Applying to the Program

Teacher Education Program Entrance Requirements

Students seeking teacher certification must formally apply and be accepted into the Lewis-Clark State College Teacher Education Program in order to become teacher candidates, allowing them to take teacher preparation courses, participate in clinical experiences, and be eligible for state certification.

Before starting the application, you must be:

• Completed or in final semester to complete LCSC General Education courses successfully (having achieved a C- or better in the courses)
• Completed or in final semester to complete the other Phase I courses for your program (having achieved a C- or better in the courses):

• Elementary: 
  • ED 214 - Principles of Education & Field Experience
  • ED 216 - Physical Education for Elementary Teachers
  • ED 224 - Technologies for a Digital World 
  • RE 217 - Children's Literature & Storytelling
  • HLTH 215 - Elementary Health Science Methods

• Secondary:
  • ED 214 - Principles of Education
  • ED 224 - Media & Technologies in a Digital World
  • ED 318 - Assessment of Learning
  • ED 321 - Educational Psychology

 Application   

On the application, you will be required to provide:

Transcripts: Official transcripts from all institutions attended other than LCSC

GPA: Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher

Entrance Essay: Response to the prompt in the application

Standardized Test Scores:  Regular admission to the program (called provisional) requires that you provide one of the following set of tests with at least the scores shown:

You may apply for conditional admission if your scores are above the following:

If you are admitted with conditional status based upon these scores, there will be two conditions that you must meet:

1. Enroll in and attend the Division of Teacher Education’s Praxis Preparation courses.
2. Take any of the qualifying tests for which you were at the conditions-only level and achieve a score that qualifies you for regular (provisional) admission.

Once your application materials have been verified, if you meet the requirements indicated above, we will schedule the Interview process with you. 

Interview Process

The interview process includes:

• Background Check -  You must clear an initial background check (name & SSN) 
      through State Police agencies
• Improvisational Writing Sample
• In-person interview with panel of professional educators 

The interview panel will give numerical weights for the improvisational writing sample and the in-person interview, and then make a recommendation for admission.  

 Final admission to the Teacher Education program is decided for each applicant by the full faculty based upon review of the application materials and outcomes of the interview process.  

 Applicants will be notified of their admission status in a formal letter.

 NOTE: There are some detractors that affect admission into the teacher education program.  Those detractors are:

• Incompletes - patterns of incompletes on transcripts;
• Withdrawals - patterns of withdrawals on transcripts;
• Paracompetencies - personal characteristics/attitudes exhibited by the students such as racism, intolerance, and chronic lateness that are inconsistent with the teaching profession;
• Moral Turpitude - Conviction of a felony can prohibit you from receiving a teaching certificate in Idaho and could make you ineligible for the LCSC teacher education program.  Disclosure of infractions of any law is necessary.