Teacher Licensure State Requirements - New York

Become a Teacher in New York

If you aspire to become a teacher, Western Governors University can help. Our online teaching certification programs will prepare you to effectively educate others.

Before becoming a licensed teacher in New York, you must meet all of New York’s teacher certification requirements (for those who are seeking certification via interstate reciprocity), including:

• Graduation from a bachelor’s degree program at a regionally accredited college or university.
• Graduation from an approved teacher education program in another state. The program must be comparable to a NY teacher preparation program and must lead to certification in the home state in which the program is approved. Please note the following:
  • NY requires a graduation date on the transcript that is submitted as verification of program completion. Therefore, WGU students must graduate prior to becoming eligible for certification in New York.
  • A level 2 license from the home state of the preparing institution is only required of those applying for a conditional initial certificate based on at least three years teaching experience in another state. This is not required of WGU graduates.
• Background clearance resulting from completion of the required background check.
• Passing scores on the NY basic skills exam, the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST).
• Passing scores on the NYSTCE content and pedagogy exams.
• Completion of designated workshops in child abuse identification and school violence intervention and prevention.

In order to obtain a New York teaching license after graduating from a post-baccalaureate or master of arts in teaching program at WGU, New York requires an acceptable undergraduate degree in the core content area or at least 30 semester hours of college-level coursework in the core content area. WGU will evaluate your transcript(s) prior to enrollment, but the New York State Education Department (NYSED) will make the authoritative and final determination about your eligibility for any type of certification. The NYSED may, at its discretion, require graduates of any program to complete additional coursework to become eligible for certification. NYSED certification requirements can be found at http://eservices.nysed.gov/teach/certhelp/CertRequirementHelp.do.

Note: Listed requirements are current and are subject to change at any time, even during enrollment.

For the most current information about becoming a licensed teacher in New York, please check the New York State Education Department website:
New York State Education Department Web site
(518) 474-3901