Journey to Becoming an Educator
1. What do you want to teach?
The first step is to decide who you want to teach and/or what subjects do you want to teach. Arizona offers many types of certificates and the age/subject you want to teach will determine which certificate you will want to attain.
- Want to teach elementary age students? The Elementary K-8 certificate may work for you.
- Want to teach high school music? The Music Education, Prek-12 certificate will work for you.
- Want to teach in a special education classroom? The Special Education Mild/Moderate certificate may work for you.
To see a list of certificates and their corresponding grades and content areas, visit our Certification Requirements page under "Pre-K12 Teaching Certificates".
2. What pathway to becoming an educator works for you?
To become a certified teacher, you will need to earn a certificate by completing a State Board approved educator preparation program. There are several pathways to choose from. While each has benefits, certain pathways provide particularly strong field experience to prospective teachers before they become the teacher of record. Programs may offer distinct opportunities to access financial resources, including the ability to start earning income and serving as the teacher sooner in some cases. Explore the program pathways to find the one that's right for you.
3. Which educator preparation program fits your career?
This dashboard shows all State Board approved educator preparation programs. You can sort by Content, Certification Type, and Program Type. Make contact with the educator preparation program to make sure it's the right for you.
4. Complete Your Program
Once you are enrolled in your program, your program advisors will work with you towards completion. Upon program completion, you will receive a "Institutional Recommendation". You will use this in combination with other documents to attain certification.
5. Complete Your Professional Exams
In the state of Arizona, you will need to demonstrate proficiency in the certification content area by passing the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment. The timing of taking this assessment should be recommended to you by your educator preparation program sponsor. You will use these test results in combination with other documents to attain certification.
6. Apply for Your Certificate
When you have completed your educator preparation program and passed your AEPA exams, it is time to apply for certification!
Looking for Substitute, CTE , Administrative, or Professional Non-Teaching Certificates?
