Education (Secondary Licensure Prep) - Master of Arts

Secondary Licensure Prep

The School of Teacher Preparation, Administration and Leadership (TPAL) at New Mexico State University (NMSU) offers a Secondary Teaching Education Program for individuals who have completed a bachelor’s degree and wish to seek Secondary Education licensure. This program meets the State of New Mexico Public Education Department’s education requirements for initial teacher licensure as part of the Master of Arts in Education degree program.

Program Admission Requirements:

1. Apply through NMSU Graduate School’s main webpage (https://gradschool.nmsu.edu). Select the intended major “Education (Secondary Licensure Prep)” as the concentration you will pursue.
2. After you receive official notification of acceptance from the Graduate School, contact your faculty advisor within the first semester of enrollment.
3. Complete the TEP pre-requisites first before specialized admission to the Teacher Education Program.

Teaching Field & Other Course Completion Requirements:

1. Secondary teaching fields can be selected from English Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics, or General Science.
2. Applicants need a bachelor’s degree aligned to one of the Secondary teaching fields, or closely related field.
3. In addition to a bachelor’s degree, students’ transcripts will be evaluated for a minimum of 24 credits in the teaching field (12 credits must be upper division).
4. Teaching field deficiencies will require extra coursework beyond the Secondary Licensure Prep degree program.
5. All teaching field deficiencies and all degree coursework (see below) must be completed before the Student Teaching internship semester.

Admission to the Teacher Education Program (TEP):

1. Obtain application information at https://tpal.nmsu.edu/admissions/tep-admission/
2. Submit the TEP portfolio no later than 12:00 pm (MST) on the 3rd Friday in February for Spring and the 3rd Friday in September for Fall. TEP portfolio must be successfully reviewed before enrolling in Teaching Methods Courses.

Student Teaching Entry Portfolio (STEP)- one semester before student teaching

1. Obtain application information at https://tpal.nmsu.edu/degree-programs/undergraduate-programs/stia.html
2. Submit Student Teaching Packet (STEP) on the 1st Friday in March for Spring and the 1st Friday in October for Fall.

Student Teaching Internship- must be completed during the final semester

1. Take EDUC 5811 and EDUC 5810 concurrently during student teaching (16-week Student Teaching Internship and Seminar).
2. Complete all coursework (see below) and teaching field deficiencies before the Student Teaching courses. No additional courses may be taken during student teaching.
3. Before completion of the program and recommendation for initial licensure, the candidate must pass the Evidence of Student Learning Portfolio during student teaching as a State of NM licensure requirement.

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Courses are prerequisites/co-requisites for TEP 

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Field Experience is required. You must complete a background check and fingerprinting process at the beginning of the semester to obtain district clearance. Fliers will be posted each semester in O'Donnell Hall.

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Graduate level electives can be selected from any department with the program director's approval.

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Courses require admission to TEP

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Courses require admission to TEP and STEP

Fall Start 

Spring Start 

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Courses are pre-requisites/co-requisites for TEP

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Field experience required

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Select graduate-level electives with Program Director's approval.

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 To apply for TEP see the TPAL website 

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Requires admission to TEP

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Requires admission to STEP.  To apply for STEP see the TPAL website

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Student Teaching must be taken during the final semester, after all other coursework is completed

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Requires admission to STEP

The Master’s in Education plus Secondary Education Licensure program allows for highly qualified undergraduate students to begin their master’s level education coursework while still completing their bachelor’s degree through the Masters Accelerated Program (MAP).  Students interested in earning their teaching license in English, Social Studies, General Science, Math, or Computer Science at the graduate level might benefit from the 12 credit MAP in order to get a head-start on their licensure degree.  The MA plus Secondary Licensure is a hybrid graduate program that is available through both the Main Campus and NMSU-Global campus, and includes face-to-face/hybrid and online coursework.  This program also requires field experience for several courses, where students obtain real-world teaching experience in a public-school classroom.  This program is an internship-based program, where the final semester of the MA includes a full-time student teaching internship.

Specialized admission into the Teacher Education Program (TEP) is required during the 2nd semester of the MA plus Secondary Licensure program.  Three classes in the MAP (EDUC 5120 Multicultural Education, EDUC 5110 Exploration in Education, and SPED 5105 Introduction to Special Education in a Diverse Society) are used for the TEP pre-requisites allowing for students to apply for the TEP at the conclusion of the MAP in order to make academic progress into the rest of the MA plus Secondary Licensure.

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TEP pre-requisite course.

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Requires field experience.