Professional Certification Areas

To get a professional certificate, you must meet the following requirements:

• Provide Educator Work Service Record(s) (received from district’s HR department) to verify required classroom teaching experience. Send to: carol.pike@tamucc.edu 
• Pass fingerprint background check with TEA*. 
  *Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires passing a fingerprint background check for certification issuance. A person who is enrolled or planning to enroll in a State Board for Educator Certification-approved educator preparation program or planning to take a certification examination may request a preliminary criminal history evaluation letter regarding the person's potential ineligibility for certification due to a conviction or deferred adjudication for a felony or misdemeanor offense.  Visit TEA for specifics: Preliminary Criminal History Evaluation-FAQs | Texas Education Agency.
• Have a degree at the master's level or higher
• Complete a certification preparation program approved by the State of Texas
• Have at least two years of creditable teaching experience, with exceptions in the following certification areas:
  • Superintendent: Must already hold the principal certificate 
  • Educational Diagnostician: Have valid classroom teaching certification and 3 years teaching experience
  • School Counselor: Per Senate Bill 798 (effective 9/1/2023), classroom teaching experience is no longer a requirement for certification issuance
• Pass the required TExES state certification test

The State of Texas allows any master's degree to satisfy its requirements. For students' benefit, the College of Education and Human Development has structured its certification plans so that you only have to take the specific course requirements you lack, not complete a whole new master's degree. The specific course requirements for each program are listed in the course catalog.