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Admission requirements and the application process varies according to your program of interest. Select the appropriate program of interest below to view the specific requirements and process to apply:

Undergraduate Admission to Teacher Education

Admission to Teacher Education is a process that confirms a teacher candidate’s intent to pursue teacher licensure at the Ã山ǿ¼é in an education major or minor program.  Access to designated advanced education courses is restricted to teacher candidates who have been formally admitted to teacher education.

The following requirements must be met for admission to Teacher Education:

• University cumulative grade point average of 2.75 or higher*
• Meet the Academic Achievement Requirement for Teacher Preparation Programs
• Application submitted to Teacher Education for admission
• Acceptable criminal background checks

*To progress to the clinical internship, in addition to maintaining the requirements above, a teacher candidate must earn a 2.75 grade point average in his/her major and minor and earn a grade of C or higher in all courses in his/her degree program.

Students should follow the steps below to complete the process for admission to Teacher Education:

1.  Initiate Background Check(s): Contact Mrs. Rebecca Moore (rjmoore3@usi.edu) to start this process. NOTE: Background checks can take several weeks to process, so do not delay in contacting Mrs. Moore.

2.  Complete the . Your application will be processed after your background check results are received.

Once your application is processed, students and their advisor will receive notification via email. At this time you will receive further information on registering for classes. You will also be assigned an advisor in the Teacher Education department. 

Undergraduate Academic Achievement Requirements for Teacher Preparation Programs

• Teacher Education candidates should have an undergraduate cumulative gpa of 2.75 or higher.
• Teacher Education candidates should demonstrate successful completion of the communication, composition, and mathematics requirements in the Foundation Skills Section of CORE 39 as appropriate evidence of academic achievement in those areas. Successful completion is defined as earning a C or higher in the following courses:
  • Communication: Communication Studies (CMST) 101 OR 107
  • Composition: English (ENG) 201
  • Mathematics
    • For Teacher Education Majors: Mathematics (MATH) 103 
    • For Secondary Education/P-12 Licensure Students: Mathematics (MATH) 111 OR 114 OR 115 OR 215 OR 230

Corresponding acceptable performance test scores may remain an option for students who do not earn a C or higher in one or more course listed above. Note: A C or higher in these courses WILL be required to graduate, so regardless of qualifying test scores for admission to Teacher Education, students will need to retake those courses to improve their grade. 

Acceptable performance is defined as earning the qualifying scores on the Praxis® Core Academic Skills for Educators Tests. (), or qualifying scores on the corresponding section of the ACT or SAT. The Praxis® Core requirements are waived for individuals with a master’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution with an undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 or higher and a graduate grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

*A non-qualifying score may be accepted in one section if the combined score of the three CORE tests is 468 or above and if the non-qualifying score is within one point of the passing score.

Teacher candidates may register for the Praxis® Core Academic Skills for Education Tests on the website for Educational Testing Service (ETS): . Testing dates and centers are also listed on this site. Test preparation information is also available at this site. The Khan Academy® offers free test preparation for the Praxis® Core -- .

There is a testing center in the Miller Language Lab in the Liberal Arts Building on the Ã山ǿ¼é campus for students who wish to test on campus rather than online at home. This service is provided by the Intensive English Program Staff.

The following test codes should be used in registering:

The ETS test retake policy allows a test to be retaken once every 21 days (not including the initial test date). For example, if an individual who takes the test on October 1 cannot retake the test until October 23. If the combined test is taken (5732) an individual must wait 21 days before taking any of the subtests.

Please meet with your major program advisor to check to see if you meet requirements before applying to Teacher Education. If you are unsure if you should submit an application, please contact your advisor or Erin Hollinger in Teacher Education for assistance.