Become a Licensed Secondary Teacher with this Master's Degree

Admission Requirements

• Possess (or be in the process of finishing) a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university, or a comparable degree from a foreign institution.

• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better (on a 4.00 point scale) for the most recent degree earned or current degree in progress.

  If you are still completing your bachelor's degree at the time you apply, admission will be based on your current cumulative GPA, and you will need to re-submit your official transcript (showing your conferred degree and final GPA) during your first semester. If your final GPA fell below 3.00, you will be given additional requirements as defined by the academic program that must be met within one calendar year to remain enrolled at UNC.

  If you have completed a master's degree, or at least 18 credit hours towards a master's degree, the GPA of your master's work will be used.

• You will either need to have a bachelor’s in the content area in which you would like to be licensed (English, Biology, etc.) OR proof that you have passed the PRAXIS exam for that content area. Visit the Colorado Department of Education site for coursework and Praxis requirements for each content area. For any questions regarding this, please contact the Admissions Coach.

• NOTE: students who are admitted based on holding a degree in the content area will need to pass a Praxis exam prior to student teaching. UNC will remind you about enrolling for this exam prior to that semester.

International Student Eligibility

Though international students can attend many UNC Extended Campus programs, this delivery of this program is not well-suited for international students due to U.S. immigration requirements concerning the ratio of credit hours that international students must take in the classroom setting compared to how many credits are taken in online courses (immigration counts partially online courses as online).

Transferring Credit

Applicable graduate credit with a grade of A or B from a regionally accredited university may be able to be applied towards this academic program. Master's degree students must complete a minimum of 24 credits at the University of Northern Colorado. All work counted in a master's degree program must be completed within five years. The time limit is calculated from the beginning of the first class transferred in and counted in the degree program. See the full Graduate Transfer Credit Policy.

Students must submit an original transcript to their advisor for review. Student and advisor then complete a Transfer of Credit form to submit along with the original transcript to the Grad School for review and final approval.

Tuition

This is an Extended Campus program, which means:

• A flat per-credit tuition rate for all students (in-state or out-of-state)
• There are no student fees – they are incorporated into our flat tuition rate
• Certain courses may carry specific course fees for additional services and materials

Program tuition for the 2022-23 academic year (which runs Fall, Spring, and Summer terms) is $583 per credit hour. Tuition for the 2023-24 academic year will be determined mid-June 2023.

Financial Aid

Please note: once you are admitted to the program, we recommend that you enroll for the first program courses as soon as possible and then...

• Apply for FAFSA (see below) for the current academic year (which runs each Fall through Summer) to be able to obtain aid for the first term(s) of this program.
• Apply for FAFSA again for the upcoming academic year (Fall through Summer).

You can use the same FAFSA link below for both submissions.

Federal Financial Aid

Students who cannot pay for tuition alone are encouraged to apply for federal financial aid. Students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA priority filing date for each academic year (a Fall-Spring-Summer cycle which begins each August) is June 1, although the form is now available by October 1 of the previous year and requests tax information from the year prior. For example, the FAFSA form for aid for the 2022-23 school year is released on Oct. 1, 2021, and is based off of 2020 tax return information.

Late submissions of the FAFSA are still accepted throughout the school year but you may not be considered for the maximum amount of aid. If the priority deadline has passed for the upcoming/current school year, we encourage you to apply for FAFSA consideration as soon as you enroll for your first courses. Depending on the time of year, you may be able to submit an application for the current academic year and an early/priority application for the following academic year.

Master's degree students must be enrolled in a minimum of 5 credits per academic term for financial aid eligibility. Full time enrollment is based on 9 credits per term.

To apply for federal financial aid assistance

Fill out the FAFSA form at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa

For more specific help, contact the Office of Financial Aid: ofa@unco.edu, 970-351-4862 or via the UNC Financial Aid website.

Students can also find helpful information such as the Guide to Federal Student Aid at https://studentaid.gov/resources. Most of the resources are available in English, Spanish, and Braille.

Student Health Insurance

The University of Northern Colorado offers a Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) to all degree-seeking students who enroll in courses on our main UNC Campus, an Extended Campus Center, or Online.

Degree-seeking graduate students enrolled in 6 or more credit hours will automatically receive this benefit each term. SHIP premiums will appear on your semester bill. If you have comparable insurance coverage, and do not want to be charged for SHIP coverage, you must opt out of this plan each Fall via an online waiver process.

Please visit the UNC Student Health Insurance pages for more information about the insurance plan.