The educator preparation programs prepare educators who possess the knowledge, disposition, and skills necessary to take the lead in establishing effective teaching and learning environments within their own classrooms and school communities. Immersion in subject matter, research, theory, and clinical experiences provides a base for our graduates to make well-reasoned judgments in complex situations, render informed decisions, model exemplary practice, and take initiative for planned change. Students learn to establish caring environments which celebrate individual differences and backgrounds while fostering cooperation and educational improvement. We stress reflective critical inquiry as a mode of study and community-building as a means for promoting change. We value and support both our students' local practice and their broader leadership within the profession.
At the graduate level, students begin preparation for teaching at the undergraduate level with a semester of clinical experience and professional course work in education. Students complete a baccalaureate degree and then have the opportunity to apply to the Master's in Education program that is appropriate to their licensure area. UNH undergraduates who qualify can apply to the Accelerated Master’s program. This typically means that they can complete the Masters, including a full-year internship, in as few as five years. Successful completion of the M.Ed. or the M.A.T. means that a student is eligible to be recommended as a program completer for a license in teaching. Students in other departments studying music, mathematics, theatre, child development (with concentration in early childhood education), and an integrated program in health and physical education have the option of choosing a four-year undergraduate program for licensure. Students who have already completed a baccalaureate degree may also enter the teacher preparation program at the graduate level. With no prior course work in education, these programs will normally require two years to achieve licensure and a degree.
Frequently Asked Questions
The state of New Hampshire Department of Education Bureau of Credentialing issues teacher licenses in New Hampshire. The University of New Hampshire provides recommendations for licensure to the state upon completion of an educator preparation program. Teacher candidates recommended by the University are eligible for a Beginner Educator License (BEL) upon completion of all licensure requirements. Requirements set by the NHED include a background check, payment of required fees, submission of an official transcript showing both the degree and licensure area, and submission of passing test scores. Applicants must submit Basic Academic Skills Assessment scores (completed at the start of their program) and subject area knowledge test scores (completed prior to applying for the license).
Licensure, which broadly speaking is the ability to demonstrate all the requirements needed to be hired as a teacher or an administrator in a specific state, often requires completing a set of specific courses culminating in a degree, passing national or state exams, completing an internship, practicum or other experience in an educational setting, and potentially collecting letters of reference or verification of professional experience.
A degree is recognition of the successful completion of a specified program of study awarded by a college or university. One may earn a degree and not meet licensure requirements, or one may earn a degree and based on that program of study, use it as proof of readiness to be licensed. Consider the difference between earning a master’s degree in History versus earning a Master of Education degree in Social Studies Education. Many of content courses for these degrees may overlap, but the Social Studies degree would lead to a licensed based on a program of study that includes a broader set of content courses as well as teacher preparation courses and experiences.
A degree is usually the foundation for recommending someone for a license as it provides a defined collection of courses and experiences for demonstrating the completion of requirements that a state requires to be hired as a teacher or administrator. The requirements needed to earn a degree are often very similar or the same as what is needed to meet most requirements for licensure. This is intentional; so that students graduating with certain education degrees are ready to be recommended for licensure upon completion of their programs.
Some prospective students who have already earned a Master’s degree in Education or a related field may seek a licensure-only program of study. These students, who have already met many foundational educational requirements, often want an efficient, thorough, additional program of study that opens new career options. These programs require students to complete a specific set of courses in order to receive a recommendation as a program completer for a license.. Students may not be required to complete all the requirements for a degree program. UNH currently offers licensure-only programs in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).
Basic Academic Skills Assessment (BASA) scores are required at the time of application to a teacher preparation program. Additional information is available on the BASA Information and Resources webpage.
Subject area test results are required by the time a candidate applies for a teaching license. Information about required subject area tests is available on the National Evaluation Series page for New Hampshire.
There are a few ways to meet the BASA requirement. For additional information on the options available, including registration information, view the BASA Information and Resources webpage.
Creating a myNHDOE Educator Information System (EIS) account and obtaining an Educator ID Number (EdID) is the first step toward eligibility for a NH teaching license. UNH uses the EdID to notify the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED) of a candidate's intention to complete a specific licensure program.
Applicants to a graduate program that can lead to licensure must create an EdID and include it in their completed application.
Undergraduate students with majors that can lead to licensure are instructed to create an EdID after attending an orientation about the licensure program, typically upon completion of a "gateway" course. EdIDs for graduate and undergraduate students are added to GradLeaders, the university's candidate tracking system.
Please contact education.department@unh.edu if you need a letter of eligibility when applying for teaching positions prior to receiving your license. The eligibility letter states when you will complete your educator preparation program, depending on your graduation date, and be eligible for a New Hampshire license. Please provide your UNH ID # and your licensure area when you request the eligibility letter.
NHED requires an official transcript showing the awarded degree and statement that identifies the recommended licensure area. When requesting your official transcript from the UNH Registrar, note "hold for degree" on the submission form. Final degree and licensure information may take 6 or more weeks after graduation to be included on your official transcript. Request that the transcript is sent to you so that you can upload it to your myNHDOE EIS account. Alternatively, request that the transcript is provided directly to credentialing.docs@doe.nh.gov. In either case, the Registrar's signature must be clearly visible for the transcript to be considered official.
If you are applying for a teaching license outside of New Hampshire, please visit the Department of Education website of the state in which you are seeking licensure. Information regarding testing requirements, verification of completion of out-of-state educator preparation program forms and other useful information can be found online or by contacting the State Department of Education in the state in which you would like to work. Please email education.department@unh.edu and we will be happy to work with you.
It typically takes 4-6 weeks to be issued a teaching or administrator license once an application is complete.
NHED policy states that recommendations for licensure are valid for 3 years from an institution’s date of recommendation.
Once you complete all degree requirements including your student teaching/internship, you will be recommended to NHED as a program completer. To be eligible for licensure, you must submit the required materials to the NHED, including:
- passing scores for your subject-specific exam(s) and any other required assessments for particular licensure areas (i.e., Foundations of Reading exam for Elementary Education candidates),
- a final transcript showing that your degree has been awarded and you have been recommended for licensure,
- payment of the applicable feed, and
- completion of a background check.
Please contact the Education Department (education.department@unh.edu) for assistance or any questions.
Not really. State requirements for a particular teaching license are consistent when considering testing requirements, degree completion, and completion of a culminating clinical experience and assessment. However, courses and length of the student teaching or internship experience are different in the 4 and 5-year programs.
The critical shortage list published by the NH Department of Education is available here.
You are able to submit a question/ticket through the NHED Credentialing Helpdesk. In addition, many students locate answers to their questions using the Credentialing Help Desk Knowledge Base resources posted by the NHED.
The New Hampshire Teacher Candidate Assessment of Performance (NHTCAP), often referred to as the “TCAP”, is a statewide, common assessment tool for evaluating teacher candidates’ preparedness for the classroom while also serving as a tool for candidate and programmatic learning. The TCAP requires teacher candidates to demonstrate strategies they will use to make learning accessible to their students; explain the thinking underlying their teaching decisions; and analyze strategies they use to teach.
