51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Complete a master's or higher degree program that leads to educator certification in 51³Ô¹ÏÍø State or another jurisdiction. In other words, the degree must result in an institutional recommendation for certification in the state where the institution is located.

• In making their decision to enroll in a program for the purpose of meeting this requirement, candidates must ensure that the program leads to educator certification in the jurisdiction where the program is offered. Otherwise, the degree cannot be accepted for this purpose.
• Master's degree programs would lead to teacher, administrator (e.g., school building leader, school district leader, school district business leader), or pupil personnel services (e.g., school counselor, school psychology, school social work) certification.
• You can research master’s degree programs authorized by the NYS Board of Regents - that lead to educator certification:
• You can research accredited institutions of higher education here:
• If you are not sure whether a program leads to educator certification in the state where it is located, you can contact the institution or the education department in that state.

Complete a master’s or higher degree program in any field - including 12 semester hours of graduate study in the content core of the Initial certificate or in a related content area. These 12 semester hours can be completed in any combination of the two options described below.

• Graduate coursework in the content area of the certificate
  • ​Acceptable coursework includes courses offered by a college department in the same subject area of the Initial certificate (e.g., Mathematics Department for mathematics courses). Courses that are not offered in a college department in the subject area will be considered at the time of the evaluation. Coursework must be completed at an institution of higher education that is accredited by an institutional accrediting agency recognized for this purpose by the United States Department of Education. Find a list of the content areas on our website.
• Graduate coursework in content-linking pedagogy
  • ​Content-linking pedagogy refers to coursework focused on the methods of teaching content in the subject area of the certificate sought. For example, a secondary Biology teacher could take courses in advanced curriculum development specific to teaching Biology. Content-linking pedagogy courses and/or content courses in the subject area of the Initial certificate, in any combination, can meet the 12-semester-hour requirement for Professional certification. For example, the candidate who holds an Initial Biology (Grades 7-12) certificate could complete 6 semester hours of graduate-level Biology coursework and 6 semester hours of graduate-level content-linking pedagogy (teaching methods) courses focused on Biology to satisfy the Graduate Coursework Content Core requirement.
  • All content-linking pedagogical coursework must be completed at an institution of higher education that has an educator preparation program and is accredited by an institutional accrediting agency recognized for this purpose by the United States Department of Education in the state where the institution is physically located.