Information

Alternative Route to Secondary Teacher Certification

Program Status: The Alternative Route to Secondary Teacher Certification program will not be offered in 2008. This program traditionally started in January. One alternative that you might want to consider is the Second Bachelor’s Degree, Certification Only program.

Second Bachelor’s Degree, Certification Only

The Second Bachelor’s Degree, Certification Only program is intended for people who either: (1) do not have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in a content area in which Illinois State University offers a teacher preparation program; (2) have a certificate in one content area, but want certification in another area; or (3) have a certificate for one grade category, i.e., elementary; and want certification in a different grade category, i.e., secondary.

To explore this option, contact the Office of Academic Records and Evaluation Services, Moulton Hall, (309) 438-2188, and inquire about the Second Bachelor’s, Certification Only program. Also at: http://www.registrar.ilstu.edu/students/current/second_bachelors.shtml. Applications may be made at any time and, after your application is processed, the Office of Evaluation Services will audit your transcript(s) and list the courses that you need for certification.

With that in hand, contact the teacher education advisor in the academic department in which you are interested, i.e., Biology, Chemistry, etc., and that person will help you plan your program. To locate the appropriate advisor by content area/subject matter, please refer to the webpage at http://www.teachereducation.ilstu.edu/degree/advisors.shtml.

The required courses will typically be offered during the day, and you would be required to complete one semester of student teaching at a site selected for you by the university.

The cost of this option is dependent on which courses you need. Although tuition and fees set by the university are subject to change, those listed in the 2006-2007 Undergraduate Catalog (page 28), are $226.70 per semester-hour. At that rate, the cost of a 28 semester-hour program would be about $6,347.60 for Illinois residents. For non-residents the cost per semester-hour is $422.70, so the cost of a 28-semester-hour program for non-residents would be about $11,835.60.

Realizing the Democratic Ideal

As with the other departments within the College of Education, the Department of Curriculum and Instruction promotes and follows "Realizing the Democratic Ideal", the conceptual framework for all teacher education programs at Illinois State University.

Other Alternative Certification Programs Offered in Illinois

To learn about Alternative Certification programs offered at other universities in Illinois, please go to this webpage maintained by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE): http://www.isbe.state.il.us/profprep/PDFs/directory.pdf