Graduate Endorsements  

We offer two endorsements: Bilingual Education and ESL, which can be incorporated into your MEd in Bilingual and Multicultural Education. However, the MEd doesn’t automatically lead to an endorsement.

After you have completed the following courses, you can obtain the endorsement by applying directly to the Arizona Department of Education.

Bilingual Education Endorsement

If you are interested in providing bilingual instruction in public schools, you need the Arizona Bilingual Education Endorsement.

Degree requirements

To complete this endorsement, you must complete a total of 21 credit hours:

  • Foundations
    • BME 310 or 530 (three credit hours)
     
  • Bilingual Methods
    • BME 531 (three credit hours)
     
  • ESL for Bilingual Settings (three credit hours)
    • BME 430, 631
     
  • Linguistics
    • BME 538 (three credit hours)
     
  • Electives
    • three credit hours from BME 533, 481, 634, 420,535,539 or 540
     
  • School, Community, Culture, and Parental Involvement
    • BME 480 or 637(three credit hours)
     
  • Practicum
    • BME 608 (three credit hours) or ECI 493; the practicum experience may be waived by documenting two years of certified teaching experience in a bilingual setting
     
  • additional requirement for those seeking this endorsement on a special education certificate:
    • complete an additional 3 credit hours in ESE 520 
     

Your language proficiency must be documented by means of one of the following:

  • proficiency in a spoken language other than English, verified by the language department of an accredited institution
  • a passing score on the Arizona Classroom Spanish Proficiency Examination approved by the State Board of Education
  • a passing score on the Navajo Language Test
  • verification of proficiency in a single language by Northern Arizona University’s Department of Modern Languages
  • verification of proficiency in an American Indian language, signed by an official designated by the appropriate tribe

ESL

If you are interested in providing ESL instruction in public schools, you need either a Bilingual Education or an ESL endorsement.

Degree requirements

To complete this endorsement, you must complete a total of 21 credit hours:

  • Foundations
    • BME 310 or 530 (three credit hours)
     
  • Linguistics
    • BME 538 (three credit hours)
     
  • ESL Methods
    • three credit hours from BME 430, 437, 537, 500, 631
     
  • Teaching Reading and Writing to LEP Students
    • BME 420 (three credit hours)
     
  • Assessment of LEP Students
    • BME 481 or 634 (three credit hours)
     
  • School, Community, Culture, and Parental Involvement
    • BME 480 or 637 (three credit hours)
     
  • Practicum
    • BME 608 or 3 credit hours of ECI 493 (three credit hours); the practicum experience may be waived by documenting two years of certified teaching experience in an ESL setting
     

Your second-language learning experience must be documented by one of the following means:

  1. six credit hours of course work in a single language, or equivalent, verified by the department of language, education, or English at an accredited institution
  2. completion of intensive language training by the Peace Corps, the Foreign Service, or the Defense Language Institute
  3. a passing score on the Arizona Classroom Spanish Proficiency Exam approved by the State Board of Education
  4. a passing score on the Navajo Language Test
  5. placement by the language department of an accredited institution in a third-semester level
  6. placement at level one—intermediate/low (or more advanced score) on the Oral Proficiency interview, verified by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages
  7. verification of proficiency in an American Indian language, signed by an official designated by the appropriate tribe

Be aware

To receive either endorsement, you must also be certified to teach elementary, secondary, or special education.

The endorsement alone does not certify you to teach in Arizona.