Undergraduate Teacher Preparation

You may be wondering . . . how do I declare or change my major and set my concentration.  Those are excellent questions!

First, let’s make sure you know which major to declare.  The majors listed in the Choose Your Major document linked below are Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) approved teacher preparation programs.  Use the Choose Your Major chart to pick the grade or subject you want to teach then make sure you are declaring the correct major to meet Virginia teacher licensure requirements. 

Choose Your Major reference chart [PDF]

To earn your initial teaching license in Virginia, you have to meet several testing requirements.  You can learn more about the testing requirements for your teaching license on the Teacher Licensure Assessments page. 

For now, you just need to take the VCLA.  You’ll see other testing requirements in Step 7.   

Learn more about the VCLA .

Submit your Pre-Teacher Education Program (TEP) application during your third semester at Radford.  Deadlines for the Pre-TEP application are October 1 (if your third semester is a fall semester) or March 1 (if your third semester is a spring semester). 

Once you submit your Pre-TEP application, you’ll get to know the Office of Field Experience (OFEX)  staff very well.  They will guide you through the next steps of the Teacher Education Program and licensure requirements.  However, the next steps will look something like this:

Let’s make sure you enjoy working with youth in a structured environment before you start teaching!  Find out more about how you can meet the 50 hours of pre-field experience requirement for your TEP application here

When will I start my field experience, you may ask . . . this might help . . .

I want to teach Elementary . . . and I'll graduate...

I want to teach Art, Music, or Health & PE . . . and I’ll graduate . . . 

I want to teach Special Education, or Middle School and/or High School subjects . . . and I’ll graduate

Learn more about Praxis II.  You should set a goal to have the Praxis exam for your endorsement area passed before the beginning of the second semester as a Junior or by the end of the semester before you will apply to the TEP.   

You can learn more about the testing requirements and determine the correct Praxis II exam for your teaching endorsement on the Teacher Licensure Assessments page.

Wondering when you will apply to the Teacher Education Program?  You will submit your complete TEP application the semester before your field experience starts.  See the handy charts below to determine when you will need to submit your full TEP application.  Revisit the chart in Step 6 for a reminder of your field experience start semester. 

If you want to learn more now about the courses you’ll take during your field experience semesters and how field experience works, meet with your advisor and ask to start a progress sheet for your degree .

The OFEX will walk you through the licensure process as you finish up your field experience.  If you’d like to know more about Virginia teacher licensure requirements, you can check out the VDOE licensure page.