Preparation for the Secondary Provisional Teaching Certificate requires the 26 hours of following courses:

EDU 295 Technology for the Classroom
EDU 297 Foundations of Education
EDU 299 Educational Psychology
EDU 333 Contemporary Problems in Education
EDU 456 Teaching the Exceptional Child
EDU 472 The Teaching of Reading in the Secondary Content Areas
EDU 492 Teaching Methods in the Secondary School
EDU 559 Directed Teaching*

*Students who seek both Elementary and Secondary Provisional Teaching Certification enroll in Directed Teaching in Elementary Grades for six hours and Directed Teaching in Secondary Grades for six hours.

Admission to Teacher Education and to Directed Teaching

I. Admission to Teacher Education cannot be granted unless all the following conditions are met:

A. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.850.

B. The successful completion of the following courses, none of which may be audited:

1) English 101, 102
2) Speech 255
3) History 104, 105
4) Psychology 101
5) Education 297 and 299
6) Philosophy 105 or Religion 105
7) Biology 102, 200 or 300
8) Science 101, Chemistry 101 or 303, or Physics 101 or 201
9) Mathematics 105 or a higher mathematics course
10) Art 203 or 204, Music 204 or Theatre 200
11) Classical Studies 301, 302 or 310, or English 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360 or  370; or a 400-level modern foreign language literature course
12) Political Science 101

C. The successful completion of all three parts of the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification's Basic Skills Test. Candidates for admission to Teacher Education must arrange to take this test so that test results are received prior to the beginning of that semester in which they plan to take courses restricted to students who have been admitted in writing to the Teacher Education Program.

D. Completion of the Teacher Education application, including evidence of successful group work with children and, upon request, evidence of good citizenship.

E. Completed applications for admission to Teacher Education must be received by the Director of Teacher Education prior to enrollment in restricted courses.

II. Admission to Directed Teaching cannot be granted unless all the following conditions are met:

A. Previous admission to the Teacher Education Program.

B. The successful completion of all prerequisite Teacher education coursework.

C. Continued adherence to the admission standards of the program.

III. Under exceptional circumstances, directed teaching may take place external to the Hillsdale area. To qualify, a student must meet strict criteria established by the Teacher Education Program. (See the director of Teacher Education for further information.) Directed teaching external to the Hillsdale area will not be permitted unless all other College coursework is completed. This requirement pertains to courses needed for the major(s) or minor(s) as well as courses needed to complete the Teacher Education Program.

Certification

Hillsdale College's Teacher Education Certification Program is fully approved by the Michigan State Board of Education for the preparation of students to teach in Michigan's public and independent schools. Accordingly, all Teacher Education students seeking certification must take and pass the State of Michigan's minimum number of Michigan Test for Teacher Certification subject-area tests (in their teaching majors and minors) before certification can be recommended. All students seeking elementary certification must also take and pass the State's Comprehensive Elementary Education Examination.

Students must note that admission to Teacher Education does not automatically guarantee admission to Directed Teaching; nor do admission to Teacher Education and admission to Directed Teaching automatically entail the recommendation of the College's certification officer; nor does the successful completion of these prerequisites guarantee certification, which lies ultimately with the Office of Teacher Preparation and Certification in the Department of Education of the State of Michigan. Students must also note that, when the State of Michigan School Code is modified, Hillsdale College must respond with corresponding course work changes to maintain its Teacher Education Program approval.

The Michigan Department of Education and Hillsdale College's Certification Officer will not designate any student a "program completer" of the Teacher Education Program until the student "has accomplished both (a) all institutional academic and other requirements such as to establish eligibility for recommendation for certification and (b) taken/passed the minimum number of state certification tests for the teaching field desired."

The minimum number of state certification tests for the K-8 Elementary Provisional Teaching Certificate without an Early Childhood Education endorsement is one test. The minimum number of state certification tests for the K-8 Elementary Provisional Teaching Certificate with an Early Childhood Education endorsement is two tests. The minimum number of state certification tests for the 7-12 Secondary Provisional Teaching Certificate is two tests, except in the case of music which, as a comprehensive endorsement, requires no minor and hence no second certification test.

Beginning July 1, 2004, all candidates for a Michigan Provisional Teaching Certificate must successfully complete a course approved by the State Department of Education in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including a test demonstration on a mannequin, and hold a valid certification in these topics issued by the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or a comparable organization or institution approved by the State Department of Education.

Hillsdale College adheres to the requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Important Note on Certification

The entering class of 2009 is eligible for certification as described above. Future entering classes will have instead other avenues toward certification available to them. These alternatives, currently under review, include coordination of teacher preparation with, and certification through, Spring Arbor University, a sister institution located very near to Hillsdale. Students entering during the fall of 2010 and beyond will possess a variety of options leading to a career in teaching.

Secondary Provisional Teaching Certificate Requirements

Students must choose minimally one major field of concentration and (except when the student earns the comprehensive music major field of concentration) one minor field in a different area of concentration:

A major field of concentration consists of no fewer than 30 credit hours in biology, chemistry, English, history, mathematics or physics; or no fewer than 30 credit hours beyond the second year of study in French, German or Spanish; or no fewer than 36 credit hours in physical education or speech studies; or no fewer than 60 credit hours in music.

A minor field of concentration consists of no fewer than 20 credit hours in biology, chemistry, computer science, English, history, mathematics or physics; or no fewer than 20 credit hours beyond the second year of study in French, German or Spanish; or no fewer than 24 credit hours in physical education or speech studies.

Hillsdale College will recommend students for state certification only if they have completed the comprehensive music major field of concentration or are eligible for endorsements in two or more fields of concentration.

The State of Michigan Secondary Provisional Teaching Certificate “is valid for teaching in subject areas in grades 6 to and including 12 in which the applicant has completed an approved endorsement program.” (Michigan Teacher Certification Code)