Post Baccalaureate and Add-On Endorsements

Programs of Study

Post Baccalaureate

Add-On Endorsements

The post-baccalaureate program is designed for individuals who have completed a bachelor's degree in an area that did not lead to teacher licensure. Each program includes the professional and teaching field requirements of the corresponding undergraduate initial endorsement area. Only when graduate courses adequately meet the required knowledge and skills specified by the State Board of Education are substitutions allowed. Graduate courses taken for licensure purposes may be counted for advanced degree purposes, but only when submitted on a program of study and approved by the student's advisory committee, Department Chair, and Dean of the Graduate School. Students should see the Graduate School Bulletin for degree requirements.

An individual desirous of pursuing a post-baccalaureate program should submit official copies of all previous course work to the Certification Analyst of the College of Education for an evaluation in terms of the program requirements identified in the program matrix. This evaluation and the experiences of the student are then reviewed by the adviser, and a program that adequately meets all requirements is outlined. The program must be approved by the applicant's adviser, the chairperson of the department in which the licensure program is offered, and the Dean of the College of Education.

Applicants seeking admission to the post-baccalaureate teacher licensure programs are admitted provisionally upon admission to the University with a minimum quality point average of 2.50 in their undergraduate course work or satisfactory score on the Miller Analogies Test or the Graduate Record Examination. Full admission to the teacher licensure program is granted upon meeting the following requirements:

1. Completion of at least 9 additional semester hours of required course work, including a minimum of six hours in the major with an overall quality point average of 3.00 or higher.

2. A raw score of 372 on the Miller Analogies Test, or a combined score of 900 on the Verbal/Quantitative Reasoning tests and 400 on the Analytical Writing test on the Graduate Record Examination.

3. Four positive recommendations (one must be from a faculty member who advises students seeking licensure in the applicant's field).

4. Completion of a comprehensive interview with the faculty member in the College of Education who advises students seeking licensure in the applicant's field.

5. Positive recommendation from the post-baccalaureate screening committee.

Recommendation by the institution is one of the requirements of the Tennessee regulations for licensure. For recommendation for licensure by Tennessee Technological University, the applicant must meet all requirements for admission to the Teacher Education Program, all requirements for the education curriculum for the grade level in which licensure is sought, the requirements of at least a 2.50 overall quality point average including a 2.00 average in the major teaching field, and must complete the Praxis II Examinations and earn minimum scores as established by the Tennessee State Board of Education. Ninety-six percent of Tennessee Tech University education graduates passed the state’s PRAXIS exam for teacher preparation in 2006.

Programs of Study (PDF)

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Add-On Endorsements (PDF)

NOTICE: While every attempt will be made to keep the program requirements current, revisions in programs may occur without notice. Please consult with the Certification Analyst in the Office of Teacher Education / College of Education before beginning a program of study.

General Guidelines

• General education knowledge and skills are assumed to be met if the candidate holds a current, valid teaching license.

• Professional education knowledge and skills are assumed to be met, except for those that may be specific to the teaching field for the additional endorsement being sought, e.g. critical methods courses and requirements added by the state since the time the candidate received earlier licensure.

• Teaching specialty area knowledge and skills requirements roughly equivalent to a minor in the field may be met through previous course work, through fully-documented previous teaching or related experiences, professional development activities, or by special examination credit.

Assessment of Candidate's Educational Background

Each candidate is responsible for providing the College of Education Certification Analyst all transcripts of previous course work and full documentation of any previous experiences the candidate believes are relevant and wants the university to consider. Both the transcripts and the required documents must be provided prior to assessment of requirements. The Certification Analyst in the College of Education evaluates the transcripts for add-on licensure. Equivalent courses or a combination of courses that clearly meet required knowledge and skills as defined by the Tennessee State Board of Education for the desired licensure program are accepted toward the program. The evaluation, copies of transcripts, and all other documentation will then be forwarded to faculty advisers designated by the various departments, who will plan with the candidates an appropriate program leading to the additional endorsement.

The University policy on the establishment of credit by special examination is followed. A student who has had sufficient training or experience in a subject to merit the same, comparable, or higher level course at the college level, may request the privilege of taking a special examination. The request for special examination is secured from the Office of Records and Registration, and the required signatures of approval are obtained, after which the student pays the special examination fee in force at the time to the Business Office. The results of such an examination will be recorded on the student's permanent record. No more than 14 semester hours may be established by special examination. To establish credit in this manner, a student must be enrolled in the University. Only grades of A, B, C, D, and F may be assigned for this type credit. The combined total of credit by examination, correspondence courses, and extension courses may not exceed one-fourth of the course work in the licensure program.

Assessment of Prior Teaching Experience

Candidates who have completed student teaching in an accredited program and/or have prior teaching experience in a state or regionally accredited school within the last five years may submit that experience to fulfill selected field-based requirements of the program. The experiences must be verified by appropriate administrators, and evaluations of performance in these experiences must be provided. Substitutions will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the assigned adviser with the approval of the substitutions by the department chairperson. Prior experiences must also be in an area consistent with the general pattern of demands present in the teaching responsibilities of the desired licensure.

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