Program Description

In West Virginia the license to teach is granted by the West Virginia Department of Education and is typically issued upon the completion of a four-year undergraduate program of study that included content and professional education courses. The Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certificate (PBC) program offers an accelerated route to teacher certification for persons who already have undergraduate degrees in content areas such as chemistry, music, and other liberal and fine arts, or professional fields. Using the previously completed content courses as a foundation, this program provides the required professional education courses at the graduate level. Additional undergraduate classes may be needed in the content area.

Upon successful completion of the PBC program, all content courses, and testing requirements, the candidate earns a recommendation to the West Virginia Department of Education for a teaching certificate at the secondary level and is eligible to apply for a certificate from the university. The PBC does not include Elementary Education or Special Education certification.

Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certificate

Certification Options

• Art Education, grades PreK-Adult
• Biological Science, grades 9-Adult
• Chemistry, grades 9-Adult
• English, grades 5-Adult
• General Science, grades 5-Adult
• Mathematics, grades 5-Adult
• Music, grades PreK-Adult
• Physics, grades 9-Adult
• Social Studies, grades 5-Adult
• Wellness, grades PreK-Adult

Admission To PBC And Licensure Requirements

1. Candidates must hold a bachelor's degree from an accepted, accredited institution (transcript required from degree-granting institution only).
2. Candidates must request a transcript analysis through a certification officer either in Huntington or South Charleston. An unofficial copy of the transcript may be used for the analysis. The analysis will identify the courses that can be used to meet content licensure requirements and the list of additional courses needed. Candidates must have 90% of the required content courses. 
3. Candidates deciding to apply to the program after reviewing the transcript analysis should follow the admissions process described in this catalog or at the Graduate Admissions website at www.marshall.edu/graduate/admissions/how-to-apply-for-admission. Students should apply as Certificate/Professional Development students and select the Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certificate on the admissions form. Please note that all admissions documents must be submitted to Graduate Admissions before an applicant will be considered for admission.
4. In addition to university admission requirements, applicants must have an overall Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.80 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all previously completed coursework and a GPA of 2.80 in the content area. Applicants who have an overall GPA of 2.5 or above, but below 2.80, may be granted provisional admission. Provisionally admitted applications will be granted full admission upon successful completion of 12 hours toward the approved plan of study with a GPA of 3.25 or higher, assuming that all other admission requirements are met.

Students may enroll in graduate courses only after they have been fully admitted to the PBC program. All students must maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0.

In the last semester of the program students will be enrolled in EDF 677 MAT Level III Clinical Exper, a 15 week, full-time student teaching experience under the direct supervision of a certified teacher(s). Prerequisites for student teaching include the following:

• 3.0 GPA in all graduate PBC courses;
• completion of at least 90% of content courses (100% recommended);
• completion of EDF 537 MAT Level I Clinical Exper and EDF 637 MAT Level II Clinical Exper;
• completion of all PBC coursework and
• passing scores on the Praxis content test(s).

Before a candidate may apply for certification/licensure, he or she must pass or meet waiver requirements for the Praxis: Core Academic Skills for Educators, Praxis: Content, and Praxis Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) Grades 7-12. 

Upon completion of the PBC program and all testing requirements, the student should apply for licensure. The teaching license is awarded by the West Virginia Department of Education; however, the candidate must be recommended for licensure by the institution.

Program Requirements

Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certificate Program

Eligibility for Student Teaching: Students must successfully complete the courses listed below, the appropriate Praxis content knowledge test(s), and have 90% of their content requirements completed prior to enrolling for supervised student teaching.

Eligibility for Licensure: Students must meet content requirements, professional education requirements, and testing requirements. Testing requirements include the appropriate Praxis content knowledge test(s), and the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) Students who apply for licensure from the West Virginia Department of Education are required to submit to the department a fingerprint card for federal and state background checks.