Alternative Teaching Certification in Indiana
The Indiana Department of Education recognizes that not all prospective teachers are traditional applicants (that is, recent college graduates of Indiana teacher preparation programs). For this reason, several alternative paths to teacher licensure have been approved.
Interested in learning about the traditional approach? Contact schools offering teaching certification programs in Indiana.
These include Transition to Teaching, Advanced Degree, Indianapolis Teaching Fellows, Teach for America and Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows. Alternative licensure programs allow you to work as a teacher while completing a teacher licensure program.
Alternative Certification Requirements
Education Requirements
Sponsored School(s)
Transition to Teaching
To become enrolled in a Transition to Teaching program at an Indiana college/university, you must meet one of the following prerequisites for elementary or secondary education licensure:
- Hold a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA in your major, and overall
- Hold a bachelor’s degree with a 2.5 GPA in your major, and overall, plus five years of professional experience
Advanced Degree
You must hold at least a master’s degree in the content area in which you wish to become licensed for enrollment into the Advanced Degree program.
Indianapolis Teaching Fellows
For enrollment in Indianapolis Teaching Fellows, you must hold a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA and 24 hours of credit in your proposed certification area (or pass the Praxis II exam)
Teach for America
Enrollment in Teach for America requires a bachelor’s degree with an overall GPA of 2.5.
Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows
Applicants to Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows should have a bachelor’s degree with a major in one of the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) with a 3.0 GPA, or professional experience in one of these fields.
Examinations
As a candidate in an alternative licensure program, you must pass the Indiana CORE Assessment exam and in the content areas in which you wish to become licensed.
Experience
Transition to Teaching
If you do not have a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA, you must have five years of professional experience (plus a bachelor’s degree with a 2.5 GPA). To receive the Transition to Teaching permit, you must be enrolled in a Transition to Teaching college program and employed by an Indiana school district. You are eligible to apply for an Initial Practitioner License in two years.
Advanced Degree
You must have at least one year of experience teaching students in a middle school, high school or college environment. Licensure is only available at the middle and high school levels. This alternative licensure path leads directly to an Initial Practitioner License.
Indianapolis Teaching Fellows
No experience is necessary for enrollment into the Indianapolis Teaching Fellows program. To receive a Transition to Teaching permit, you must be enrolled in an Indianapolis Teaching Fellows college program and employed by an Indiana school district. In two years, you may apply for your Initial Practitioner License.
Teach for America
No experience is necessary for enrollment into the Teach for America program. Once enrolled, you will be placed into one of 30 traditional and charter public schools in the Indianapolis area under a Transition to Teaching permit. After two years, when the program is complete, you will earn your Initial Practitioner License.
Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows
Admissions officials in this program may look for professional experience in one of the STEM areas in addition to a bachelor’s degree. Once you have enrolled in a partner university and received an Indiana teaching job, you will be granted a Transition to Teaching permit. After three years, you may apply for an Initial Practitioner License.
CPR/Heimlich Maneuver/AED Certification
All applicants for alternative teaching licensure in Indiana must receive certification in CPR, the Heimlich maneuver, and in the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). These certifications must be documented. Courses may be taken through an approved provider.
Criminal History Background Check
All applicants for alternative teaching licensure in Indiana must also must pass an expanded criminal history check (ECH). How this is conducted will depend upon your program’s rules. It may be through searching county records, checking state/national sex offender registries; through the Indiana State Police, and/or checking the national sex offender registry. You are responsible for ECH fees.
Contact Information
For more information on the Transition to Teaching program, contact one of the Indiana colleges/universities offering these programs.
For more information on the Advanced Degree program, call the Indiana Department of Education at 317-232-9010.
For more information on the Indianapolis Teaching Fellows program, call 317-226-3842.
For more information on Teach for America, call 317-632-4218.
For more information on the Woodrow Wilson Fellows Program, call 609-452-7007.
