University of Iowa Teacher Education Program

We strongly encourage you to consult closely with a Hawkeye advisor and a University of Iowa transfer advisor to ensure that you are completing all of the necessary course and admission requirements.

These requirements are subject to change without notice. Please check with University of Iowa for verification of courses.

Admission

If you are interested in applying for a major in Elementary Education, you must be admitted into the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

If you are applying for a Secondary Education major, you must apply to the college in which you want to teach.

Teacher Education Program Application Minimum Criteria

1. Complete a University of Iowa admissions application and be admitted as a degree candidate.

2. Complete the Teacher Education Program Application Packet and submit with all additional materials required for application including:

   1. Signed Non-Law Enforcement Record Check Request

   2. Student Consent for Release of Records form

   3. Verification of 10 Hour Pre-Admission Volunteer Field Experience form. Applicants to the Teacher Education program must have completed 10 hours of qualifying volunteer experience for admittance into the program.

      You may take EDU920 Field Experience at Hawkeye to meet this requirement with documentation from your course instructor.

   4. Two letters of recommendation

   5. A personal statement. The personal statement needs to be error proof. Have multiple people proof it for you.

3. Complete a minimum of 33 semester hours of college credit.

4. Cumulative 2.70 on all college level course work including transfer courses and all courses taken at Iowa. Secondary teaching programs may have higher GPA requirements.

   Special considerations may apply to this requirement. Please see the Teacher Education Program Application Packet for more information.

5. Praxis I (PPST or C-PPST) Designated Institution Score Report with minimum scores of 522 cumulative (an average of 174) and no score below 170 on Reading, Writing, and Mathematics tests.

   This test must be completed before transfer with results in by application deadline. Your score will not be available for 6-8 weeks, so take the exam well in advance of the application deadline. Register for the PRAXIS exam or view sample questions.

6. Submit transcripts of all college level course work to the Office of Teacher Education and Student Services at the University of Iowa if:

   • you have earned a degree at another institution or
   • you have not yet completed a semester at the University of Iowa

   Submitting transcripts to The University of Iowa Office of Admissions is not sufficient.

Admission is highly competitive. Meeting the requirements does not guarantee admission.

Application Deadline

Application deadlines for the Teacher Education Program are March 15 for Fall Semester and October 15 for Spring Semester.

Background Check

All students enrolled in the Teacher Education Program at the University of Iowa will be subject  to a background check prior to the issuance of their teaching license.

Minor offenses can delay licensure. Major offenses can prohibit licensure.

It is important to be truthful about this information on your University of Iowa application because omissions or false information can be grounds for denial of licensure from the state of Iowa, even for minor offenses.

Check with the State of Iowa Department of Education for further questions.

General Education Requirements

Students who have completed the Associate of Arts degree from Hawkeye will have completed all general education requirements for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with the exception of the Foreign Language requirement.

Foreign Language General Education Requirement

You are required to complete the Foreign Language requirement for the College of Business if you have not:

• earned an Associate of Arts degree,
• graduated high school between 1985-1991 and have at least 24 credit hours or more earned, or
• graduated high school prior to 1985.

Students may be admitted without this requirement on a conditional basis.

To fulfill the Foreign Language requirement you must:

• complete two years of a foreign language in high school, OR
• complete two semesters of a foreign language in college, AND
• complete intermediate courses of the same foreign language at Iowa.

The following are courses that may be taken at Hawkeye to apply towards the foreign language requirement.

Education Core Courses

Students in the Teacher Education Program at the University of Iowa are required to document achievement through a web-based portfolio.

You should keep all supporting materials from the education courses you take to be used to build “electronic backpack” of documented skills for licensure and job placement. 

Materials you will want to save include your:

• syllabi
• notes
• papers
• projects
• other supporting materials

The following courses can be included in your Associate of Arts degree coursework to transfer to the Teacher Education Program degree requirements at the University of Iowa.

Teacher Certification Courses