Become a Teacher in West Virginia Online!

The following Institutions of Higher Education provide teacher preparation programs that are completely online with the exception of a required student teaching experience. Some of these institutions programs have been identified as meeting the requirements for certification in West Virginia or the requirements in their own state. Through reciprocity, many out of state certifications may be transferred to obtain a West Virginia certification. Provided students undergo a thorough transcript analysis, complete all required credit hours for West Virginia certification through their completed teacher certification program, become certified within the institution's home state, and meet the West Virginia Praxis exam testing requirements, graduates may be able to apply for a West Virginia certification in the area of which they would like to teach. These are not the only completely online programs that may lead to a West Virginia certification, but they are a few out of many that the WVDE has been able to identify.

Estimated time of teacher preparation program course completion*
Post Bachelor's Certification - 1 ½ Years, Masters Degree - 2 Years.

Online Teacher Licensure Degree Programs

Post-Bachelor's Teacher Licensure: American Public University offers certification via their post-bachelor's programs in all areas of Secondary Education grades (6-12) within West Virginia. Whether you are pursuing certification in a subject area like Science, Math, English, Special Education, or another content/endorsement area, American Public University offers a way to attain the certification via online classes.

Master's Degree in Education with Teacher Licensure: Secondary Social Studies 6-12, Elementary Education K-6.

Estimated time of teacher preparation program course completion*:
Post Bachelor's Certification - 1 ½ Years.

ACT - Accelerated Certification for Teaching Program

ACT is an online post-bachelor's certification program designed for individuals who seek to qualify for state teacher certification. The online ACT program offers students the flexibility to remain in their present career or your classroom while you prepare to fully enter the teaching profession. In the final semester, full time participation is required as the student fulfills the student teaching requirement. Those who are currently in the classroom may use part of their experiences towards this important part of the certification process.

Certifications available for Secondary Education (Grades 5-12):

Biology, chemistry, English, French, General Science, Mathematics, Physics, Social Science/History, Social Science/Political Science, and Spanish.

Estimated time of teacher preparation program course completion*
Post Bachelor's - 9 Months.

TeacherReady Accellerated Certification Program

TeacherReady is part of the Education Unit at the University of West Florida. The University is NCATE and regional accredited. TeacherReady is an approved program in the state of Florida, which means that they recommend certification in the state of Florida. The program is completed entirely online with the exception of field work and student teaching. Each program participant must complete a minimum of 110 hours of field work with a mentor teacher certified in the field of which the candidate is seeking certification. TeacherReady provides the pedagogy training for individuals with bachelor degrees who want to become teachers. Each candidate must complete the program, pass the 3 state required certification tests in Florida, attain a certification in the state of Florida, and then pass any required tests for West Virginia before they plan on transferring a Florida certification to a West Virginia teaching licensure.

Certification areas in Florida for this program include: Agriculture (6-12), Art (6-12), Biology (6-12), Business Education (6-12), Chemistry (6-12), Computer Science (K-12), Drama (6-12), Earth-Space Science (6-12), Educational Media Specialist (PK-12), Elementary Education (K-6), English (5-9), English (6-12), English to Speakers of Other Languages (K-12), Exceptional Student Education (K-12), Family Consumer Science (6-12), French (K-12), German (K-12), Latin (K-12), Spanish (K-12), General Science (5-9), Health (K-12), Hearing Impaired (K-12), Humanities (K-12), Industrial Arts/Technology Education (6-12), Journalism (6-12), Marketing (6-12), Mathematics (5-9), Mathematics (6-12), Journalism (6-12), Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum (5-9), Music (K-12), Physical Education (K-12), Physics (6-12), Prekindergarten/Primary Education (Age 3-Gr 3), Preschool Education (Birth - Age 4), Social Science (5-9), Social Science (6-12), Speech(6-12), Visually Impaired (K-12).

Estimated time of teacher preparation program course completion*
Bachelor's Degree - 4 Years, Post Bachelor's Certification - 1-1 ½ Years, Masters Degree - 2 Years.

Online Teacher Licensure Degree Programs

Bachelor's Degrees: Interdisciplinary K-8, Early Childhood Education, Mathematics 5-9 or 5-12, Science 5-9, Chemistry 5-12, Physics 5-12, Biological Sciences 5-12, Geosciences 5-12, Social Science 5-12, Special Education PK-12.

Post Bachelor's Teacher Licensure: Teacher Preparation K-8, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science.

Master's Degree in Education with Teacher Licensure: Teaching K-8, Mathematics, Science, Social Science.

Online Graduate Programs for Teachers that are Currently Licensed: Special Education PK-12, Educational Leadership, English Language Learning/English as a Second Language PK-12, Mathematics Education (K-6, 5-9, or 5-12), Science Education 5-9, Chemistry 5-12, Physics 5-12, Biological Sciences 5-12, Geosciences 5-12, Instructional Design, Learning and Technology, Measurement and Evaluation, Endorsement Preparation Program in English Language Learning PK-12, Endorsement Preparation Program in Educational Leadership.

Things one must verify when choosing a distance learning teacher preparation program:

• All distance learning programs must be provided by a regionally accreditted university.
• All programs must have the authority to officially recommend program completers for certification within the state that the institution resides in.
• All programs must include a substantial student teaching experience.

Definitions:

• Accredited Institution of Higher Education. - A college or university accredited:  1) by the official accrediting agency of the state in which the institution is located, and 2) by one of the six regional accrediting agencies recognized by the National Commission on Accrediting (Middle States, New England, Northwest, North Central, Southern, and Western Associations),  The Association for Biblical Higher Education, the Association of Independent Colleges and Schools or the Association of Theological Schools, to award degrees at a stipulated level, i.e., bachelor's degree, master's degree, and/or doctorate.
• Regionally Accredited Institution of Higher Education. - A college or university accredited by:  1) the official accrediting agency of the state in which the institution is located and 2) one of the six regional accrediting agencies recognized by the National Commission on Accrediting (Middle State, New England, Northwest, North Central, Southern and Western Associations) to award degrees at a stipulated level, i.e., bachelor's degree, master's degree and/or doctoral degree.

* All certification time estimates are based upon best-case scenarios provided by the individual institution of higher education. The best-case scenarios include the assumption that the candidate already possesses a bachelor's degree and meets all required prerequisite course requirements prior to enrolling into the program. The information on this page does not supersede the full set of West Virginia Department of Education requirements for teacher certification. All universities should conduct a proper transcript evaluation and determine the amount of time it will take individuals to become certified on a case by case basis. All of the information on the distance learning opportunities page for each institution of higher education is provided by the school itself and is not a claim being made by either the Troops to Teachers program or the West Virginia Department of Education.

* The West Virginia Department of Education does not promote the use of any one teacher preparation program over another. If your institution can prove that they should be included on this list because they have a completely online teaching program that leads to a West Virginia teacher certification, please contact Robert Mellace at 1.800.982.2378 to add your teacher preparation program to this listing.