Admission to Teacher Education

Undergraduate Admission for Majors

Students who intend to major in a teacher education program at The University of Tampa must apply for admission into the Department of Education and have completed, or will complete, 30 credit hours by the end of sophomore year. Transfer students must be admitted to teacher education before enrolling in any 300- or 400-level education courses. Candidates may not enroll in 300- or 400-level education courses until they are officially admitted to teacher education. Application forms are available in the Department of Education office and at www.ut.edu/education/admission.

Students who have submitted the following documentation are eligible for admission to teacher candidacy. Declaring a pre-education major does not guarantee admission to education programs.

• A completed Admission to Teacher Education application
• An unofficial transcript indicating completion of 30 credit hours of coursework
• A cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). 
• Documentation of passing scores on all portions of the General Knowledge (GK) Exam on the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE).
• A signed Cooperative Learning Agreement
• A completed Applicant’s Perspective on Education
• Two completed UT Educator Disposition Assessments with ratings of "1" or higher
• One letter of recommendation
• Criminal Record Information form

Completed applications are to be submitted online to the Department of Education at https://www.ut.edu/education/teacherapplication/ by March 15 (for fall admittance) or Oct. 15 (for spring admittance).

NOTE: International students might not be eligible for Florida teacher certification.

Retention Criteria

In order to remain in good standing in the Department of Education, a candidate must fulfill the following obligations:

Junior Year

• Maintain a 3.0 GPA or better in all coursework
• In the second semester of the junior year, complete the application to sit for all remaining portions of the Florida Teacher Certification Exam (FTCE): Professional Education and Subject Area Exam
• Upload complete UCC Tasks to the LiveText electronic database for review, scoring and data tracking (The coursework in each program requires candidates to provide evidence of mastery of designated Critical Candidate Performance Assessment Tasks. These will be flagged as UCC Critical Assessment Tasks and ESOL Core Tasks in the students' EDU syllabi.)
• Near the end of second semester of junior year, apply for Teaching Practicum III (3)
• At the onset of first semester of senior year apply for the full-time Practicum IV (4): Final Internship

Senior Year

In the second semester of senior year, candidates complete Teaching Practicum IV (4), which is their final internship. All requirements for admission must be met for admittance to the final internship program. Requirements are:

• Maintain a 3.0 GPA or better in all coursework
• Register to sit for all remaining components of the FTCE exams
• Upload all targeted Critical Assessment Tasks and Core ESOL Tasks to LiveText to earn acceptable/target scores on all UCC standards measured through UCC rubrics

Additionally, seniors must complete all of the above and earn a minimum of acceptable ratings on their final internship Teaching Practicum IV (4) Evaluation to qualify for graduation.