Michigan Teaching Certification and Certificate Endorsements

Michigan requires that teachers and school administrators be certificated.  School guidance counselors must hold the proper license. Oakland University is authorized to recommend candidates for teaching certification at several levels:

• Elementary:  Able to teach all subjects K-5, and all subjects K-8 in a self-contained classroom.
• Secondary:  Able to teach subject area endorsements listed on the teaching certificate in grades 6-12.
• K-12:  Able to teach a particular subject or subjects listed on the teaching certificate (usually secondary) in grades K-12. These include art, music, several modern languages, and English as a Second Language.
  
  (See Michigan Department of Education Certification Guidance at  https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/ed-serv/ed-cert/cert-guidance.)

At the graduate level, Oakland offers three programs leading to recommendations for initial teacher certification:

1. Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education  
2. Master of Arts in Teaching in Secondary Education  
3. Master of Arts in Teaching in K-12 Special Education  

Oakland also provides four types of “planned programs” for renewing standard certification or for applying for professional certification. These can be found on the Educator Certification page on the School of Education and Human Services site. The Education-related professional learning options document will direct you to the programs and their advisers.

Endorsements are subjects a teacher is authorized to teach at specific grade levels based upon completion of appropriate coursework and passage of the specific state test for that subject area. See the Michigan Department of Education list of Active Teacher and School Counselor Endorsements and School Administrator Certifications. Endorsements are attached to the original teacher certification.

The list of endorsements is included in the  Education-related professional learning options document. The Educator Certification site gives details as to how to add an endorsement to your certificate.

For more information, please call the School of Education and Human Services Certification Office at (248) 370.3242, visit https://www.oakland.edu/sehs-advising/certification/, or email certification@oakland.edu.
 

PLEASE NOTE:  Recent legislative acts will create changes in certification and how they will be obtained and maintained. Please check the Educator Certification Web page often.  You may also want to check https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/ed-serv/ed-cert/cert-guidance to keep up-to-date.