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Relay Chicago offers an IL teaching licensure track for all graduate students who meet the state eligibility requirements upon enrolling at Relay. Graduate students who meet the IL state eligibility requirements for licensure will receive an Educator License with Stipulations for Alternative Provisional Educators (ELS(APE)) at the beginning of the program and a Professional Educator License (PEL) upon graduating.
Licensure Requirements:
- Cannot already hold an IL teaching license (para or sub licenses are ok)
- Hold Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.5 or higher on a scale of 4.0. Cumulative undergraduate GPA includes all undergraduate coursework that contributed to a degree conferred, including transfer coursework. Cumulative GPA is calculated using a weighted average
- Meet minimum credit requirements for the particular licensure area (see Table below)
- Pass all required ILTS exams by July 26, 2024
- Secure an appropriate instructional role at a school in Illinois aligned with licensure area and grade level
These regulations are requirements of the Illinois State Board of Education for alternative licensure candidates and Relay does not have flexibility. Relay does a thorough review of transcripts during the application review process.
Please note: Relay will accept CLEP exams. The College Board offers CLEP exams (appx. 34) as an opportunity to earn college credit(s) for a specific course by taking an exam. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) allows Relay to accept CLEP exams to meet the minimum credit requirements for a particular subject area. See here for the list of exams and more information. Relay will grant the American Council on Education (ACE)’s recommendation for credits for each exam; the number of credits can be found for about halfway down the exam information page. You will need to send an official CLEP transcript to Relay (Test Center Code 5758).
Completing CLEP exams provides a cost-effective way ($89 per exam) to meet minimum credit requirements. Please note, you will not receive credit for a CLEP exam if you have previously taken that course at a prior institution.
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Licensure Endorsement Area |
Credit Requirements Upon Entry (More Information About Coursework Examples Coming Soon) |
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Middle Grades Language Arts (5-8)
Senior High English Language Arts (9-12) |
A Major in English OR 20 Credit Hours of English Coursework (Remaining 12 Credits Completed in the Program) |
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Middle Grades Mathematics (5-8)
Senior High Mathematics (9-12) |
A Major in Mathematics OR 20 Credit Hours of Mathematics Coursework (Remaining 12 Credits Completed in the Program) |
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Middle Grades Science (5-8) |
A Major in a Science Endorsement Area (Biology, Ecology/Environmental Science, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, or Physics) OR 20 Credit Hours of Science Coursework with At Least 1 Life Science and 1 Physical Science (Remaining 12 Credits Completed in the Program) |
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Senior High Science- Biology (9-12) |
A Major in Biology OR 20 Credits in Science; Inc. 12+ Credit Hours in Biology and a Physical Science Course (Remaining 12 Credits Completed in the Program) |
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Senior High Science- Chemistry (9-12) |
A Major in Chemistry OR 20 Credits in Science; Inc. 12+ Credit Hours in Chemistry and a Life Science Course (Remaining 12 Credits Completed in the Program) |
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Middle Grades Social Science (5-8) |
A Major in a Social Science Endorsement Area (Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology) OR 20 Credits in Social Science (Remaining 12 Credits Completed in the Program) |
| Secondary Social Science - History (9-12) |
A Major in a Social Science Endorsement Area (Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology) OR 20 Credits in Social Science; Inc. 12+ Credit Hours in History (Remaining 12 Credits Completed in the Program) |
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Learning Behavior Specialist I (K-22) and Elementary Education (1-6) |
A Major in 1 of the Core 4 Subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, or Social Science OR 24 Credit Hours of the Core 4 Subjects, At Least 1 Credit in Each Area (Remaining 8 Credits Completed in the Program) |
