Program Requirements

Licensure areas
Choose the license you want to teach under. Each links to its course requirements.

Licensure AreaGrade LevelsCourse Requirements
Biology8–12Course requirements (PDF)
Chemistry8–12Course requirements (PDF)
Early ChildhoodPreK–2Course requirements (PDF)
Earth & Space Science8–12Course requirements (PDF)
Elementary1–6Course requirements (PDF)
English5–12Course requirements (PDF)
General Science5–8Course requirements (PDF)
History / Social Science5–12Course requirements (PDF)
Mathematics5–8Course requirements (PDF)
Mathematics8–12Course requirements (PDF)
Middle School: Mathematics / Science5–8Course requirements (PDF)
Physics8–12Course requirements (PDF)
Visual ArtPreK–8Course requirements (PDF)
Visual Art5–12Course requirements (PDF)
World Language: Spanish5–12Course requirements (PDF)
Admissions Requirements

Complete the online graduate admission application. Applicants must have received a bachelor’s degree with a minimum 3.00 GPA from a regionally accredited college or university and must submit all official college-level transcripts. Applicants who studied outside the United States must submit official transcripts and a course-by-course evaluation for US equivalency.

Applicants must write a 600 to 1000 word statement expressing their interest in Framingham State and their academic program of choice, and provide information about their professional and educational background along with professional or academic goals. This is the best way for applicants to introduce themselves to the academic program and admissions committee.

Two (2) recommendations must be submitted electronically through the Recommendation section of the application. One letter must be from an employer or supervisor, and the second letter must be from a faculty member who has taught the candidate at the collegiate level if the candidate attended classes in the last five years. If a faculty recommendation is not possible, the second letter should be another professional recommendation.

PBTL candidates with deficiencies in their subject matter will be required to take appropriate courses before advancing to studies in the PBTL education sequence involving teaching method and practice.

All applicants for Visual Art PreK–8 or Grades 5–12 must submit ten (10) to fifteen (15) digital images of their artwork through Slideroom. This may include multiple slides to show detail.

Core Courses

Every PBTL student takes the same three core courses, whichever license you pursue:

  • EDIL 900 Field Study I in Education and Seminar
  • EDIL 910 Education Foundations
  • EDIL 920 Learning and Human Development

To enroll in EDIL 900, you must have completed or be enrolled in EDIL 910 or EDIL 920, and have applied to the PBTL program.

Every student except those pursuing a World Language license also completes TESL 910 Sheltered English Immersion.

Beyond the core, your courses depend on the license you seek. Each academic department sets the subject-matter requirements for its own license and reviews applications individually.

Tests You Will Need

You do not need to pass the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) to apply. You do need them before student teaching and before the state issues your license:

  • Communication and Literacy Skills, for every license
  • Foundations of Reading, for early childhood and elementary licenses
  • Subject Matter Knowledge, for your subject area

For registration dates and preparation materials, see Field Placement & Licensure Information.

Meet your Coordinators

Kelly Matthews

Kelly Matthews, Ph.D.

Professor and Secondary Education Coordinator, English Department and Interdisciplinary Studies Advisor and Coordinator
Photo of Stavroula Gurguliatos

Stavroula Gurguliatos

Visiting Lecturer, Education Department

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