Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate

Program Description

The Graduate Certificate in TESOL provides a 15-hour graduate-level experience for people who already hold a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in some area and who are interested in teaching English to adults, either abroad or in the U.S. The program includes courses in applied linguistics as well as in pedagogical concerns. (The certificate is not Missouri Department of Elementary And Secondary Education (DESE) K-12 endorsement for teaching in state-funded schools but will provide a foundation for those credentials. For information on the DESE requirements, see below).

Admission Criteria

To be considered for the program, a student must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university, with at least a 3.00 undergraduate grade point average and no grade lower than a “B” in any graduate courses (if any have been taken). The student must submit a Graduate Application. Admission to the certificate program does not constitute admission to any other Missouri State University graduate program. Students who are already graduate students at MSU may apply to the certificate program as well (except for students in the M.A. in English with an emphasis in TESOL program).

Required Courses - Credit Hours: 15

Note:

* If a student has already taken an introduction to linguistics at the undergraduate level, he/she may, with the approval of the certificate advisor, substitute a different course for ENG 691 from the list of elective courses below, or another graduate course in linguistics with the consent of the certificate advisor.

Two Courses From:

Transferred Course Work

Students may transfer one course taken from a different regionally-accredited institution into the certificate program, with the approval of the certificate advisor and following MSU’s policy on transfer credit. (See the Graduate College section on Transfer Credit for these policies).

Double Counting Courses

Students may not count the same course more than once within the certificate program itself. Students may count toward the graduate certificate in TESOL any of the courses listed above that have been taken as part of the M.A. in English or the M.A. in Writing. Double counting in other programs may be allowed with the consent of the certificate advisor and the student’s major advisor.

Completion Requirements

Courses must be completed with a 3.00 GPA for successful completion of certificate.

DESE English Language Learners (ELL) Endorsement

A student can receive the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) English Language Learners (K-12) endorsement (sometimes known as TESOL certification):

Completing a bachelor’s degree;
Holding a Missouri teaching certificate in any other area (e.g. elementary education, secondary English);
Completing the following professional education requirements (may be taken as part of bachelor’s degree): SPE 310 or SPE 715 ; LTC 474 or LTC 710 ; LTC 574 or LTC 640 ;
Completing the course requirements outlined below. It is recommended, though not required, that the student have course work in a foreign language or have a foreign cultural experience.

DESE ELL Endorsement Requirements - Credit Hours: 21

Note:

All students must have a 2.75 GPA or higher (Missouri State and transfer grades combined) in the certification subject area. Students must earn a “C” or higher in all courses counting toward state certification.