
Students > Graduate School and Pre-Professional Programs

CAREER EXPLORATION

JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS

GRADUATE SCHOOL and
PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS

Health Professions

Graduate Schools

Teaching

- Public School

- Certification

- Certification Timeline

- Alternative Certification

INTERNATIONAL STUDY & WORK

COMMUNITY OUTREACH and
PUBLIC INTEREST PROGRAMS

AMHERST CAREER NETWORK

REAL WORLD TRANSITIONS

QUICK LINKS

Teaching--Teacher Licensure

Amherst College & Mt. Holyoke College Secondary School Teacher Licensure Program

General Timeline & Things to keep in Mind for Amherst Students:

1. As soon as you know you are interested in the Teacher Licensure Program at MHC, please be in touch with Dean Bekki Lee in the Amherst College Career Center. Also make an appointment with Beverley Bell, the Five College Teacher Licensure Coordinator, at the Amherst College Career Center.

2. In addition to majoring in the subject area in which you are seeking licensure, a listing of program coursework prerequisites is available on pages 314-315 of the Amherst College 2005-2006 Course Catalog, or in the MHC worksheet entitled "Information About Undergraduate Teacher Licensure at Mount Holyoke College." Amherst College offers programs through MHC leading towards initial license in the following areas:

teacher of middle school [5-8] in history, biology, earth science, political science/political philosophy, and mathematics
teacher of secondary school [8-12] in English, history, biology, earth science, Latin & Classical humanities, political science/political philosophy, and mathematics
teacher of visual art [5-12]
teacher of foreign language [5-12]: Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Russian
teacher of music [All Levels]

3. For an initial meeting, please contact Beverely Bell, who will be at the Amherst College Career Center on Fridays. You can also make an appointment by calling 542-2265.

4. In order to be licensed in Massachusetts you are required to take two teacher tests. The first test, the Communications and Literacy Test, needs to be taken prior to your formal application to the program. More information on this test can be obtained when you visit Bev Bell or by looking at the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) website. The 2005-2006 dates for registration are: September 26th through October 7th for the November 19th test, and January 9th through January 20th for the March 4th test. Registration Bulletins are available at the Amherst Career Center.

5. You must apply to the Teacher Licensure Program in your Junior year. The Teacher Licensure Program includes a practicum semester during the spring of your senior year. Applications are due February 15 and are available through the Amherst Career Center in January, or online at Mt. Holyoke College.

6. If you are interested in urban education, there are two field visits to Holyoke High School and William Dean Technical High School each year, held in October and March. Information should be available in the Career Center the month before each trip. Reservations are required.

7. The second test that you need to pass is the Subject Matter Test. This should be taken prior to November of your Senior year. There are usually at least two test dates in the fall semester of your senior year on which you can take the test. There is a deadline date for registration and these change from year to year, so be sure to check either the Massachusetts Department of Education or the MTEL site for current dates and deadlines.

Students need to pass the Communications and Literacy portion of the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure as well as the Subject test before the spring senior year practicum semester of student teaching.

8. Senior Year JTerm/Interterm General Info: This course (90 hours) is required to complete the Teacher Licensure Program and is taken during the Senior year. (This opportunity can be available to juniors only with permission of the instructor). Information packets should be available by mid-October. There are three required meetings for this course. The first meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. November 16th at Mount Holyoke College, Room 301 Reese Psychology and Education Building. The second meeting will take place in early December. Placement information forms are due at this early December meeting. The final meeting of the course is usually the end of January.

Mount Holyoke College Pass Rates of Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure

Federal regulations require that results of state-mandated teacher tests be reported annually in college catalogues and in other published information pertaining to the teacher education programs. The results for Mount Holyoke College for 2003-2004 are as follows:

One hundred percent of the ten 2003-2004 program completers passed the reading and writing sections of the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure. Pass rates are not reported for academic areas where there were less than ten students who took the test. Therefore, there are no individual reports for results for Early Childhood (4), General Curriculum (5), Visual Art (1) and Foundations of Reading (9). The aggregate score for the ten students who took a total of nineteen subject areas was 100%. The summary total and aggregate score for the ten students who took both the basic skills and specific subject area tests was 100%.

Updated 09/02/05