Secondary Education Certification

Requirements for the Secondary Education Program

• Completion of a baccalaureate degree at Hood that includes Core requirements or completion of a liberal arts or science baccalaureate at another accredited institution.
• Completion of a major at Hood, or at another accredited institution, in one of the academic fields in which Hood offers secondary teacher certification. (Students from other institutions with related majors such as zoology, environmental science, journalism, etc., must present courses that are equivalent to all courses required for the Hood major in the discipline in which the student is pursuing teacher certification.) Additional content-area coursework may be required of post-baccalaureate candidates to ensure compliance with professional standards.
• Completion of additional general education requirement courses as specified by each department at Hood. (For example, biology majors must also take PHYS 101 or PHYS 203, and English majors must also take specified communication arts courses.)

Prerequisite Phase:

All candidates seeking secondary or art certification must have an introductory psychology course (PSY 101 or its equivalent). This can be taken prior to or concurrently with the education courses in the prerequisite portion of the secondary education program. Along with the EDUC 204 prerequisite course, secondary education students must complete one-half day per week of field experiences in a designated professional development school (PDS). 

Phase I:

Entry to Phase I is contingent upon (1) successful completion of prerequisite courses with no grade lower than a "C" and an Education GPA of at least 2.75, (2) a Major GPA of at least 2.75 (any content course grade lower than a C will be reviewed), (3) a Composite GPA and Hood Overall GPA of at least 3.0* or a Hood Overall GPA of 2.75 and a qualifying score on Maryland’s Basic Skills Assessment, (4) successful performance in prerequisite field experiences, (5) submission of the Phase I application, (6) endorsement by the Program Advisory Council, and (7) being in good campus judicial standing.

* If a student elects to meet Maryland’s Basic Skills requirement via a 3.0 GPA, the student must maintain a Composite GPA and an Overall GPA of at least 3.0 at all times.  If either GPA drops below 3.0, the student will need to submit qualifying test scores before the student may advance to the next phase of the program.  Furthermore, it is the student’s responsibility to monitor the GPA.

Phase II:

Entry into Phase II is contingent upon (1) successful completion of the Phase I courses with no grade below a "C", (2) successful performance in the Phase I field experiences, (3) an overall G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher, (4) a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher in all education courses completed and no grade lower than a “C,” (5) a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher in all courses completed in the content area. Any grade lower than a "C" in a content area course will be reviewed by the Program Advisory Council and may result in the candidate not advancing to the next phase, (6) submission of the Phase II/III application, (7) being in good campus judicial standing, (8) endorsement by the Program Advisory Council. Along with the courses in Phase II, the secondary education interns must complete the equivalent of one-and one-half days per week of field experience in a designated secondary PDS. Secondary Education interns may not enroll in the following courses until officially accepted into Phase II.

Phase III:

Entry into Phase III is contingent upon (1) successful completion of the Phase II courses with no grade below a C, (2) successful performance in the Phase II internship, (3) an overall G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher, (4) a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher in all education courses completed and no grade lower than a "C," (5) a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher in all courses completed in the content area. Any grade lower than a "C" in a content area course will be reviewed by the Program Advisory Council and may result in the candidate not advancing to the next phase, 6) endorsement by the Program Advisory Council, and 7) being in good campus judicial standing. The secondary education candidate will be engaged in a full-time teaching internship in a designated PDS. During Phase III and in partial fulfillment of program requirements, the candidate submits edTPA, which must be passed according to department and state requirements. Completion of Phase III and the certification program is contingent upon meeting Maryland’s minimum passing scores on the Praxis II tests. Candidates in the secondary education program have one year from the completion of the teaching internship to pass the Praxis II tests and to complete all other program requirements in order to be designated an official program completer. It is the responsibility of the candidate to inform the education department upon completion of all requirements. Secondary education candidates may not enroll in the following courses until official acceptance into Phase III.