Secondary Alternate Route Teacher Education Pathway

This pathway is an option for current University of Southern Mississippi undergraduate students to begin pursuing alternate-route licensure while completing a non-licensure undergraduate degree. A junior or senior may apply to enter the pathway as a non-degree graduate student and take one graduate-level teacher education course each semester while completing a bachelor’s degree. Upon completion, students are eligible to apply for a Mississippi secondary license in one or more of the following areas:

• Biology
• Business Education
• Chemistry
• English Language and Literature
• French
• Health Education
• Home Economics
• Library Media Specialist
• Mathematics
• Physical Education
• Physics
• Social Studies
• Spanish

For admission, students are required to:

1. Have a minimum ACT composite score of 21 or a minimum SAT composite score of 1060.
   or
2. Have passing scores on the Core Academic Skills for Educators Test (CORE). Current test codes and minimum score requirements can be found at the ETS website.
3. Have a minimum Grade Point Average of 2.75 on the 44 semester-hour core curriculum of pre-major coursework.
4. Submit a letter of recommendation from faculty or administration mailed to the alternate route coordinator.
5. Have a clear criminal background check via CastleBranch.
6. Meet with the alternate route coordinator for an advisement appointment.

Licensure: This program is designed to meet the professional competency standards for licensure in Mississippi. The University of Southern Mississippi cannot determine whether this program leads to licensure in any state other than Mississippi.  It is recommended that students who intend to seek licensure in another state verify that this program of study meets the desired state’s licensure requirements. For assistance with out-of-state licensure questions, please refer to the Professional Licensure Disclosures webpage.