Secondary Education License: Transition to Teaching Program
Teach a child. Change a life.
Transition to teaching is for those individuals who have a degree outside of education and now want to make an impact as a teacher. We are glad you are here!
Grace College’s Transition to Teaching program is a graduate level licensure program aimed at serving candidates with a bachelor’s degree in any area who want to become competent and well-rounded middle school or high school teachers. Upon successful completion of the program and passing required licensing tests, candidates can earn their secondary educator teaching license.
Indiana residents can teach in the classroom while completing the program through an Indiana Transition to Teaching Permit. The program is specifically designed to support candidates who are working either inside or outside of the classroom.
What if I live outside of Indiana? This program can be completed by anyone living in the United States. Indiana has reciprocal teacher licensure agreements with most states in the U.S., meaning your Indiana teaching license can be easily transferred to your state of residence. There are a few states that have additional requirements, such as passing a specific state licensure exam, but we are here to support and guide you through each step of the process. If you are a non-Indiana resident, reach out to our Transition to Teaching Director, Courtney Thrasher at thrashce@grace.edu, and she will help you find the licensing requirements for your state.
What if I want to start teaching right away? If you live in Indiana, you may be eligible for a 3 year Transition to Teaching permit! The permit allows candidates who are enrolled in our program to teach in an Indiana school while also working towards your teaching license. Contact Courtney Thrasher at thrashce@grace.edu with any questions!
All Grace College School of Education licensure programs have been approved by the Indiana State Board of Education and meet requirements for Indiana state licensure.
Admission Requirements
To be eligible to participate in a Transition to Teaching program in secondary education within the state of Indiana, applicants must meet one of the three conditions:
- Bachelor’s degree with cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale from an accredited postsecondary educational institution
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited postsecondary educational institution with a GPA of at least 2.5 AND provide evidence of 5 years RELEVANT professional experience
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution AND proof of passing state approved secondary content area assessment in the subject area the candidate wants to teach.
If you are eligible under condition #1 (you have a bachelor’s degree and your GPA is 3.0 or higher), submit your transcripts to Grace College.
If you are eligible under condition #2 (you have a bachelor’s degree and your GPA is between 2.5 to 2.9 on a 4.0 scale, AND you have worked in a related field/education for at least five years, submit your transcripts to Grace College and a letter of reference from your employer providing the following details (your role, number of years you were in that role, how it is relevant to teaching).
If you do not have/did not have a supervisor to provide a reference for this experience (i.e., self-employed, unattainable contact information) submit a letter/email from yourself along with employment evidence to Grace College admissions. In the letter/email provide the following information: 1) your name and contact information along with your professional experience (where you worked- name of the employer, address, any contact information), 2) years you worked at this location/employer, 3) your role (what you did relevant to teaching), 4) evidence of your employment or self-employment in this role (i.e., tax documents, pay receipts/stubs, etc.). The Director of Alternative Programming & Partnerships at Grace College will evaluate your professional experience as it relates to the elementary education licensure requirements in consideration of your eligibility. You will be contacted for further information and if additional verification is required.
If you are eligible under condition #3 (you have a bachelor’s degree) – Submit your transcripts to Grace College. Complete and pass the assessments required and submit scores to Grace College
These exams are offered by Praxis. Information on when, where, and the costs for these exams is available here: https://www.ets.org/praxis/site/test-takers/where-to-test.html
Looking for a scholarship specifically for this program?
Contact Courtney Thrasher at thrashce@grace.edu for more information
Enrollment Deposit
Upon acceptance, submit your $100 Enrollment Deposit to accept your offer of admission. Your $100 deposit will be credited to your student account. Welcome to the Grace College community!
*Please note: Acceptance is given pending the receipt of a clear background check for you, which Grace College will request. Once this is received, you will be officially enrolled in the program. Grace College will have a link emailed and texted to you for you to complete the background check requirement. It is free and takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
Course Overview
In this course, candidates will learn to promote all students' development, learning, and success through ongoing assessment that informs instruction. Candidates develop a repertoire of teaching methods and strategies, techniques and skills for managing a classroom, constructing and analyzing tests and evaluation tools for classroom teachers, and develop a working knowledge of responsive instruction by applying differentiation strategies and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
Understanding unique ways the disciplines approach reading, writing, and speaking about their disciplines, this course examines scientifically based reading research (SBRR) and its application to the middle and high school classrooms. Candidates consider ways to enact strategies and methods to provide learning opportunities with in candidate-specific, targeted disciplines for all adolescent learners.
Career Opportunities
You can become a secondary teacher in these content areas:
Art, Business, Career and Technical Education, Agriculture, Business and Information Technology, Family and Consumer Sciences, Health Science Occupations, Marketing, Chemistry, Chinese, Computer Science, Earth/Space Science, Economics, English Language, French, Geographical Perspectives, German, Government and Citizenship, Health, Historical Perspectives, Japanese, Journalism, Latin, Life Science, Mathematics, Music: Instrumental and Vocal, Physical Education, Physical Science, Physics, Psychology, Sociology, Spanish, and Theatre Arts.
