Certification
Elementary Education - Master of Arts
Elementary Education | College of Education 

Students completing the Master of Arts in either the traditional or accelerated Elementary Education program will earn a Type 03 certificate.  This certificate licenses the teacher candidate to teach children from grades K-9.  Currently, content area endorsements cannot be added to a Type 03 certificate.  It is possible, however, to add the middle school endorsement to your Type 03 certificate.  Please see information below.

Certification Requirements:

ICTS Tests:

There are several requirements that must be met before the certificate is awarded.  To begin with, there is a minimum of three state tests that must be passed at different stages of your program.  These tests include:

• Basic Skills – must be passed before beginning education coursework
• ELED Content Test – must be passed before beginning student teaching
• APT (Assessment of Professional Teaching) – must be passed prior to certification and is typically taken the same semester as student teaching.
• Other tests may be recommended depending on the grade level you are planning to teach (i.e., elementary or middle school.)

[Click here for a link to the ICTS website to register for tests and to review study guides and practice exams.]

General Education Requirements:

With the knowledge that a special educator may be called on to teach a variety of subjects, students must complete general education requirements as listed below to provide basic content knowledge and to allow the educator to make connections between subject areas to increase student learning:

• ENG 102 (with a grade of B or better)
• MATH (College level, MATH 105 recommended)
• BIO
• PHYS SCI (one of the two science courses must have a lab experience)
• Humanities (9 s.h.)
• Social Science (9 s.h. including either American Government or US History
• Nonwestern Elective (this course must focus on Africa, Asia, Latin America, or Native America and can be any humanities or social science topic)

Academic Concentrations: 

Students in the Elementary Education program area are encouraged to identify and complete an 18 semester hour academic concentration in one teachable content area (e.g., history, English, mathematics, science).  Students interested in teaching at the middle school level are required to complete the two middle school endorsement courses in addition to the professional sequence and academic concentration for Type 03 certification.

Pre-Practicum Field Work:

Students must complete a minimum of 100 pre student teaching clock hours in public schools or public school programs.  The clock hours must be documented on verification of clock hour forms and be in your file prior to submitting your application for certification.

Professional Coursework:

Students must complete the entire teacher preparation professional sequence of courses as directed by the Illinois State Board of Education.  Coursework at Roosevelt University is designed to meet the state teaching standards for all teachers including the technology standards and general language arts standards.  Each class is an important part of the state requirements and will help you be prepared after graduation.

Middle School:

If you are planning to teach at the middle school level, it is required that you complete the two middle school endorsement courses, EDUC 411 – Adolescent Development, and EDUC 413 – Foundations of Middle School in addition to the prescribed courses in the elementary education professional sequence.

Practicum:

Student teaching is the culminating activity in both graduate elementary education programs.  You will complete a 15- week intensive experience in a public school setting  [Click here for specific information.]  Prior to student teaching all general education and professional courses must be completed.  You must apply for student teaching one year in advance.  Please be aware that there is a seminar that accompanies your student teaching experience.

Applying for Certification:

You will have the opportunity to apply for certification during your student teaching seminar the last semester in your program.  The certification officer will walk you through the process, so please do not complete the forms prior to receiving directions.  As a graduate student, you are encouraged to obtain a substitute teaching certificate to enable you to gain some teaching experience as you complete the program.  Application for the Type 03 certificate cannot be completed until your student teaching experience has been posted on your official transcript.  Therefore, there may be a short delay between the completion of student teaching and the posting of your certificate.  During this time you are able to apply for positions marking your application “degree pending”. For further information, please see the certification webpage on the Roosevelt University College of Education site.