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Licensure

State licensure is required to teach in any Illinois public school and many private schools. Through the Master of Science in Education Program, students will earn both the state license and a master's degree. Secondary Teaching students earn a Professional Educator License (PEL) with endorsements to teach a specific subject at the middle grades (5-8) and high school (9-12) levels. 

Licensure Tests

Secondary Teaching students must take two content area tests through the Illinois Licensure Testing System – one for middle grades and one for high school. You can find test dates and register for the test on the ILTS website. You are responsible for your own test registration fees.

Access Teacher Licensure Program Exam Pass Rates.

Content-Related Course Work

Secondary teachers must have roughly the equivalent of an undergraduate major in the subject area that they'd like to teach. Content-area licensure requirements are considered additional degree requirements beyond the core master's degree curriculum. They are to be taken at Northwestern, unless approved by petition.

License Requirements by Content Area

Biology (grade 5-12)

  • 1 earth science course 
  • 1 astronomy course 
  • first year college physics 
  • first year college general chemistry (including labs) 
  • 18 semester hours in biology, including: 
    • first year college biology (including labs) 
    • 3 upper division (300-level) biology courses

Chemistry (grade 5-12)

  • 1 earth science course 
  • 1 astronomy course 
  • first year college biology 
  • first year college physics 
  • 18 semester hours in chemistry, including:
    • first year general college chemistry (including labs) 
    • organic chemistry and labs 
    • 3 upper division (300-level) chemistry courses

Economics (grades 5-12)

32 total semester hours in Economics/Social Science (12 of which must be upper division/300-level), including: 

  • 18 total semester hours in economics 
  • 4 US history courses 
  • 2 non-US history courses
  • 1 course in an additional social science area (not economics or history)

English Language Arts (grades 5-12)

32 total semester hours in English (12 of which must be upper division/300-level), including: 

  • 2-course survey in American or British literature 
  • 2 courses in American or British literature (whichever was not covered above) 
  • 1 course in close reading/literary analysis 
  • 1 non-western/US racial minority literature course 
  • 1 grammar, newswriting, linguistics, or poetry course 
  • 5 additional literature courses

History (grades 5-12)

32 total semester hours in History/Social Science (12 of which must be upper division/300-level), including:

  • 4 US history courses 
  • 2 European or world history courses 
  • 2 non-western history courses 
  • 1 introduction to economics course 
  • 1 American government or politics course 
  • 2 "related social studies core" courses from the list below: 
    • macroeconomics 
    • microeconomics 
    • introduction to comparative politics 
    • introduction to international relations 
    • North America (geography) 
    • introduction to sociology 
    • introduction to psychology

Mathematics (grades 5-12)

32 total semester hours in Math (8 of which must be upper division/300-level), including: 

  • differential calculus 
  • integral calculus 
  • differential calculus multivariable functions 
  • multiple integration 
  • linear algebra 
  • statistics and/or probability 
  • geometry

Physics (grades 5-12)

  • 1 earth science course 
  • 1 astronomy course 
  • first year college biology 
  • first year college general chemistry (including labs) 
  • 18 semester hours in physics, including: 
    • first year college physics 
    • 4 upper division (300-level) physics courses

Political Science (grades 5-12)

32 total semester hours in Political Science/Social Science (12 of which must be upper division/300-level), including: 

  • 18 total semester hours in political science 
  • 4 US history courses 
  • 2 non-US history courses 
  • 1 course in an additional social science area (not political science or history)

Spanish (grades PK-12)

32 total semester hours in Spanish (12 of which must be upper division/300-level), including: 

  • 12 semester hours of Spanish language literature 
  • 12 semester hours of Latin American/LatinX culture/history

Education-Related Course Work

You don't need to have any background in education coursework upon entry to the MSEd Program. The MSEd curriculum will satisfy all state-required education coursework. This includes observations, student teaching, and portfolio creation.

Licensure Portfolio

During your engaged practicum in the MSEd program, you will build a licensure portfolio. This includes artifacts such as lesson plans, videos, and assessments from classes you've taught. You will reflect on and analyze your work, your present development and your understanding of learning and teaching. You will not be eligible for student teaching until your portfolio has been approved.

Other Issues Related to Licensure

Professional licensure and certification disclosures

Federal regulations require Northwestern University to publicly disclose, for each educational program designed to meet educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification required for employment in an occupation (or advertised as meeting those requirements), information about whether program completion would meet those requirements in a state. 

These disclosures are posted on Northwestern's consumer information web page.

Teaching outside of Illinois

If interested in obtaining educator/teacher licensure in a state other than Illinois, students should first contact the state board of education or equivalent in the desired state for details on that state's licensure process. Students may also inquire as to whether the desired state allows reciprocity/transferring of a license from the state of Illinois. 

The following portal provides links to the 50 states' boards of education. Note that even if you never teach in Illinois, you must first get an Illinois PEL before transferring your license to another state.

Transcripts from schools outside the U.S.

If you earned an undergraduate degree outside the United States, you must submit your transcripts to a private transcript evaluation service approved by the Illinois State Board of Education before applying to the program. A list of the approved transcript evaluation services is available on the Illinois State Board of Education's website under "International Resources."

International students

Non-US citizens applying for a teaching license must file a signed letter of intent with the Illinois State Board of Education indicating that they will apply for US citizenship either (1) within ten years of the date that the letter is filed or (2) at the earliest opportunity after the person becomes eligible to apply for US citizenship.