Academic Services

Certification

Michigan Administrator Certificate

The Michigan Department of Education issues an Administrator Certificate with two endorsements: Elementary and Secondary Administrator K-12 and Central Office Administrator. The Administrator Certificate requires completion of at least a master's degree and appropriate coursework in Educational Leadership and Administration from an approved administrator preparation program. The initial certificate is valid for five years after the date of issuance and may be renewed directly through the Michigan Department of Education. Renewal of the certificate requires completion of the Continuing Education Requirement for Administrators: Within a 5-calendar-year period, School Administrators must complete either 6 semester credit hours or 18 State Board Continuing Education Units (SB-CEUs), or a combination of the two with 3 SB-CEUs being equivalent to 1 semester hour.

Michigan Teaching Certificates

The Michigan Department of Education issues two basic teaching certificates: elementary and secondary. The elementary certificate authorizes an individual to teach all subjects in grades kindergarten through five, major and minor subject areas in grades six through eight, and all subjects in grades K-8 in a self-contained classroom. The secondary certificate authorizes an individual to teach in the major and minor subject areas in grades six through twelve. Some majors such as art, kinesiology, and music cover all grades, kindergarten through twelve.

Teaching endorsements may be added to any certificate. An individual may add up to six endorsements by completing requirements for academic majors and/or minors in accordance with State regulations. An individual holding an elementary certificate may also earn an endorsement to teach at the secondary level, and vice versa. When adding an additional endorsement, the individual must also pass the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification in that subject area.

Elementary and secondary certificates are issued in two stages. The provisional certificate is issued first and is valid for five and a half to six years after the date of issuance. After three years of successful teaching, the completion of a master's degree or accumulation of eighteen semester credits in a planned program of study earned after the issuance of the provisional certificate, and completion of all required reading courses, including the Public Act 118 Reading Course, a teacher may apply for a professional certificate which must be renewed every five years. The teacher must complete six semester credits of approved college courses or eighteen State-approved Continuing Education Units (CEUs) during each five-year period in order to retain professional certification.

Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (Basic Skills and Subject Area Tests) Reporting Requirements

Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) examination scores must be furnished directly to Wayne State University by Evaluation Systems Group of Pearson, the MTTC testing agency. When registering for the MTTC, select “Wayne State University (31)” as a “College or University to Receive Scores.” If your examination scores were not released to Wayne State University, please request an original score report from Evaluation Systems Group of Pearson. From the Score Report Explanation link on the MTTC website, select Test Results Request Form and enter 31 for the Institutional Code to have your scores sent to Wayne State University (31). Your scores must be mailed directly from Evaluation Systems Group of Pearson to Wayne State University. An original score report is required by the Michigan Department of Education for verification of test scores.

The applications, documents and forms listed below are in Adobe (PDF) format. In order to view PDF files, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. A free copy can be obtained at: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Certification Applications

State of Michigan Requirements

Initial Teacher Certification Programs (Post Bachelor & Master of Arts in Teaching)

Chinese Teacher Certification Program (CTCP)

The College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in collaboration with the Confucius Institute are pleased to offer a new teaching major and minor in Chinese Language and Culture. This teaching major and minor are available at the elementary, secondary, or at the K-12 level and may be part of initial teacher certification or added as an endorsement to an existing Michigan teaching certificate. Interested individuals may contact Dr. Cynthia Ward, CTCP Coordinator, by calling (313) 577-1605 or through e-mail at ac2736@wayne.edu.

09/09/2011