How to Choose a Teaching Degree Program: 7 Things to Check
When you're choosing a teaching degree program, confirm it's approved by your state for the credential you want. Program approval is a key requirement for licensure eligibility, though you'll also need to meet your state's other licensing requirements. From there, compare degree level, route, clinical placement, and reported exam pass rates.
Most people picking a teaching program compare the wrong things first. Rankings and course lists are easy to find, and neither one tells you whether your state will license you when you finish. Here are seven checks worth running, roughly in the order they matter.
1. Decide on the Grade Band, Subject, and Degree Level First
You can't compare programs until you know what you're comparing. Three questions settle most of it: which grade band you want, which subject, and which degree.
Grade band and subject determine the endorsement you'll be seeking, and endorsements are specific. A program that prepares elementary generalists will not get you a secondary mathematics endorsement, no matter how good it is.
Degree level is the question people skip, and it's the one that changes everything else. Here's how the levels typically line up.
| Degree | Typical Length | Who It Fits | What It Leads To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's (BA or BS) | Four years | First-time undergraduates | Initial certification in most states, when paired with a state-approved preparation program |
| Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) | One to two years | Career-changers who already hold a bachelor's in another field | Initial certification, depending on the state and whether the program is approved for your endorsement |
| Master of Education (MEd) | One to two years | Teachers who already hold a license | Added endorsements and subject specialization |
| Education Specialist (EdS) | One to two years past a master's | Teachers moving toward specialist or leadership work | Advanced specialization, and in some states part of the coursework behind an administrative credential |
| EdD or PhD | Three to six years | Teachers and administrators moving into leadership, policy, or research | District leadership, policy, and university faculty work |
One caution on that last row. A doctorate does not by itself make you a certified principal or superintendent. Principal and superintendent roles may require separate state-issued administrative licenses, certificates, or endorsements, depending on the state, and the coursework, experience, and testing behind them vary considerably from state to state. Plenty of people hold an EdD and no administrative credential.
If you're still working out which level fits, our overview of teaching degrees and education programs lays out the options side by side.
2. Work Out Whether You Need the Traditional Route or an Alternative One
The traditional route is a bachelor's degree completed alongside a state-approved preparation program, usually as an undergraduate education major. It's the most common way in, and it isn't the only one.
Alternative routes are built for people who already hold a bachelor's in something else. They can lead to a standard teaching credential, but the credential sequence and requirements vary by state and pathway. What generally differs is the schedule: you often start teaching sooner, on a provisional, intern, or temporary credential, while you finish coursework and testing. Career and technical education has its own routes again, sometimes weighted toward industry experience rather than a degree in education.
The distinction is formal enough that federal reporting tracks it, and alternative providers don't all sit inside a university. Some operate independently, which is worth knowing if you already have a degree and can't stop working.
For graduate-level entry specifically, our roundup of best-value teacher prep master's programs is a reasonable place to start comparing.
3. Confirm State Approval Before You Look at Accreditation
These two get conflated constantly, and getting them backward is the expensive mistake on this list.
State program approval is a key requirement for licensure eligibility, but candidates must also meet their state's individual licensing requirements. Your state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency approves specific preparation programs for specific endorsements, and finishing an approved one is what gets your application considered. Alongside it sit the other requirements your state sets, which commonly include degree, exams, clinical experience, and a background check. A program that isn't approved can leave you short on the first of those, whatever else it has going for it.
Accreditation is a separate, voluntary peer review. CAEP is a national accreditor of educator-preparation providers. It was created through the consolidation of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council, which became operational in 2013. A program still advertising NCATE accreditation on its own is describing a legacy status, not a current one.
CAEP's role in program approval and licensure varies by state, and it is not a universal requirement for teacher certification. Treat it as a useful quality signal, and check what your own state asks for.
Two related traps. Institutional accreditation is not the same as program accreditation, so a well-regarded university can house a preparation program your state hasn't approved. And an online program regionally accredited in its home state may not be approved in yours, which is easy to miss when the marketing is national.
Practically: pull your state agency's list of approved programs for the endorsement you want, then cross-check the provider in CAEP's accredited provider search. Do both before you apply, not after.
One more thing on state approval. It doesn't travel automatically. Reciprocity agreements make moving between states workable, but depending on the states involved, applicants may face additional testing, coursework, experience, or provisional-credential requirements. If you might not stay put, ask about that early.
4. Read the Curriculum for Clinical Hours, Not Course Titles
Course lists look much the same across programs. What differs is the clinical experience, and that's where you should spend your attention.
Ask when field experience starts. Some programs put candidates in classrooms in the first or second year, which gives you an honest look at the work before you're committed. Others hold it all back until a final student teaching semester. Ask how many field hours come first, how long the placement runs, and how it's supervised.
Then ask whether the program has standing partnerships with districts near you. A program with established district relationships can usually place you somewhere reasonable. One without them may hand you the job of finding your own placement, in a market where cooperating teachers aren't always easy to come by.
Also confirm which endorsement areas the program is approved for, and how the coursework lines up with your state's testing requirements. Exams vary by state, by endorsement, and by route. Depending on the state and pathway, requirements may include Praxis, state-specific exams, or other assessments. There is no single national sequence, so ask the program which tests its completers actually sit.
