Certification of School Personnel
Types of Certificates Issued by New York State
New York State issues two different certification documents:
Initial Certification
Is the first New York State certificate; has a five-year life (School counselor & administrator certificates offer old "provisional" and "permanent" titles).
- Completion of approved undergraduate or graduate preparation program.
- Passing New York State teacher exams: Liberal Arts & Sciences Test (LAST), Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W), and Content Specialty Test(s) (CST).
- Completed online certification application, fingerprinting, Child Health & Life Safety online seminar and good moral character.
Professional Certification
- Must be earned before initial certificate expires.
- No exams required (except Speech & Language Disabilities).
- Requires graduate study, teaching and professional development.
For those with initial certification earned at the Bachelors level, options are:
- Masters degree to lead to professional certification in area of initial certification.
- Masters degree in a new certification area.
- Any Masters degree provided that 12 graduate credits of content related to the initial certificate are completed (as part of the Masters or in addition to it), as specified by New York State.
- Those completing initial certification through a Masters degree have met the academic requirements for professional certification.
- All are required to have 3 years of teaching.
- Continuing professional development every 5 years is required.
Provisional/Permanent Certification
Provisional certificate: The provisional certificate is valid for 5 years. The requirements for permanent certification must be met before the provisional certificate expires.
- Permanent certificate: Currently, the requirements for permanent certification are that:
- The applicant be employed two years in a regular teaching position which can be at a private institution or in a different state.
- The applicant obtains a Masters degree in either the same certification area or in a related area. For example, if you were first certified in Elementary Education, you could obtain a Masters degree either in Elementary Education or in a subject area (i.e. English.) Once you have two years of teaching experience, you would then be eligible for permanent certification in Elementary Education and may be eligible for certification in English.
- Some areas require additional New York State exams. Consult the chart included in this booklet for exact test requirements.
Masters degrees in the areas of School Counseling, Educational Administration, or Higher Education typically will not be considered "related areas." Check with the New York State Education Department before entering these programs to see if the program's Masters degree will apply toward your permanent certification.
Those with provisional (not initial) teaching certification must meet the permanent (not professional) certification requirements in effect on the date of the certificate, but must meet the initial certification requirements for all new certificates.
Undergraduate Programs
Program Name |
Certification Title |
Art Education |
Visual Art (All Grades) |
English Education |
English Language Arts (7-12) |
Inclusive Elementary & Special Education |
Childhood Education (1-6) & Special Education/Students with Disabilities (1-6) |
Mathematics Education |
Mathematics (7-12) |
Music Education |
Music (All Grades) |
Physical Education |
Physical Education (All Grades) |
Science Education/Biology |
Biology (7-12) |
Science Education/Chemistry |
Chemistry (7-12) |
Science Education/Earth Science |
Earth Science (7-12) |
Science Education/Physics |
Physics (7-12) |
Social Studies Education |
Social Studies (7-12) |
Graduate Programs
Program Name |
Certification Title |
Art Education Prep |
Visual Arts (All Grades) |
Art Education Professional Certification |
Visual Arts (All Grades) |
Childhood Education Prep (1-6) |
Childhood Education (1-6) |
Counselor Education |
School Counselor (Provisional cert) |
Early Childhood Special Education |
Early Childhood Education (Birth-2) |
Educational Leadership (old program) |
School Administrator/Supervisor (thru 9/01/07) |
| School District Administrator (thru 9/01/07) | |
Educational Leadership (new program) |
School Building Leader (Replaces SAS) |
School District Leader (replaces SDA) |
|
| English Education Prep (7-12) | English Language Arts (7-12) |
Inclusive Special Education Prep (1-6) |
Childhood Education (1-6) |
Inclusive Special Education Prep (7-12) |
Special Education/Students with Disabilities (7-12) (to match prior certification) |
* Library & Info Science: School Media |
Library Media Specialist (All Grades) |
Literacy Education (Birth-6) |
Literacy (Birth-6) |
Literacy Education (5-12) |
Literacy (5-12) |
Mathematics Education Prep (7-12) |
Mathematics (7-12) |
Music Education Prep |
Music (All Grades) |
Music Education Professional Certification - MS/MMUS |
Music (All Grades) |
Science/Biology Prep (7-12) |
Biology (7-12) |
Science/Chemistry Prep (7-12) |
Chemistry (7-12) |
Science/Earth Science Prep (7-12) |
Earth Science (7-12) |
Science/Physics Prep (7-12) |
Physics (7-12) |
Social Studies Prep (7-12) |
Social Studies (7-12) |
** Speech-Language Pathology (NYT) |
Speech & Language Disabilities |
* Program offered through School of Information Studies
** Program offered through College of Arts & Sciences