Program Requirements

Applicants who meet the admission requirements and turn in their application materials will be invited to schedule an interview. The interview will be scheduled with the Program Director and the Assistant Program Director.

Once the interview has been completed, all references checked, all transcripts received and reviewed a decision will be made concerning the student’s acceptance into the program.

Meeting entry requirements does not guarantee an interview or acceptance into the MCC Alternative Teacher Certification program.

Program Requirements: The candidate must complete the following 300+ hours of Instruction to be standard certified.

  • Complete the 150-contact hour Pedagogy & Professional Responsibilities EC-12 class. The course covers the theory, teacher standards approved by the state and practices essential to good teaching.
  • Complete a 150-contact hour content class. The course covers teaching strategies to teach the specific content area.
  • Take and pass the state required content exam.
  • Take and pass the state required Pedagogy & Professional Responsibilities EC-12 exam.
  • Complete 30 hours of classroom observation prior to doing internship. The field based experience must reflect:
    • Authentic school settings in a public school accredited by TEA or other approved school settings
    • Instruction by content certified teachers
    • actual students in classroom/instructional settings;
    • Content or grade level specific classrooms/instructional settings;
    • and a written reflection of the observation
  • Complete two semesters of internship when the candidate is employed for a teaching position as a paid teacher of record with a school district, with either an Intern Certificate or a Probationary Certificate. The candidate may also choose to complete the program through a 14 week (70 school days) unpaid Clinical Teaching assignment in the classroom with a Cooperating Teacher.

When you have found a position as a teacher, the program will continue to provide assistance and guidance throughout the first year of teaching in a Texas school. If you have passed both the content and pedagogy state tests, you may apply for a Probationary Teaching Certificate.  If you have only passed the content state test, you may apply for an Intern Teaching Certificate. Over the course of a full school year, you will work with the campus principal, an assigned school mentor, and the field supervisor. You will attend two semesters of internship while employed with the school district as the teacher of record. The intern and probationary certified teachers who have completed a year of internship and are not standard certified the following semester must enroll in the Internship III class until standard certification is obtained. Candidates can only apply one time for an Intern Teacher certificate. Candidates can apply for a Probationary Certificate a total of two times.