5. Look Up the Program's Reported Numbers
Rankings are opinion. Title II data is reported, and it's public.
Under Title II of the Higher Education Act, every teacher preparation provider reports annually to its state, and states report to the U.S. Department of Education. Providers file by April 30 and states by October 30. What comes out the other end is available at title2.ed.gov: enrollment and completion counts by provider, licensure exam pass rates, and whether a state has classified a provider as at-risk or low-performing.
Two caveats on reading it. Pass rates aren't published when fewer than ten candidates took a given test, so small programs show gaps that aren't hiding anything. And a high pass rate can reflect selective admissions as much as good instruction. Read it alongside the enrollment and completion numbers rather than on its own.
Job placement is the figure most applicants actually want, and it isn't in the federal data. Some programs publish it, some will tell you if you ask, and some don't track it. Which of those three you're dealing with tells you something on its own.
6. Match the Format to How You Actually Need to Study
A program you can't attend is not a good program for you. If you're working, raising kids, or living somewhere without a nearby campus, format is a filter, not a preference.
- Fully online coursework - Ask whether courses run synchronously at set times or asynchronously at your own pace. Those are very different commitments.
- Hybrid programs - Coursework online, some sessions on campus. Often the answer if you want faculty contact without relocating.
- Part-time enrollment - Spreads the same coursework over more terms. Check whether financial aid eligibility changes below full-time status.
- Evening and weekend cohorts - Ask how the schedule handles the student teaching semester, which is the part that collides with a full-time job.
- Accelerated tracks - Condensed terms or intensive summers. A poor fit if your weeks are already full.
One honest limit on all of this. Coursework can be online, but initial licensure programs generally include supervised clinical experience in an approved educational setting, and acceptable placement formats vary by state and program. Any program promising a fully remote route to initial certification deserves a hard look at whether your state agency has approved it.
7. Price the Full Program, Not the Per-Credit Rate
Per-credit tuition is the number programs advertise. It's not what you pay.
What you pay is credits multiplied by the rate, plus institutional fees, plus testing and licensure application fees, plus the income you give up during student teaching if that placement is unpaid. For a career-changer leaving a salaried job, that last item is often the highest single cost of the whole degree, and it almost never appears in a tuition comparison.
For institutional figures, NCES College Navigator publishes tuition and fees, net price, and financial aid data for institutions that participate in federal student aid programs. It's the closest thing to an apples-to-apples cost comparison, and it's free.
Aid aimed specifically at teacher candidates does exist, including the federal TEACH Grant and various state programs tied to teaching in shortage areas or high-need schools. The federal TEACH Grant carries a service obligation and consequences for failing to meet its terms. State aid programs have their own requirements. Read the terms of whichever you're relying on before you count on the money.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know whether a teaching program will actually qualify me for a license?
Check your state's educator-licensing or credentialing agency for its list of approved preparation programs, and confirm the program is approved for the specific endorsement you want. Program approval is a key requirement for licensure eligibility, and you'll also need to meet your state's individual licensing requirements, which commonly cover degree, exams, clinical experience, and a background check. Approval is endorsement-specific, so a program approved for elementary education isn't automatically approved for secondary science.
Does a teaching program need CAEP accreditation for me to get certified?
Not necessarily. CAEP's role in program approval and licensure varies by state, and it is not a universal requirement for teacher certification. What you do need to confirm is that your preparation program satisfies your state's approval requirements for the credential you're seeking. Treat CAEP accreditation as a quality signal worth having and state approval as the thing to verify directly with your licensing agency.
Can I choose a teaching degree program in one state and teach in another?
Often, but not automatically. Reciprocity agreements between states make it workable, and depending on the states involved, applicants may face additional testing, coursework, experience, or provisional-credential requirements. If you expect to move, ask both states' licensing agencies what they'll accept before you enroll.
What's the difference between an MAT and an MEd?
An MAT is generally built to lead to initial certification for someone who holds a bachelor's degree in another field. An MEd is generally built for teachers who are already licensed and want an added endorsement or a specialization. Program names aren't perfectly consistent between institutions, so read what the program says it prepares you for rather than relying on the initials.
- Verify program approval early - For a traditional preparation route, confirm that the program satisfies your state's approval requirements for the credential or endorsement you're seeking.
- CAEP is a signal, not a rule - CAEP's role in program approval and licensure varies by state and is not a universal requirement for certification, and NCATE has not been a standalone accreditor since 2013.
- Pick the level before the school - A bachelor's, MAT, MEd, EdS, and doctorate lead to different things, and a doctorate alone does not confer an administrative credential.
- Clinical placement is the real differentiator - Ask when field experience starts, how long student teaching runs, and whether the program has standing district partnerships.
- The reported numbers are public - Enrollment, completion, and licensure exam pass rates by provider are published at title2.ed.gov, which beats any ranking list.
Once you know the grade band, the degree level, and the route you need, the remaining question is which approved programs will actually take you and fit your schedule. The sponsored programs on this page include online and hybrid formats at the bachelor's and master's level, and several are built for applicants who already hold a degree in another field.
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