Alternative Route to Teacher Licensure(Available at our Northern Virginia, Richmond, Roanoke, Southwest, and University Centers)
A series of graduate-level professional development courses in education is offered to assist individuals in meeting the Professional Studies Requirement for the alternative route to teacher licensure in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The courses are intended for individuals with a minimum of an undergraduate degree (BA/BS) who are interested in obtaining a license to teach, as well as for teachers with provisional licenses who need to complete the professional studies requirement needed for licensure.
The Alternative Route to Teacher Licensure is a four-part process required by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The prospective teacher must complete the four parts for submission to the Virginia Department of Education in order to receive a license to teach in Virginia.
- Exams: The Professional Teacher Assessment exams for middle, secondary, and PreK-12 endorsements are the Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA) and Praxis II
VCLA reading and writing skills. Praxis II is a specialty area test intended to establish proficiency in an endorsement area, such as in biology or French. Elementary endorsement requires an additional assessment, the Virginia Reading Assessment (VRA).
- Endorsement: Each teaching license has listed on it those subject(s) or curricula the individual is qualified to teach. The 57 specific endorsement areas are determined by the state of Virginia. Your undergraduate degree (BA/BS) is the basis for determining an endorsement area. Your endorsement coursework can be from that degree and/or from subsequent coursework.
- Professional Studies Courses: The Professional Studies requirement involves 15 to 18 semester hours of courses. They include:
- Human Development (3 semester hours)
- Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (3 semester hours)
- Classroom Management (3 semester hours)
- Foundations of Education (3 semester hours)
- Reading (3 to 6 semester hours; endorsement specific).
These courses are offered on a yearly cycle through our regional
centers. Other courses offered in Northern Virginia may apply.
- Teaching: One academic year of successful full-time teaching experience in the endorsement area in any accredited public or non-public school with a fully licensed teacher available in the same building to assist a beginning teacher is the final requirement. Once you are hired as a full-time teacher on a provisional license, you have three years to complete all requirements for certification. A provisional license is a non-renewable license.
Application for licensure is made by the school system employing the provisional licensure applicant. The alternative licensure process is the responsibility of the individual. The University of Virginia does not submit licensure requests for persons enrolled in professional development courses. An individual seeking a Provisional License through the alternative route must meet the requirements specified in the State Board of Education Licensure Regulations Section 8 VAC 20-21-50 A 4.
For a detailed listing of alternative licensure requirements, and for information about the Professional Teacher''s Assessment requirements, visit the Virginia Department of Education.
For information on the latest updates to the licensure regulations, refer to 8VAC 20-22-90.
To see if a course is being offered this semester, click on the link(s) below.
Professional Studies Courses
| EDIS 771 | |
Reading in the Content Areas |
| EDIS 771W | |
Reading in the Content Areas (Web Course) + |
| EDIS 772 | |
Word Study: Language Structures and Phonics |
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