Initial licensure milestone requirements

Milestone 1: Admission to major (undergraduate)/admission to graduate school (graduate)

• Undergraduate admission to major: Undergraduate freshman and transfer admissions criteria are established and monitored by central undergraduate admissions.

• Graduate admission to the Graduate School: Graduate admissions criteria are detailed in the Graduate Bulletin.

Milestone 2: Admission to teacher preparation

• Minimum GPA:

  • Undergraduate: Completion of applicable pre-professional requirements (50 credits including various foundational courses) with a minimum VCU GPA of 2.8 (cumulative). 

    • EDUS 202 and EDUS 301 or equivalent(s) must be completed and/or enrolled in by the candidate at the time of admission to teacher preparation.

  • Extended Teacher Preparation Program (Master of Teaching secondary licensure areas): Completion of applicable pre-professional requirements (60 credits including various foundational courses) with a minimum undergraduate VCU GPA of 2.8 (cumulative).

    • EDUS 301 or equivalent must be completed and/or enrolled in by the candidate at the time of admission to teacher preparation.

  • Graduate: Completion of applicable pre-professional requirements with a minimum GPA of 2.8 (cumulative). However, note that for admission to graduate study at VCU, the Graduate School requires an undergraduate GPA of 3.0. or better.

    • For all programs (except Master of Education in Special Education), EDUS 301 or equivalent must be completed and/or enrolled in by the candidate at the time of admission to teacher preparation.

    • For the M.Ed. in Special Education, any SEDP foundation course must be completed and/or enrolled in by the candidate at the time of admission to teacher preparation.

• Submission of self-reported dispositions form. 

• Submission of self-report of criminal background history. 

• An advisor or department chair acknowledgment of the application confirmed by the School of Education.

Milestone 3: Admission to clinical experience (student teaching/internship/externship) 

• Submission of completed departmental application for a clinical experience by the established deadline.

• Completion of required coursework, including mid-program assessments (i.e., mid-program dispositions, mid-program lesson plan), with a minimum cumulative VCU GPA of 3.0 and no grade lower than a C in education courses (CLED, ECSE, EDUS, HPED, SEDP, TEDU). Additionally, for the Bachelor of Science in Education in Early Childhood Education and Teaching and the Bachelor of Science in Education in Elementary Education and Teaching, no grade lower than a C in required math sequences.

  • B.S.Ed. in Early Childhood Education and Teaching math sequence

  • B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education and Teaching math sequence

• Completion of all additional required training (statutory requirements for initial licensure) as outlined on the VDOE website.

• Passing scores on all state-mandated tests for licensure¹

• Successful demonstration of dispositional readiness evidenced by program-facilitated dispositional alerts and reviews.

• Submission of descriptive statement on experiences related to children or teaching.

• Submission of a criminal background review without a felony conviction within 90 days before placement start date.

• Submission of tuberculosis test results.

• Successful faculty review of early clinical experience performance.

Milestone 4: Exit from clinical experience and program completion

• Completion of all degree requirements, including any prerequisite licensure content courses. 

• Submission of completed application for initial teacher licensure.