Eligibility

This method allows educator with an Initial or Professional certificate to add certification fields through completion of an approved educator preparation program. The following requirements must be met to add a certification field by program:

• Hold an Initial or Professional certificate;
• Complete an Approved Educator Preparation Program through a Regionally Accredited institution of higher education; and
• Earn a qualifying score on the appropriate Subject Area Exam.

The teaching fields of Driver Education, Literacy Teacher, Literacy Coach, and Literacy Specialist include additional requirements beyond completion of an approved program. Please refer to the Guidelines and Requirements for Adding Certification Fields and Endorsements for additional advisement.

Seeking Program Pre-Approval

Prior to beginning a program, educators must request approval using My SC Educator Portal. Once a program approval request is submitted through the portal, educators must upload a PDF copy of program description information to the portal. This is generally available through the provider's website or academic bulletin; please contact the provider if you encounter difficulties locating their program description information.

Approval for online programs cannot be given via phone or email.

Applying for Add-On

Once all eligibility criteria are met, educators must submit all of the following in order to apply for adding a certification field:

• Submit a request using My SC Educator Portal
• Submit Official Transcripts
• Verify program approval and completion
  • If you attended an out-of-state institution, have the dean, assistant dean, or certification specialist complete a College Recommendation Form- Classroom Teaching Fields on your behalf; they may email the completed form to certification@ed.sc.gov or you may then upload the completed form using My SC Educator Portal.
  • If you attended an in-state institution, contact the dean, assistant dean, or certification specialist to request verification of program completion be submitted on your behalf; the institute provides this information directly to the SCDE using their provider portal.
• Submit Official Exam Score Reports