Pennsylvania Educator Preparation Program Admissions Requirements

1. Bachelor's Degree: Hold a bachelor's degree from an institution of higher education that has received accreditation through a U.S. Department of Education approved accreditation agency. Verify your institution’s accreditation status on the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs here.

2. Minimum GPA: Have an undergraduate or higher GPA of 3.0 or above from an institution of higher education that has received accreditation through a U.S. Department of Education approved accreditation agency. Applicants with an undergraduate GPA below the state minimum of 3.00 may be considered for admission to Relay’s Pennsylvania educator preparation programs if they have:   

• Earned a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.80, and
• Submitted qualifying scores on the Praxis I, or
• Submitted a combined score of 1050 on the SAT with no score lower than 500 on either the verbal or mathematics subtests, or
• Submitted a score of no less than 23 on the English subtest and 20 on the Mathematics subtest of the ACT. 

Applicants to Relay’s Teaching Residency Program with an undergraduate GPA below the stated minimum of 3.00 and who do not meet the criteria above, may be eligible for *conditional admission if they have:

• Earned a 2.50 GPA in their last 60 credit hours of their undergraduate program, or
• Earned a 2.50 GPA in their major coursework in their undergraduate program, or
• Earned a master’s degree or higher with a GPA of 2.50 or higher

*Applicants admitted conditionally must achieve a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 in Relay coursework by the end of the first 12 credit hours. Relay may admit only 10% of candidates who meet this criteria for conditional admissions. 

3. Coursework Requirements: Applicants must have six (6) undergraduate credits in mathematics, and six (6) undergraduate credits in English (Composition: 3 credits and Literature: 3 credits).

Applicants who do not meet the coursework requirements may be admitted to the EPP with up to six outstanding credit hours in the subject area that they must fulfill at the undergraduate or graduate level in order to be eligible for a recommendation for an Instructional I Certificate (see Transition Point #4). Applicants may fulfill their unmet credits at any institution of higher education who has received accreditation through a US Department of Education approved accreditation agency, with AP scores, and/or with acceptable exams for credit.

1. Bachelor's Degree: Hold a bachelor's degree from an institution of higher education that has received accreditation through a U.S. Department of Education approved accreditation agency. Verify your institution’s accreditation status on the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs here.

2. Minimum GPA: Have an undergraduate or higher GPA of 3.0 or above from an institution of higher education that has received accreditation through a U.S. Department of Education      approved accreditation agency. Applicants with an undergraduate GPA below the stated  minimum of 3.00 may be considered for admission to Relay’s Pennsylvania educator preparation programs if they have:

• Earned a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.80, and
• Submitted qualifying scores on the Praxis I, or
• Submitted a combined score of 1050 on the SAT with no score lower than 500 on either the verbal or mathematics subtests, or
• Submitted a score of no less than 23 on the English subtest and 20 on the Mathematics subtest of the ACT.

3. Instructional Role: Obtain employment as a teacher of record position in a Pennsylvania school. The teaching position must match the certification area.

4. Demonstration of Content Knowledge: Pass the content knowledge exams required for the certification area sought. More information about exam requirements can be found here.

5. Coursework Requirements: Applicants must have six (6) undergraduate credits in mathematics, and six (6) undergraduate credits in English (Composition: 3 credits and Literature: 3 credits).

Applicants who do not meet the coursework requirements may be admitted to the EPP with up to six outstanding credit hours in the subject area that they must fulfill at the undergraduate or graduate level in order to be eligible for a recommendation for an Instructional I Certificate (see Transition Point #4). Applicants may fulfill their unmet credits at any institution of higher education who has received accreditation through a US Department of Education approved accreditation agency, with AP scores, and/or with acceptable exams for credit.

6. Submit and Pay for Application for an Intern Certificate: Follow the instructions to submit a Teacher Intern Certificate application in the Teacher Information Management System (TIMS). Once the application is complete in TIMS, Relay will verify eligibility and issue the institutional recommendation for the Intern Certificate.