Teacher Education – Certification
You have the desire to teach. And, you’re almost there!
The State of Washington requires prospective teachers to go through a certification and endorsement process.
Certification specifics depend on a number of factors, mostly whether the prospective teacher is either going into elementary or secondary education, as well as whether they are a first-time applicant or experienced professional.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) outlines all types of certificates for different situations, but here are the main two we see:
Residency certificate
This is the certificate that the majority of first-time applicants receive. Initial teacher certification is available at our Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities and Vancouver campuses.
To quality for a Washington state residency teaching certificate, the candidate must:
- Earn a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from a regionally-accredited college, such as ours.
- Qualify for, and complete, a state’s approved teacher preparation program, such as ours.
The residency certificate (first issue) is valid until the holder is reported as employed by a Washington school district as a teacher with 1.5 FTE or more experience. This certificate must then be reissued with a three year expiration date.
More Residency Certificate info
Professional certificate
The Professional Certificate is the advanced level certificate. It is normally awarded to holders of the Residency Certificate who complete the new ProTeach Portfolio, but may sometimes be awarded to out-of-state applicants in lieu of the Residency.
The candidate must have completed:
- a ProTeach Portfolio showing that professional standards and criteria have been met, or
- a program in another state whose advanced level certification program is comparable to that in Washington, as determined by the Professional Educator Standards Board, or
- a certificate issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) will satisfy the program requirement for the Professional Certificate
More Professional Certificate info
Endorsements
In addition to being certified, teachers must hold an endorsement in a teaching area approved by Washington state.
For our students who plan to teach K-8, they will pursue an endorsement in elementary education. These students must also choose one of the following add-on endorsements: English Language Learners Middle Level Mathematics, Middle Level Science, or Special Education.
For WSU students who plan to teach specific subjects (such as high school history or music), the student will complete a major in that area of expertise, and will choose the teacher preparation option.
More endorsement information
