Guidelines for Additional Teaching Certificate Endorsements
This information is designed primarily for the candidate who intends to add additional subject area endorsements or new levels of certification to an existing elementary or secondary teaching certificate. The holder of an elementary or secondary provisional, permanent, continuing, or professional education certificate may qualify for other certificate endorsements in the following areas: teaching majors and/or minors offered through Michigan State University, early childhood education, general elementary, areas appropriate to secondary grades, special education areas, reading specialist, and school counseling. Candidates for additional endorsements must complete a planned program of coursework approved by a teacher certification advisor or appropriate departmental advisor at MSU and the approved plan must be on file in 134 Erickson Hall. The majority of the credits for an additional endorsement must be taken through MSU. The appropriate Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) subject test(s) must also be passed. Upon completion of the approved plan, candidates must apply for an additional endorsement recommendation through the Student Affairs Office of the College of Education, 134 Erickson Hall.

General Guidelines
ENROLLMENT STATUS: Candidates interested in adding an additional certificate endorsement can be admitted (or re-admitted) to MSU either as a Lifelong Education student (code: 5070) or as a graduate student. The graduate student status requires a separate application to the Graduate School of Michigan State University as well as fulfilling the particular admission requirements of the specific graduate program desired. In rare circumstances, enrollment as a second bachelor's degree candidate may be appropriate (such as when adding a new teaching major). Consult with a teacher certification advisor in 134 Erickson Hall about the appropriate enrollment status to complete the desired additional endorsement.

GPA STANDARDS:To add any new major or minor to an existing teaching certificate through Michigan State University, candidates must meet current GPA standards for teacher certification in effect at MSU: Candidates must have a grade point average within the new major or minor of 2.5 or higher to be eligible for recommendation to the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). In addition, candidates must adhere to the university policies at MSU regarding academic standards for earning credit and continuing in good standing in either the Lifelong Education or graduate student status.

ADDITIONAL MAJORS AND MINORS: A candidate may add new teaching majors or minors to an existing certificate. The new subject areas must be appropriate for the grade levels for which the candidate is certified and they must be majors/minors for which MSU is authorized to make recommendation for certification. A candidate for a new teaching major or minor may combine appropriate credits earned prior to the issuance of the Michigan provisional certificate with additional credit to complete the requirements for the new subject area. Michigan Department of Education (MDE) standards require a minimum of 30 semester credits for a major (36 credits for a group major) and 20 semester credits for a minor (24 credits for a group minor). Some teaching majors or minors through MSU may require more than the MDE minimums. A program to add a new teaching major is planned with the approval of a faculty member or advisor in the department responsible for the major. A program to add a new minor can be planned with a certification advisor in 134 Erickson but may also require consultation with a departmental advisor overseeing the minor. The planned program must be filed with the teacher certification clerk in 134 Erickson Hall. Appropriate MTTC subject tests in the additional major or minor must be passed. When working on obtaining an additional major or minor for the purpose of completing requirements for the Professional Education Certificate, the new major or minor must be completed and the appropriate MTTC subject area test passed before being recommended by Michigan State University for the Professional Certificate and, concurrently, the additional major or minor.

NOTE: Though courses taken prior to the issuance of the initial Michigan provisional certificate can count toward an additional major or minor, only those credits taken subsequent to the issuance of the provisional certificate can count toward the 18 semester credits needed for the Professional Certificate. Also, the MDE does not allow double-counting of credits between teaching majors and/or minors, i.e., credits already counted on the initial major and/or minor(s) on the original teaching certificate cannot also be used to fulfill an additional major or minor. However, courses that have been counted previously toward an existing major or minor can be counted in fulfillment of the standards for a new teaching major or minor. In such cases, a minimum of 18 new, not previously counted credits are needed to earn an additional endorsement. The majority of these credits must be completed through MSU.

EARLY CHILDHOOD ENDORSEMENT: This area, also known as the "ZA" endorsement, can be added to a Michigan elementary teaching certificate. A planned program of 20 credits must be done in consultation with an advisor in the Department of Family and Child Ecology and kept on file in 134 Erickson Hall. The MTTC subject test in Early Childhood Education must be passed. Call the certification secretary in Erickson Hall at (517) 353-5146 for more information.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: As an endorsement, special education in specified areas can be added to either an elementary or secondary certificate. Endorsements at MSU can be completed in the areas of Hearing Impairment (HI), Learning Disabilities (LD), and Emotional Impairment (EI). This requires completion of a masters degree in one of the three specified areas and passing the appropriate subject test for the MTTC. Students with a masters in Learning Disabilities from MSU may be able to earn an additional endorsement in Emotional Impairment for an additional 18 credits or more. For more information and a graduate school application contact the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education at (517) 353-0637.
Note: All Special Education areas lead to K-12 endorsements.

READING SPECIALIST: This K-12 endorsement can be added to either an elementary or secondary certificate. It requires completion of a masters degree in Literacy/Reading and passing the appropriate MTTC subject examination. For more information and a graduate school application contact the Department of Teacher Education at (517) 353-5091.

SCHOOL COUNSELING: This endorsement, which can be added to either an elementary or secondary certificate, requires completion of a masters degree in Counseling, with an emphasis on School Counseling, and passing the appropriate MTTC subject examination. Note: Generally this endorsement is not K-12, but rather is consistent with the grade levels indicated on the candidate's existing Michigan Teaching Certificate. If interested in acquiring a K-12 Guidance Counselor endorsement, contact the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education at (517) 355-6683.

ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY CERTIFICATE ENDORSEMENTS: Holders of an elementary or secondary provisional, permanent, continuing, or professional education certificate may qualify for another certificate level (e.g., adding general elementary certification to an existing secondary certificate or adding secondary level certification in specified subjects to an existing elementary certificate). This requires a minimum of 18 semester credits in a planned program. To clarify, a secondary level endorsement qualifies a candidate to teach in grades 6 - 12 in the appropriate teaching major and/or minor(s) already on the elementary certificate or for any new teaching major or minor to be added as part of the endorsement plan. A general elementary endorsement qualifies a candidate to teach all subjects in grades K - 5 and in teaching major(s) and/or minor(s) in grades 6 - 8.

The 18 semester credit planned program to add a new level of certification must have been done subsequent to the issuance of the initial Michigan provisional certificate. The planned program must meet the MDE guidelines for that area of certification including: appropriate content course, methods or pedagogy courses, literacy requirements, directed teaching, and other requirements as specified for the new level of certification, including the MDE technology requirement. An individualized program plan for the new level of endorsement, which takes into account previous coursework taken, will be worked out in consultation with a certification advisor in 134 Erickson.