Additional or specialty teaching licenses

Our additional licenses are added to a current Tier 3 or Tier 4, full-time professional Minnesota teaching license. If you want to add a new field or scope to your teaching, an additional license may be the path for you. Common additional licensure paths include, but are not limited to:

Elementary licensed teachers adding a middle school specialty area license.
Secondary licensed teachers adding a new secondary specialty area, or a middle school license in their current (or new) specialty area.
Additional licenses are also available in special education, English as a Second Language (ESL), world languages, and more.

Complete program requirements

Application information is listed by program. The number of credits required to complete a program varies based on past coursework. We will review your coursework after you apply.

Please review the requirements for your program.

Deadlines

October 1 to begin classes in spring semester (January)
January 15 priority deadline for arts in education applicants. This program admits students once a year to begin classes in summer term.
February 1 to begin classes in summer semester (May/June)
March 1 for special education applicants only. This program admits students once a year to begin classes in summer of fall semesters.
June 1 to begin classes in fall semester (September)

Program areas

Agricultural education (grades 5-12)

(grades K-12)

Arts in education
- Dance (grades K-12)
- Theater (grades K-12)
- Visual arts (grades K-12)
Early childhood education (Birth - 3rd grade)
English as a second language [ESL] (grades K-12)
Mathematics education (grades 5-12)

High School (grades 5-12)
Middle Level (grades 5-8)

Parent and family education
Science education
- chemistry (grades 9-12)
- earth and space science (grades 9-12)
- life science (grades 9-12)
- physics (grades 9-12)
Special education
- ABS Additional Licensure (grades K-12)
- DHH Additional Licensure (Birth-Grade 12)
- ECSE Additional Licensure (Birth-Age 6)
World languages and cultures (grades K-12)

Under federal financial aid rules, students enrolled in additional teaching licensure-only coursework have different aid options than students in a degree-seeking program at the University. More on additional licensure and financial aid [PDF].

Apply for your license

License requirements are set by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) and are subject to change.

Once you have completed all course requirements and all of your final grades are posted to your transcript, you can proceed with your application for an additional license.

You will receive specific instructions from OTE on how to submit your complete application packet to PELSB.

You can track your license progress through PELSB's website.

If you have further questions, please contact the Office of Teacher Education at ote@umn.edu.