Lesley University is registered with the Maryland Higher Education Commission to enroll Maryland students in fully online distance education programs.
Lesley Degree and Certificate Programs
ONLINE PROGRAMS
Certificate Programs
Autism
Internet & Society
Mathematics in Education
Online Teaching
Science in Education
Special Education
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Master Degree Programs
Individually Designed Program for Educators, M.Ed.
Mathematics Education, M.Ed.
Science in Education, M.Ed.
Educational Technology, M.Ed.
TEACHER CERTIFICATION FOR EDUCATORS in MARYLAND
Are you a current educator in Maryland and interested in learning more about the process to add a level or an additional field to your teaching license? If so, read more to help guide you through the process.
Adding an endorsement to an existing Maryland certificate
Step 1.
If you are employed in a Maryland local school system, your request to add an endorsement will be processed by your local school system.
Step 2.
If you are not currently employed in a local school system and you want to add an endorsement, submit the following:
Official transcript(s) in an unopened mailer (if not previously submitted) for all course work taken (community college, baccalaureate, post-baccalaureate, if applicable). For those endorsements requiring a master's or doctoral degree, your transcript must show the degree and date of conferral. Student copies in an unopened mailer are also acceptable. (Do not have the college/university send transcripts directly to this office.) or
Qualifying scores for the appropriate Praxis II assessment (if applicable). You may send test scores to MSDE in one of the following ways: notation on a college transcript or photocopy of the original score report; and
A cover letter with your name, complete mailing address, social security number, and the area of endorsement you are requesting. Day time telephone number and personal e-mail address are encouraged.
Please note: If you have successfully completed a pedagogy test for certification in another area at the same grade level, you need to meet the qualifying score on the Praxis II Content Area assessment(s) only.
Send your complete packet to the following address:
Maryland State Department of Education
Certification Branch
200 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Step 3.
The Maryland State DOE will determine your eligibility for the endorsement. If all requirements have been met, it will send you a certificate with the additional endorsement. There is no fee for adding an endorsement. If you need additional requirements, it will send an evaluation with those requirements listed.
There are six types of teaching certificates for a MD educator:
Professional Eligibility Certificate (PEC), valid for 5 years issued to an applicant who meets all certification requirements and is not currently employed in a MD local school system.
Standard Professional Certificate I (SPC I), valid for 5 years issued to an applicant who meets all certification requirements and is employed by a Maryland local school system or an accredited nonpublic school.
Standard Professional Certificate II (SPC II), valid for 5 years; issued to an applicant who completes the SPC I, is employed by a Maryland local school system or an accredited nonpublic school, and submits the following: verification of 3 years of satisfactory professional experience;6 semester hours of acceptable credit; and a professional development plan for the Advanced Professional Certificate (APC).
Advanced Professional Certificate (APC), valid for 5 years and issued to an applicant who submits the following: verification of 3 years of full-time professional school-related experience; 6 semester hours of acceptable credit; and a master's degree, or a minimum of 36 semester hours of post-baccalaureate course work which must include at least 21 semester hours of graduate credit (The remaining 15 semester hours may include graduate or undergraduate course work and/or Maryland State Department of Education Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits, or obtained National Board Certification and earned a minimum of 12 semester hours of approved graduate course work earned after the conferral of the bachelor's or higher degree.
Resident Teacher Certificate (RTC), valid for two years and issued to an applicant who has been selected by a local school system to participate in an alternative teacher preparation program.
Conditional Certificate (COND), valid for two years and issued only at the request of a local school system superintendent to an applicant employed in a local school system who does not meet all certification requirements.
Should you have additional questions on educator certification, contact the Maryland Department of Education.
Authorization and Educator Licensure in Maryland
Authorization - Lesley University is not required to seek authorization to operate based on Lesley's current activity within this state, as determined by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
Educator Licensure: Higher education authorization and educator licensure approval are separate entities. For more information on educator licensure, visit the
Maryland Department of Education.
Faculty Spotlight
Elizabeth Stringer Keefe
Assistant Professor
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