Secondary Teacher Certification Program (old last admit Summer 2024)

Secondary Teacher Certification Program

UM-Dearborn students may earn a bachelor's degree while securing a recommendation for a Secondary Standard Teaching Certificate. Programs are intended for those who wish to teach in either a middle school or senior high school. Students in this program will have two advisors, one in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters (CASL) to help plan the degree program and another, in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services, to assist in planning the teacher certification program.

Note: Education courses, or courses in the major or minor, may not be elected for pass/fail credit.

Certification

In recommending students for teacher's certificates, the College of Education, Health, and Human Services functions, indirectly, as an arm of the Michigan Department of Education. All such certificates awarded to students at the UM-Dearborn are issued at the request of an appropriate faculty body by the Michigan Department of Education in Lansing irrespective of the particular campus attended (Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint).

Campus Degree/Certification Program

Students, upon the successful completion of certification requirements, will receive their certification recommendation through the College of Education, Health, and Human Services and their degree recommendation from CASL. Therefore, they should be properly enrolled in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services and CASL. Students are responsible for meeting all of the appropriate degree requirements legislated by the particular unit that is to recommend their degree. The College of Education, Health, and Human Services and its faculty, therefore, can accept no responsibility for seeing that students are properly acquainted with their various degree requirements. Instead, students are to seek such information from the advisors available in their own particular degree recommending unit.

Certification Advising

All secondary certification students are assigned an academic advisor in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services. It is the policy of the College of Education, Health, and Human Services that all undergraduates and others seeking to earn the Standard Teaching Certificate are to meet with their certification academic advisor at least once per academic year. By means of this practice, the individual secondary certification student can be kept abreast of periodic modifications in the curriculum and in certification regulations.

Certification Requirements

A person desiring to earn a secondary standard teaching certificate must meet all of the conditions listed below.

  1. The satisfactory completion of a degree program with an overall GPA of 2.75 or higher.
  2. The satisfactory completion of a teaching major and a teaching minor, each with a GPA of 2.75 or higher.
  3. The successful completion of EDA 205 Introduction to Education and EDT 211 Designing Tech-Based Learning Solutions is required of everyone desiring to qualify for a secondary teacher certification recommendation.
  4. All requirements as identified in the College’s Four-Phase Checklist must be met for a teaching certificate recommendation.

The teaching certificate awarded to the beginning secondary school teacher is the Michigan Secondary Standard Teaching Certificate. This certificate is valid for teaching in grades six through twelve in those areas where the applicant has completed a major or minor, and passed the appropriate state mandated tests. It is valid for five years and may be renewed an unlimited number of times provided that renewal conditions are met. Legislative or other state action may change these specifications. Therefore, students are advised to contact the Office of Student Success in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services to learn of the most recent policies. 

College of Education, Health, and Human Services Four-Phase Checklist

The College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) at the UM-Dearborn is committed to the ideal of quality in the field of teacher education. A screening procedure is employed to help identify those people most likely to achieve the level of excellence defined by the college.  This screening procedure is divided into four successive phases.  Requirements at one phase must be successfully completed before continuing on to the next.  Students are also responsible for meeting all program requirements for their selected degree as listed in Degree Works.

Phase One - Initial Admission to Education

All requirements listed below must be completed for progression to Phase Two:

  1. Three types of students are considered for admission to the College of Education, Health, and Human Services at this entry level phase:
    • First time in any college (FTIAC) students - Campus admission standards for SAT, ACT, and high school Grade Point Average (GPA) are used in determining admission.
    • Transfer students -  College of Education, Health, and Human Services admission standards (a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75/4.0 scale) are used for transfer students.
    • Post-degree certification students - College of Education, Health, and Human Services admission standards are used for individuals with a bachelor's degree earned at a regionally accredited institution. The individual must have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher in their major, optional minor, and overall to be admitted to the College of Education, Health, and Human Services and the Teacher Certification Program.
  2. Admission to College of Education, Health, and Human Services:
    • having declared one of the elementary certification majors, or
    • having declared the pre-secondary certification attribute
  3. A Criminal Background Check Consent form must be submitted online to CEHHS-assigned MBox prior to a student's first field experience.
  4. Video Recording Consent form must be submitted online to CEHHS-assigned MBox prior to a student's first field experience.
  5. Infectious Diseases/Blood-borne Pathogens training must be completed in the Curriculum Knowledge Center (FCS 267) prior to a student's first field experience.

Phase Two - Preparation for Admission to the Teacher Certification Program

All requirements listed below must be completed for progression to Phase Three:

  1. Successful completion of
    • COMP 105 (Writing & Rhetoric I), transfer credit equivalent, or waiver by university accepted high school Advanced Placement (AP) test score (not required for students admitted to the post-degree certification only program).
    • EDA 205 (Introduction to Education) or transfer credit equivalent.
    • EXPS 298 (Exploring Writing to Communicate, Learn and Teach) or COMP 106 (Writing & Rhetoric II).
  2. Minimum of 55 earned credit hours, including transfer credit, or previously earned bachelor's degree if applicable, minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale as well as a minimum GPA of 2.75 in the major(s) and optional minor(s).
  3. Undergraduate students must complete at least 12 credit hours of study at UM-Dearborn.
  4. Application for Admission to Teacher Certification Program (Phase III) form, which includes a moral turpitude statement, must be submitted online to CEHHS-assigned MBox.
  5. Change of Degree Program, Major and/or Minor Petition form, to officially declare teacher certification must be submitted to the CEHHS Office of Student Success, 262 FCS.

