Admission Requirements/Deadlines

Applicants to the Graduate Certificate in Teaching must meet the following requirements:

  • A four-year undergraduate degree from a regionally-accredited institution
  • An overall GPA of at least 2.75; an overall GPA of 2.7 or higher will be considered with very strong recommendations*
  • For Middle Grades, Secondary, Foreign Language, and CTE concentrations, one of the following:
    • A relevant undergraduate degree (see planning sheets)
    • 21 hours of background coursework (see planning sheets)**
    • Passing scores on exams required for NC licensure. Note: edTPA is not required prior to admission. Candidates will complete this assessment during the student teaching internship.
  • For Foreign Language (except Chinese, French, German, or Spanish) concentrations:
    • Full-time employment as a teacher in the program content area
  • Completed application with the Graduate School, including:
    • Two online professional recommendations coming from individuals in a supervisory capacity (i.e. principal or manager) and/or academic reference (i.e. professor)
    • A satisfactory statement of purpose
    • Signed Commitment to Disposition form
    • Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended during or after high school
    • Satisfactory results from a criminal background check. View the full Cato COED CBC and Drug Screening Policy here.

*Applicants with an overall GPA below 2.7 can pursue admission through GPA forgiveness.

*Applicants who most recently completed a bachelor’s degree from an institution that awards “Pass/Fail” for program completion in place of a GPA based on a 4.0 scale, must first pursue admission through the GPA Forgiveness route. To meet NCDPI’s requirements, all candidates admitted to an Educator Preparation Program must have a GPA of 2.7 or higher. We cannot directly accept candidates into the Graduate Certificate in Teaching based on a “Pass/Fail” transcript.

**It is strongly recommended that you contact Ms. Cassandra Himes (chimes1@charlotte.edu; 704-687-8727) to have your background coursework reviewed prior to submitting an application with the Graduate School.

Application Deadlines

Applications should be submitted as soon as possible to https://gradadmissions.charlotte.edu/apply to allow time to register before class begins. Applications must be completed (i.e., all required documents submitted) by the following deadlines:

Fall Admission: August 9th for all concentrations except Art Education which is August 1st
Spring Admission: December 1st
Summer I Admission: May 15th
Summer II Admission: June 15th

Available Start Terms

Fall, Spring, and Summer: B-K, CTE, Elementary Education, ESL, Foreign Language, Middle, Secondary, and Special Education
Fall and Spring only: Art

Questions?

Please contact:

  • Ms. Cassandra Himes (chimes1@charlotte.edu), 704-687-8727) for questions about B-K, CTE, Foreign Language, Middle, Secondary, and TESL programs
  • Ms. Ashley Langan (alangan1@charlotte.edu), 704-687-8882) for questions about Elementary Education and Special Education programs
  • Ms. Ashley Gibson (agibso55@charlotte.edu, 704-687-5235) for questions about the Art Education program

Please join our virtual drop-in sessions on Mondays from 3-4 p.m. and Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. to inquire about the Graduate Certificate in Teaching and receive application support.

Join the virtual meetings here.