Preapplication

1. Contact the COE Advisement Center (277-3190) and make an appointment with a college academic advisor for an evaluation of courses taken and those needed for licensure and graduation.

2. Make an appointment with a faculty advisor (see list for faculty by content specialty) to review requirements for the teaching endorsement and to determine when professional education courses can be taken. Bring transcripts; unofficials can be used at this time. See advisement form for your content specialty.

Note: Faculty advisors are generally not available for advisement during semester breaks and the summer. See a college academic advisor in the COE Advisement Center (277-3190) if you need assistance during this time, or make an appointment with your faculty advisor when UNM is back in session.]

Application

3. Applicants need a minimum of 26 credit hrs. and a 2.5 overall GPA for admission to the College of Education.

4. Register for the New Mexico Assessment of Teacher Basic Skills and have scores sent to the COE Advisement Center. Students can register online for the test (http://www.nmta.nesinc.com/). Students may submit an application without the NMTA score if they will be taking the test after the application deadline. Students are granted provisional acceptance pending receipt of scores from the NMTA.

5. Application deadlines are: September 2 and April 1.

Note: Students should retain a copy of the approved/signed advisement form that was filled out by the college academic advisor and their faculty advisor.

Program

6. Applicants accepted to the program receive a letter from the Department of Teacher Education within four weeks after submitting their application.

Licensure Courses

7. Students complete program requirements in General Education and their chosen content specialty before enrolling in educational courses under Teaching and Learning Support Requirements.

Note: It is recommended that students not take education courses until they are close to starting their licensure courses in the Fall semester.

8. Students continue to meet with their faculty advisor to ensure that they are completing requirements and to approve their enrollment in the professional education sequence. The student should update their advisement form as courses are completed.

PreStudent & Student Teaching

9. Attend orientation in spring semester for students starting professional education courses in the fall semester. Complete the field experience registration form.

Note: Students must be within 6 credits of completing all pre professional requirements to enroll in the Professional Licensure courses in the Fall as listed on the advisement form.

Students who miss the first orientation will have a second opportunity to receive information about the program and meet with a faculty advisor in late July. Attending an orientation and meeting with a faculty advisor are prerequisites for enrolling in the Professional Licensure courses in the Fall.

10. Complete a fingerprint and background check and purchase liability insurance from the American Federation of Teachers. Provide copies of each for your file at the Office of Field Experiences in Travelstead Hall.

Note: Both field experiences, prestudent teaching in the Fall and student teaching in the Spring require that the student be at the school everyday for the length of the UNM semester. For prestudent teaching, this is the equivalent of 5 hours a week; for student teaching in the Spring, it means being at the school for the whole day, five days a week.

Licensure

11. Do a completion check during the fall semester to ensure that course requirements for graduation and licensure are being met. This will be done midway through the fall semester with the appropriate college academic advisor.

12. Complete the required two tests of the New Mexico Teacher Assessments: New Mexico Assessment of Teacher Competency and the appropriate content specialty test found under the New Mexico Content Knowledge Assessments. Register online for the tests (http://www.nmta.nesinc.com/).

13. Complete the application for a teacher license from the Public Education Department from their website: http://www.ped.state.nm.us/licensure/