Phase Three - Admission to Teacher Certification Program

All requirements listed below must be completed for progression to Phase Four:

  1. Successful completion of the appropriate MTTC Certification Tests listed below and official score reported directly to the University of Michigan-Dearborn (institution code 29):
    • Elementary certification students must pass the MTTC Elementary Education Test (#103)
    • Secondary certification students must pass the MTTC tests in their major(s) and optional minor(s).
  2. Undergraduate students must meet Senior Residency Requirements and Post-Degree students must take a minimum of six credits at UM-Dearborn in order to receive recommendation.
  3. Completion of Professional Studies sequence of courses.
  4. Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale as well as a minimum GPA of 2.75 in the major(s), optional minor(s) and the Professional Studies sequence.
  5. Attendance at a Student Teaching Application Meeting and completion and submission of all forms online to the CEHHS Office of Student Success.
  6. Completion of an MDE approved CPR and First Aid certification.

Phase Four - Teacher Certification Program Completion

All requirements listed below must be completed for recommendation for a degree and/or a State of Michigan Standard Teaching Certificate:

  1. Attendance at the mandatory Student Teaching Orientation Meeting.
  2. For undergraduate degree seeking students:  Submission of completed Degree/Diploma application to the Office of the Registrar.  This application can be submitted online or printed and submitted in person, and can be found at https://umdearborn.edu/students/registration-records/graduation-commencement/applying-graduate-0.
    • Elementary certification students apply to graduate as a student in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services.
    • Secondary certification students apply to graduate as a student in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters.
  3. Successful completion of the chosen program, major(s), optional minor(s) and professional studies sequence, including student teaching, and supplementary requirements with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale, as well as minimum grade point average of 2.75 in the major(s), optional minor(s) and professional studies sequence.
  4. Successful completion of any additional MTTC certification tests and official score reporting directly to the University of Michigan-Dearborn (Institution Code 29) for any optional additional endorsements sought.  These scores must be reported to the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Education, Health, and Human Services before recommendations are prepared for the state by the University of Michigan-Dearborn Certification Officer:
    • Additional content area major(s) or minor(s), beyond the minimum requirement, for elementary certification students.
    • Additional content area major(s) or minor(s), beyond the minimum requirement, for secondary certification students.

Based on this record of achievement, a decision to recommend or not to recommend for certification will be made by the College of Education, Health, and Human Services.

Secondary education students pursuing a bachelor's degree in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters should not confuse the requirements for their teaching major with those for their academic major in CASL. The courses required to complete a teaching major are determined by the College of Education, Health, and Human Services in compliance with the state certification code. The courses required for a degree major are prescribed by the CASL and are a part of the student's degree program. Often the two sets of requirements overlap so that by fulfilling concentration requirements, the student also, in most cases, completes most of the requirements for a teaching major. Occasionally, however, students must exercise caution when electing individual courses so that one set of requirements is not ignored while fulfilling the other. The student's academic advisor in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services will be able to assist in planning an overall certification program that simultaneously meets both sets of requirements in an expeditious manner.

Professional Requirements

Preparation for a teaching credential consists of required courses in education. At least two practicums and methods courses in the academic major and minor are required prior to directed teaching. 

Distribution Requirements
EDA 205Introduction to Education3
EDT 211Design Tech-Based Learn Solutn3
COMP 105Writing & Rhetoric I3
COMP 106Writing & Rhetoric II3
Professional Sequence
A minimum of 35 semester hours of coursework is required.
Foundations
EDA 340Foundations of American Ed3
Multicultural education
EXPS 410Multicult in School and Soc3
Psychology
EDC 300Educational Psychology3
EDC 302Adol Devl & Classroom Mgmt3
EDC 304Pract Adol Devl&Clsrm Mgmt1
EDC 460Educating the Exceptional Chld3
Methodologies (See Note #1 below)
EDD 469Reading in the Content Areas3
Methods Course in Selected Major/Minor and practicum
EDD 440
EDD 441
Teach English in Second Grds
and Practicum: English Second Grd
4
EDD 450
EDD 451
Teach Math in Second Grades
and Practicum: Math Second School
4
EDD 480
EDD 481
Teach of Sci in the Second Grd
and Practicum in Science:Secnd Grd
4
EDD 490
EDD 489
Tch of the Soc Stud in Sec Sch
and Practicum in Soc Stud:Sec Sch
4
EDD 496
EDD 497
Second Lang Tchg: Sec Level
and Second Lang Tchg: Sec Level
4
Select from the following:2-3
Methods course in minor if different than major
Education elective
Professional Semester (See Notes #3, #4, & #5 below)
EDD 421Directed Teach Secondary Sch12
EDD 424Seminar: Teaching Secondary Grades1

Notes:

  1. Enrollment in all the required EDD courses is open only to those who are officially admitted to and in good academic standing in the Teacher Certification Program at UM-Dearborn.  See Four-Phase Checklist for more information.
  2. Eligibility for directed teaching requires meeting all the requirements listed on the Four-Phase Checklist as well as submission of passing scores from the MTTC (Michigan Tests for Teacher Certification) subject area tests in the student's major and minor.
  3. Recommendations for other certification endorsements require passing scores from relevant MTTC subject area tests.

The program as outlined above meets the Michigan Department of Education teacher certification requirements at the time of this  writing. However, changes by the University or the Michigan Department of Education may affect some program requirements. Therefore, students are strongly advised to inquire about possible changes by checking with the College of Education, Health, and Human Services Office of Student Success and/or with their academic advisor.

Areas of Study for Majors

The teaching majors  currently available for secondary certification students are listed below:

  1. Candidates for certification will be capable in their content specialty areas (teaching major(s) and/or minor(s)).
  2. Candidates for certification will be capable users of pedagogical knowledge.
  3. Candidates for certification will be reflective about their practice.