Students pursuing teacher certification in Special Education must complete the Special Education Certification Checklist coursework in order to meet professional education and content area requirements as set by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The 2024-2025 certification checklist is below:
For questions regarding your checklist requirements, please contact your education advisor.
Additional information regarding teacher certification can be found in Other MAT Programs .
Note: Post-Baccalaureate students are eligible to take courses required for their certification. Non-certification courses are not covered by federal or state financial aid.
Teacher Certification Program
Students seeking teacher certification through the State of Missouri with Post-Baccalaureate status are required to meet requirements and seek admission to the Teacher Certification Program as early as possible. Admission to the TCP is required prior to enrollment in certain EDUC courses. (Course descriptions state if admission to TCP is a prerequisite). Students pursuing teacher certification may not enroll in Education or content area courses as pass/fail unless the course is a designated pass/fail* course by the Education department.
*Undesignated courses taken as pass/fail will be considered as a grade of C for GPA calculations if passed.
Students who seek admission to the program must have:
- Completed the Post-Baccalaureate core at Columbia College. (Post-Baccalaureate core courses are: EDUC 505 , EDUC 542 , and EDUC 560 [or their undergraduate equivalents]);
- GPA of 3.0 or above on all professional education courses with no grade lower than C (See note above regarding pass/fail);
- GPA of 3.0 or above on all content area courses with no grade lower than C (See note above regarding pass/fail);
- Completion of application materials for admission to the Teacher Certification Program which include the Statement of Responsibility and the Guideline Agreement.
Retention Criteria:
- Complete at least six (6) hours of professional education each year.
- Complete required field experiences and receive favorable evaluations from cooperating teachers and faculty supervisors.
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above in professional education and content area courses.
- Department faculty members and staff will document instances of unprofessional behavior. Unprofessional behavior may make the student ineligible for acceptance in the Teacher Certification Program or may result in the immediate dismissal of a student from the Teacher Certification Program. Additional information regarding candidate dismissal can be obtained from the Education Department.
Other Coursework:
- Content area coursework not completed in BA must also be taken to meet State certification requirements.
- Any content area or professional education course(s) with grade of “D” or lower must be repeated until a grade of “C” or above is obtained (see Grading and Academic Standing ). Additional courses may need to be repeated if professional education or content area GPAs are below the program requirements. (NOTE: MAT Post-Bacc students who receive two grades of C will be dismissed from the program. See dismissal information.)
Other Important Information:
Post-Baccalaureate certification students completing the FAFSA to receive financial aid for certification must complete the following questions on the 2024-2025 FAFSA accordingly:
- Section 4: Student College or Career School Plans - question “Will the student be pursuing an initial teaching certification in the elementary or secondary level?” should be answered, “Yes”