New freshmen and transfer students are admitted directly to the School of Education as Pre-Secondary Education students (PRS classification). On-campus students wishing to be admitted as Pre-Secondary Education students must formally apply for admission to the School of Education. Click here for a pre-professional application form. Contact Education Academic Services (EAS), Rust-Schreiner Halls, 115 North Orchard Street, 608-262-1651, for more details.
Resources limit the number of students who can be served by UW-Madison Secondary Education teacher preparation programs. Thus, admission to this Secondary Education program is limited and may be competitive. Over the last few years 14-15 students have been admitted annually to this program. Obtaining or exceeding the minimum criteria for eligibility does not guarantee admission. Requirements and admission criteria may change from one admission period to the next.
Applicants to these programs will be admitted once a year, during the spring semester. Admission decisions will be based on course work completed through the preceding fall semester. Admission is provisional until spring semester work has been completed and posted and Education Academic Services staff have verified that students have met minimum grade point averages and earned minimum credits in their major. Admitted students will begin the sequence the following fall semester.
To be considered for admission, students must meet the following criteria by the end of spring semester 2010:
Two grade point averages will be calculated to determine candidates' eligibility and selection to programs. GPAs will be calculated using (1) all transferable college level course work attempted, and (2) the last 60 credits attempted. The higher GPA of these two will be used for purposes of admission. If fewer than 60 credits have been attempted, all credits will be used to calculate the GPA. Graded graduate course work will also be used in all GPA calculations. ("Attempted" course work indicates course work for which a grade has been earned.) For more information on this rule, click here.
Students may apply to two certification programs. Eligibility requirements must be met and separate applications must be filed for each area of interest. Students must be admitted as a major in at least one of the program areas–it is not possible to be admitted to Secondary Education only in a minor program area. Certification in two subjects requires the consent and cooperation of the faculty coordinators of both subject areas. While multiple majors or major-minor combinations are feasible and may be advantageous as a career strategy, the additional subject area course work may require extra time beyond the sequence to complete course work. Students are encouraged to work closely with their EAS academic advisor to coordinate the requirements of multiple certifications.
Applicants who are not already enrolled on the UW-Madison campus must be admissible to the University to enroll in a School of Education program. Admission to UW-Madison requires a separate application and admission process. See UW-Madison Undergraduate Admissions for application information. Find more detailed information for prospective transfer students at this link. Prospective transfer students are strongly advised to meet with an Education Academic Services advisor in advance of their application.
A holistic judgment of each eligible applicant is made by a panel of Mathematics faculty and staff. Each judge considers the applicant’s proficiency or potential proficiency on each of the criteria below by examining the contents of the applicant’s file.
Criminal background checks will be run on all students at admission. Applicants must also complete a disclosure statement. See this link for more detailed information.
Persons who already hold an undergraduate degree are admitted to the School of Education as either an Education Special student or a Second Degree student, depending on their interests and academic background. The term Special student indicates that the student has an interest in pursuing certification in a subject area studied during the initial degree; the student does not receive a degree for this "certification only" course work. Second Degree students are seeking a second, unrelated degree from the School of Education, which may, or may not, include teacher certification. Candidates for limited enrollment programs must meet all admission eligibility requirements for the program and must compete with the eligible applicants for program admission. See this link for more details.