New York State requires all students in graduate-level teacher education programs to demonstrate they have earned a certain number of credits aligned to their teaching certification prior to graduation and receiving a recommendation for their Initial teaching license. These requirements are based on your major and certification area and are evaluated based on the post-secondary credits earned prior to being admitted to Relay Graduate School of Education.
Please Note: New York State regulations require that graduate students demonstrate they have earned the following credits:
- All Generalist Licenses: Attended a U.S. accredited university, and earned either a Bachelor/Master of Science or Arts degree (alternatively completed 3 credits each in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies)
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- Note: If you attended a non- U.S. accredited university, you are required to submit a course-by-course evaluation. You can find out more information about this by reading through this guide.
- Dual Certification majors (Grades 7-12 only): 6 credits each in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies
- Content-specific majors (all science, math, ELA, and social studies teachers): 30 content-specific credits
State Guidelines for Course Acceptance:
- Only credit-bearing courses can be accepted if the grade earned is at least C for undergraduate level or B- for graduate level
- Science courses must be biology, chemistry, earth science, or physics-related
- AP Exams can only be accepted if the credits were applied towards your undergraduate degree
- Please review the Credit Guide for additional guidelines on which courses can and cannot be accepted for each subject area
How to Satisfy Credit Deficiencies:
Satisfying credit deficiencies are a graduation requirement. In order to satisfy your credit deficiency, you can take an exam or a course at any accredited institution or program. You can review our Credit Guide for several exams or course options. Students typically take either CLEP exams or Online Penn Foster courses to satisfy their credit requirements.
Deadline to Satisfy Credit Deficiencies:
In order to be eligible to graduate by the Spring term of your second year and receive a Spring conferral date, you will need to submit an official transcript/score reports to us by the last day of the Spring term. If you need additional time, you can submit the materials to us by the end of the Summer Term that same year, to be eligible to graduate with a Summer term conferral date. You can review this article to reference Relay's Term Dates.
If you have questions about your deficient credit status or your options to satisfy your deficient credits, you can sign up for Relay NY Credit Deficiency Office Hours or email support@relay.edu.