In your senior year, you will take part in a full-time student teaching experience. Before that, you need to complete about 100 hours of approved clinical experience. This includes working in different types of classrooms. You must also pass a criminal background check before you can work in classrooms or begin student teaching.

Mount Mary University helps prepare you to become a successful teacher. You will take important classes and get hands-on experience working with children of different ages and in different subjects. You will also use modern tools for presentations and research.

In your final semester, you will complete your student teaching. This means teaching children all day, every day in a K-12 classroom, for the entire semester

In order to be endorsed for a Wisconsin teaching license students must meet each of the following requirements:

1. Completion of bachelor’s degree including:
   1. Successful completion of a general education program (for example, Mount Mary’s Core Curriculum)
   2. Successful completion of all required coursework (including clinical) with a grade of BC or better in EDU courses.
   3. Successful performance on clinical evaluations
   4. Successful completion of student teaching
   5. Cumulative grade point average of at least 2.75.

2. Successful completion of all state required assessments:

• Early Childhood, Elementary/Middle School, and Cross-Categorical Special Education: Foundations of Reading Test;
• Spanish and Bilingual/Bicultural Education: ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Oral Proficiency interview (OPI-OPIc) and Writing Proficiency Test (WPT)
• All majors: 3.0 or better GPA for courses in the major OR Praxis II Exam

 Required scores are determined by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

3. Successful completion of the Student Teaching Portfolio Capstone Assessment.

Our programs are approved by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WDPI), the state agency that gives teaching licenses.

The programs are reviewed every year.Faculty meet often with a WDPI representative and other state groups to stay up to date with changes in teaching requirements.

The University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

If you hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university which included general education courses and wish to become a licensed teacher, you can pursue a post-baccalaureate certification/licensure in education.

Admission requirements include a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or better in all post-secondary coursework. Those who have completed the content requirements for their teaching license (e.g., Mathematics, Science, Art, Spanish, etc.) must either have achieved a GPA of 3.0 or better in the content area or register to take the related Praxis exam.

Although post-baccalaureate students need to fulfill the same professional requirements for certification as the undergraduates, some of these requirements may be fulfilled through previous coursework as determined by transcript review, through Praxis II exams, or through graduate courses which can be applied toward Mount Mary's Master of Arts in Education degree.

Applicants are required to successfully complete a Criminal Background Check (federal and state) as part of the application process.

Debra Dosemagen, Ph.D. 
Professor, Department Chair and Graduate Program Director 
Phone: (414) 930-3160 
Email: dosemagd@mtmary.edu 
Expertise: Mathematics education, teacher research 

Vanessa Varela, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor 
Phone: (414) 930-3105 
Email: varelav@mtmary.edu 
Expertise: Second Language Acquisition and Social Justice, Multilingual Learners, Multicultural Children's Literature 

Heather Holst, Ed.D. 
Assistant Professor 
Phone: (414) 930-3199 
Email: holsth@mtmary.edu  
Special Education, Elementary Education, Educational Assessment 

The demand for qualified teachers has never been greater—and it continues to rise. Across the country, school districts are facing staffing shortages and, in some cases, are recruiting educators from outside their regions to meet classroom needs. Teachers are essential in a wide range of educational settings, including public and private schools, early childhood centers, special education programs, and adult learning environments. Earning a degree in education prepares individuals to inspire, lead, and make a lasting impact on students and communities.

According to 2024 data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for teachers ranges from $63,210 - $64,580.