching certificate, do not let it
expire! If you do, to reinstate it you will have to
meet whatever requirements are in effect at that time.
.
Questions?
To set up an appointment to speak with an undergraduate admission advisor or an academic advisor, please click here.
To speak with Diane Lewis, Graduate Program Specialist for all graduate programs in the College of Education, please email dlewis@sar.usf.edu or call (941) 359-4217.
