Areas of Certification:

The Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at The Pennsylvania State University offers a Pennsylvania Department of Education approved program for individuals seeking to meet certification requirements. This program leads to an Instructional I teaching certificate to teach agriculture and/or general science, or agriculture and environmental education and/or general science in Pennsylvania’s public schools.

All certification candidates must:

• Have a 3.0 GPA
• Pass a series of PRAXIS pre-certification teacher examinations required in PA.
  • 2008-09 PRAXIS Information Sheet
  • Praxis Testing Centers & Dates
  • Alternate Scoring Method
• Have documentation of at least 80 hours of volunteer or paid education work experience with learners of the age group the candidate plans to teach. At least 40 of these age-appropriate 80 hours must be with learners whose cultural, social, or ethnic backgrounds differ from the candidate's own. (Click here to view and print the PDF version of the required form, or pick one up in 213 Ferguson Building.)
• Complete an early field experience, with the cooperating teacher at the designated school. This is specified by the certification program. (AEE 295)
• Complete at least 48 semester credit hours, including ENGL 015 or ENGL 030, 3 credits of literature, and 6 credits of quantification.
• Secure a student teaching experience in the requested area of certification. (AEE 495)

All candidates seeking initial certification must complete an application for the appropriate certificate, which does require a physical examination by a physician licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. Also, an application fee, made payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is required.

Students enrolled in either the agriculture or environmental science option can add additional certification areas to their Instructional I certificate by completing additional coursework.

Production Option: Leads to certification in agriculture and general science. You can add environmental education by completing at least 12 additional credits.

Environmental Science Option: Leads to certification in agriculture, environmental education, and general science. Additional coursework requires at least 6 credits from the following two areas.

• Animal Science
• Plant Science