Secondary Initial License Undergraduate Certificate

Secondary Initial License Undergraduate Certificate

The Secondary Initial License Certificate allows students to meet licensure requirements in secondary education (grades 6-12). The program includes an intensive combination of methods courses and extensive fieldwork required throughout the duration of the program.

Upon successful completion of certificate requirements, teacher candidates are recommended for initial teacher licensure from the State of Colorado in secondary education (grades 6-12) in one of the following content areas: English language arts, social studies, world languages, mathematics, or science.

This certificate may be completed as an undergraduate or as a post-baccalaureate student.

• Integration of education courses with professional field experiences
• Over 800 hours of supervised and mentored field experiences
• Focus on embracing diversity and social justice throughout coursework and experiences
• Preparation of teacher candidates with evidence-based pedagogy and best practices through carefully designed methods courses
• Field experiences occur in partner schools and teacher candidates are provided support from mentor teachers, building liaisons, and university supervisors
• Culminating student teaching experience during the final year of the certificate program

• 37 credits must be completed with a cumulative CU grade point average of 2.75.
• All education courses must be completed with a grade of B- or better.

UCCS undergraduate students must seek a bachelor's degree in their content area of teaching in addition to this certificate. The content major requirements must be fulfilled in addition to the licensure certificate requirements. Here are the approved majors mapped to secondary licensure content areas:

• Secondary English Language Arts - English BA
• Secondary Social Studies - History BA
• Secondary Mathematics - Mathematics BA, Engineering Education BS
• Secondary Science - Biology BS, Chemistry BA, Biochemistry BA, Physics BS, Engineering Education BS
• K-12 World Languages - Spanish BA

Post-baccalaureate students must have already earned a degree in their content area or have passed the Praxis exam for their content area.

• EDUC 1000: Intro to Inclusive Education (3 credits)
• UTED 1030: Intro to Inquiry-Based Teaching (3 credits; 30 hours of field work required)
• EDUC 2000: Intro to Educational Psychology (3 credits)
• EDUC 2700: Schools, Society, & Diversity (3 credits)
• EDUC 3800: ESL for Educators (3 credits)
• EDUC 3994: Intro to Professional Year - Secondary (1 credit)
• UTED 3020: Classroom Interactions (3 credits; 50 hours of field work required)
• UTED 4710: Project-Based Instruction (3 credits; 75 hours of field work required)
• UTED 4720: Teaching Reading & Writing in the Content Areas (3 credits)
• EDUC 4950: Secondary - Student Teaching (12 credits; 640 hours of field work required)

For details on program coursework, please visit the Academic Catalog.

The Praxis exams measure the academic skills and subject-specific knowledge needed as an educator. Students must pass the state-approved secondary education licensure exams to be recommended for licensure.

In order to receive an initial license, students will need to receive a passing score on one of the following Praxis II exams, according to their content area. 

• English Language Arts: Content Knowledge #5038
• Social Studies: Content Knowledge #5081
• Mathematics: Content Knowledge #5165
• Science: Content Knowledge #5436
• Spanish: World Language #5195

The Teaching Assistant (TA) program is a paid opportunity for secondary education students to gain experience in the same type of classrooms in which they will eventually teach. Chosen applicants will be placed with an experienced teacher in one of our partner schools. They will be given the opportunity to work with individuals or groups of students, as well as teach parts of lessons in front of the classroom with the guidance of an experienced teacher who will help prepare and provide feedback for improvement along the way.

To learn more about admission requirements and the application process, please visit the UCCS Admissions page.

Additional Resources:

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