Teacher Licensure

Due to the critical need for teachers of foreign languages at both the state and national level, the College of Education and Human Development at Radford University and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech are collaborating on a Foreign Language Teacher Licensure Program.

Radford University students receive licensure to teach second languages through Virginia Tech after fulfilling the major and some basic licensure requirements here at Radford University. Students take at Radford University the speech and hearing tests and also the Praxis I. The courses students could take as part of the undergraduate program at Radford University, just like other teacher licensure candidates, would include HUMD 300 Human Growth and Development, EDEF 320 Introduction to Professional Education, EDSP 404 Introduction to Special Education  and EDRD 416 Content Reading and Literacy (2.5 GPA required for enrollment in these courses).

The Radford University foreign language major graduates with a bachelor’s degree in a foreign language but without licensure and then applies to the Virginia Tech master’s program as a regular Master of Arts student, with a 3.0 required for admission. At Virginia Tech, the student completes field experiences, takes the methods classes plus additional coursework required for licensure, the Praxis II (there are tests for the languages in which students can major at Radford University, namely French, German, and Spanish), and also additional coursework required for the Virginia Tech Master of Arts degree.

At Virginia Tech, the student would be able to apply for licensure through Virginia Tech prior to receiving the master’s degree, which could be completed at a later date. If the student has already taken most of the licensure courses at Radford except for the FL methods and field experiences, he/she will be able to finish licensure at Virginia Tech in one year and could probably, beyond licensure, finish the Master of Arts with one additional summer.

In summary, it is a program requiring a year beyond the bachelor’s degree for licensure, or a year and a half beyond the bachelor’s degree for licensure plus the master’s degree.