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Early Childhood Education Alternative Licensure - Graduate Certificate

The School of Teacher Preparation, Administration & Leadership at New Mexico State University offers a 21-credit alternative licensure program in early childhood education for persons who hold at least a baccalaureate degree but have not completed a traditional teacher preparation program.

Alternative Licensure

The Public Education Department of New Mexico offers a nonrenewable, 2-year license granted to allow a person to simultaneously teach and complete teacher education course work at an approved university or community college. The Alternative Educator Prep Program is a state-accredited post-baccalaureate program for obtaining your New Mexico Level I Teaching License.

Eligible Participants

To be eligible for the program, participants must:

• Meet minimum state requirements of at least a bachelor's degree and course requirements of 30 undergraduate credit hours in the teaching field with a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate GPA
• Be hired and submit a copy of a current teaching contract from a school district in New Mexico that indicates the candidate is the teacher of record in grades PreK to 3rd
• Be admitted to the NMSU Graduate School
• Be admitted to the School of Teacher Preparation, Administration and Leadership

Course List

The following courses are required for the program:

• ECED 5510: Advanced Teaching and Learning of Literacy (3 credits)
• ECED 5420: Science/Math Curriculum (3 credits)
• ECED 5110: Working with Young Children with Special Needs, Ages 3-8 (3 credits)
• ECED 5520: Literacy Development in Early Childhood (3 credits)
• ECED 5410: Seminar on Child Development, Assessment and Well-being of Young Children (3 credits)
• ECED 5220: Play in the Early Childhood Curriculum (3 credits)
• ECED 5810: Student Teaching/Seminar (3 credits) Total Credits: 21

Other Program Requirements

To complete the program, participants must:

• Maintain a 3.0 minimum GPA throughout the program
• Teach with a provisional/intern license throughout the program and provide annual verification of continued early childhood education employment at a New Mexico school district
• Participate in two semesters of four observations by a University Supervisor, with a fee for each semester
• Students can apply for a Level I Teaching License with New Mexico Public Education Department by submitting their Early Childhood Alternative Licensure Certificate and proof of passing scores for Praxis Exams: Core Academic Skills in Reading, Writing, and Math and Education for Young Children.

Transfer Credits

All licensure courses are eligible for transfer into a Master of Arts in Education Plus Licensure in Early Childhood Education in the School of TPAL.