Admission Requirements
Before students can be admitted to a Teacher Licensure Program at MSU Denver, they must meet specific requirements. There are two different levels of admission for our programs.
Provisional Admission – Students who have been accepted to the university and have an active student account must gain provisional admission to Teacher Licensure before they will be considered a student of the Teacher Licensure program. Provisional admission requires a student to attend one of our mandatory Application Meetings as well as submit their fingerprinting materials or proof of acceptable prior fingerprinting. Students who intend to register for courses that require field experience will need to be at least provisionally admitted to our program, depending on the course. Some field experience courses require formal admission (see below).
Undergraduate Licensure candidates should not attend an Application Meeting or take any Teacher Education courses until they have consulted with an advisor in the Teacher Education Department and completed approximately 60-70% of their major and all of their General Studies.
Post-baccalaureate Licensure candidates should attend the Application Meeting as soon as they have been accepted to the university.
Formal Admission – Students who have been provisionally admitted to Teacher Licensure must become formally admitted to the program as soon as possible. Formal admission is required for all students to advance to their second level of Education courses, in most areas. Special Education students can take courses through Sequence II before formal admission is required. Formal admission will combine provisional admission and four or five other requirements, as follows:
English Competency – Undergraduate licensure candidates will show completion of English Composition I (ENG 1010) and English Composition II (ENG 1020), or the equivalents, with a grade of C or better (or show proof of otherwise meeting the composition requirements for graduation). Post-baccalaureate candidates will automatically be signed off on this requirement. Any issues with writing competency will be identified through course work.
Math Competency – All licensure candidates (undergraduate or post-baccalaureate) who are required by their program to take Integrated Mathematics I (MTH 1610) must show proof of qualification to register for this course. To do so, candidates must obtain permission from the Math Department in SI 1022 by submitting proof of one of the following requirements:
ACT score of 19 or higher in Math (within the last 5 years) or
SAT score of 460 or higher in Math (within the last 5 years) or
College Level Algebra coursework with a grade of C or better (within the last 5 years) or
Passing score on the Accuplacer test for Elementary Algebra (as of Summer 2012, all students must have a 72 or higher to pass).
Students who need to take the Accuplacer test should study and utilize the MSU Denver Tutoring Center to prepare for the test. Students who do not pass the test by the second attempt will be required to take additional preparatory level Math courses before they will be allowed to register for MTH 1610 and become formally admitted.
Review Sessions through MSU Denver Math Department
Practice Test from the Tutoring Center: Problems, Solutions
Assessment & Testing Center @ MSU Denver (To take the Elementary Algebra Accuplacer test)
We also have a resource flyer with all of the information you need to study for and take the Elementary Algebra Accuplacer exam:
Elementary Algebra Accuplacer Info (
332 KB)
GPA – Licensure candidates must have a 2.5 GPA (or higher) over their most recent 30 credit hours. Students who have not yet completed 30 credit hours of college level coursework cannot be formally admitted to the Teacher Licensure Program. We will evaluate your previous transcripts to determine your GPA if you have not completed at least 30 credit hours at MSU Denver at the time you apply to the program.
Transcripts – Copies of transcripts from all accredited colleges and universities attended (aside from MSU Denver) are required in the Teacher Application Center in your Teacher Education file before formal admission can be obtained.
MSU Denver-Only Students: If you have not attended any college aside from MSU Denver, you do not need to submit any transcripts.
Undergraduate Transfer Students: If you have had all of your official transcripts from other accredited colleges and universities sent to MSU Denver since 2001, then we should have them already. You are not required to submit additional copies unless we cannot locate them in our system. If there are transcripts from any accredited colleges or universities that you did not have officially sent to MSU Denver, you should contact those institutions and request them to be sent.
Post-Bac Students: MSU Denver only requires proof of a bachelor’s degree to admit you as a “Licensure-Only” student. Make sure to have an official transcript sent to MSU Denver from the institution where you earned your bachelor’s degree. Once MSU Denver has proof of your previous degree, you will be awarded a generic block of 90 credit hours. These credits will tell our system to treat you as a senior status student so that you have priority during registration periods and access to courses that require sophomore, junior, or senior level standing. All other transcripts must be submitted to the Teacher Application Center for formal admission. The TAC will accept unofficial transcripts, so if you have copies made from originals or printed from the internet, they will suffice. If you have already submitted all of your transcripts to the university officially since 2001, then we should still be able to access them and you will not have to submit them again unless they cannot be located in the system.
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION ONLY: Prior to being formally admitted, Elementary Education candidates must submit proof of at least having registered for the PLACE or Praxis II exam for Elementary Education.
SPECIAL EDUCATION ONLY: Prior to being formally admitted, Special Education candidates must submit proof of a passing score on the PLACE or Praxis II exam for Elementary Education. Special Education candidates will take their Special Education PLACE test at a later date.
