Teacher Certification Program

Your career as a teacher can begin immediately after you graduate, thanks to our teacher certification programs. With certifications in either elementary education or secondary education, you will gain the skills and confidence needed for your own classroom. No matter what grade level you want to teach, Washington College will help prepare you with classroom observations and internships in local public schools in Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Cecil counties. Our Maryland-approved teacher certification programs meet state certification requirements. designed to prepare students to apply for licensure exams in the state of Maryland. While our program is approved for Maryland state licensure, our department faculty will work with you to determine your pathway to certification in other states. Recent graduates have been certified to teach in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina, to name a few.  
 
Whether you major in Education Studies or the subject area you want to teach, being in touch with education faculty will help keep you on track for the certification before you officially apply into the program the fall of your junior year. Classroom-based research and cooperative learning activities play pivotal parts of your on-campus education. Work closely with other students to master content material, learn to share your knowledge with peers and future students, and practice a variety of strategies to meet diverse learning styles and the needs of the students you will teach.  

Elementary Education

Washington College offers a Maryland-approved teacher education program that leads to elementary teaching certification in grades 1 through 6. Most future elementary teachers choose to major in Education Studies and can concentrate on special interest areas with a double major or minors. Through the Elementary Education Certification Program, you will complete a full-year teaching internship by the end of your senior year.  

Secondary Education

When pursuing the secondary education certification, you major in the subject area you want to teach and minor in education studies. You can concentrate on special interest areas with double majors or minors. As a culmination to the secondary education certification program, you will begin a full-year internship in the spring of your junior year, where you will be assigned to one of the College’s partners for your classroom placement.  Washington College’s Maryland Approved Secondary Certification Programs include certification in the following subjects:  

Grades pre-K through 12Click to Open

• art 
• French 
• German 
• Spanish 
• music 
• theatre 

Grades 7 through 12Click to Open

• biology
• business education 
• chemistry 
• computer science 
• English 
• environmental science 
• mathematics 
• physics 
• social studies* 

If you are interested in teaching social studies, you can major in history, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, international studies, or American studies.