Apply to the Teacher Education Program

Students seeking teacher certification must formally apply and be accepted into the LC State Teacher Education Program in order to become teacher candidates, allowing them to take teacher preparation courses, participate in clinical experiences, and be eligible for state certification.

Note for Students with Out-of-State Home Addresses: If considering an academic program that leads to a professional license or certification in your state, it is highly recommended that you first seek guidance from the appropriate licensing agency in your home state BEFORE beginning this academic program located outside your state, or upon changing states. Please visit the Professional Licensure Disclosures website for more information.

Before starting the application, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete or enrolled in final semester of LC State General Education coursework (having achieved C- or better in all courses.)
  • Complete or enrolled in final semester of Phase I courses for your program (having achieved C- or better in all courses.)
    • Elementary:
      • ED 214 - Principles of Education & Field Experience
      • ED 216 - Physical Education for Elementary Teachers
      • ED 225 - Technologies for Teaching K12 
      • RE 217 - Children's Literature & Storytelling
      • HLTH 215 - Elementary Health Science Methods
    • Secondary:
      • ED 214 - Principles of Education
      • ED 225 - Technologies for Teaching K12
      • ED 318 - Assessment of Learning
      • ED 321 - Educational Psychology

Application Requirements

Transcripts: Official transcripts from all institutions attended other than LC State.

GPA: Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Entrance Essay: Response to the prompt in the application.

Standardized Test Scores: Provisional Admission to the Teacher Education Program requires a student to have passing Praxis scores for any Praxis exam required for their main certification area. Most students will not complete the Praxis requirement until the semester before their internship. A student can apply and be admitted Conditionally without Praxis scores, but will have the condition of passing all Praxis exams required for their main endorsement before being placed for their internship.

Praxis scores need to be reported to LC State by midterms of the semester before your internship starts (summer not included). If your Praxis scores are not reported to LC State by midterms of the semester before your internship, your internship placement will not be guaranteed and your placement will not occur until district staff return after summer.

Admission Levels

Conditional: Admitted with conditions such as raising GPA, passing Praxis, working on interview skills, etc.

Provisional: Have passed all Praxis required for main certification area (Elementary – 5001 series; Secondary – varies by major), and completed any conditions identified in acceptance letter. 

Full: Completed fingerprints and are cleared for Secondary Internship or Elementary Internship II.

Interview Process

Once your application materials have been verified, and if you meet the testing requirements indicated above, you will be contacted to schedule the interview process.

The interview process includes the following:

  • Background check -  You must clear an initial background check (name & SSN) through State Police agencies.
  • Improvisational writing sample
  • In-person interview with panel of professional educators 

The interview panel will give numerical weights for the improvisational writing sample and the in-person interview, and then make a recommendation for admission.

Final admission to the Teacher Education program is decided for each applicant by the full faculty based upon review of the application materials and outcomes of the interview process.  

Applicants will be notified of their admission status in a formal letter.

NOTE: There are some detractors that affect admission into the teacher education program.  Those detractors are:

  • Incompletes - patterns of incompletes on transcripts
  • Withdrawals - patterns of withdrawals on transcripts
  • Para-competencies - personal characteristics/attitudes exhibited by the students such as racism, intolerance, and chronic lateness that are inconsistent with the teaching profession
  • Moral turpitude - Conviction of a felony can prohibit you from receiving a teaching certificate in Idaho and could make you ineligible for the LCSC teacher education program.  Disclosure of infractions of any law is necessary.

Note for PACE Students:

To graduate from the CDA PACE program, students must have taken the 5001 or 7811 series of Praxis prior to PACE Summer 2 (Internship I). Endorsement area PRAXIS exams must be passed before starting Internship II. The next orientation date for the CDA PACE program will be April 12th, 2025 at the DeArmond Center on NIC’s campus. You must be able to attend that day in order to be admitted to the Summer I Cohort.