Admissions Step 1 – University Application

• Complete the application form via ApplyTexas and pay a one-time application fee of $25.
• Find out more information about admissions to the Lamar University Graduate Program.
• Submit official, sealed, transcripts from each institution attended to the Admissions Office. All degrees must be from a regionally accredited institution.

• Undergraduate GPA of 2.5 (institutional bachelor’s degree); requires no GRE
• Applicants with a GPA below 2.5 in the institutional bachelor’s will not be admitted.
• Upon acceptance and eligibility to remain in the program, you must maintain a 3.0 GPA average.

A master's degree is required for the principal and superintendent certification programs.

General Requirements for Certification (per TAC §230.11)

An applicant for a Texas educator certificate must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Submit to the criminal history review required by the Texas Education Code §22.0831, not be disqualified by the TEC, §21.058, §21.060, or other Texas statute and not be subject to administrative denial pursuant to §249.12 of this title (relating to administrative denial; appeal) or a pending proceeding under Chapter 249 of this title (relating to disciplinary proceedings, sanctions and contested cases)
• Not be disqualified by federal law
• Be willing to support and defend the constitutions of the United States and Texas
• Meet the language requirements listed under "International Students" of this document

It is a requirement that you can complete field hours on a TEA approved public or private school campus. Determine if your school is TEA approved by following this link.

Upon admissions, you will be required to sign a formal acceptance to the program at the start of the first course.

Prior Experience

According to TEA: each EPP must develop and implement specific criteria and procedures that allow:

• Military service member or military veteran candidates to credit verified military service, training or education toward the training, education, work experience or related requirements (other than certification examinations) for educator certification requirements, provided that the military service, training or education is directly related to the certificate being sought
• Candidates who are not military service members or military veterans to substitute prior or ongoing service, training or education, provided that the experience, education or training is not also counted as a part of the internship, clinical teaching or practicum requirements, was provided by an approved EPP or an accredited institution of higher education within the past five years and is directly related to the certificate being sought

As such, if you qualify, your experience will be aligned with curriculum/coursework to identify appropriate credit toward your degree and certification.

Note: if you are out-of-country and/or have transcripts that are from institutions outside of the U.S., you are responsible to work with admissions to secure an evaluation of the transcript and credit hours.

International Students

Undergraduate and graduate-level candidates should contact International Student Admissions for the necessary documents and language requirements for admission. 

You must be able to communicate, listen, read, write and comprehend the english language sufficiently to use it easily and readily in daily communication. English language proficiency shall be evidenced by one of the following:

• Completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree at an accredited institution of higher education in the U.S.
• Verification of minimum scaled scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test of 24 for speaking, 22 for listening, 22 for reading and 21 for writing
• If an undergraduate or graduate degree was earned at an institution of higher education in a country outside of the U.S. listed in Figure: 19 TAC §230.11(b)(5)(C).

Undergraduate and graduate-level candidates should contact International Student Admissions for the necessary documents and language requirements for admission. 

You must be able to communicate, listen, read, write and comprehend the english language sufficiently to use it easily and readily in daily communication. English language proficiency shall be evidenced by one of the following:

• Completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree at an accredited institution of higher education in the U.S.
• Verification of minimum scaled scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test of 24 for speaking, 22 for listening, 22 for reading and 21 for writing
• If an undergraduate or graduate degree was earned at an institution of higher education in a country outside of the U.S. listed in Figure: 19 TAC §230.11(b)(5)(C).