TESOL Certificate

• Students in Valpo graduate programs with a language or international focus, such as English Studies and Communication or International Commerce and Policy, Chinese Studies, or the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies.
• Non-degree students in the Graduate School, including international students and members of the Northwest Indiana community.
• Graduate students preparing for “gap year” programs such as Fulbright or Peace Corps.

• The certificate expands career possibilities for those who anticipate teaching the English language to adults in the U.S. or internationally.
• Students gain practical experience through a hands-on teaching practicum. The vibrant international Valparaiso University community offers many opportunities to interact with speakers of other languages.
• Up to nine credits for the certificate can overlap with selected degree programs. (See the graduate catalog for details.) Thus, a 36-credit program with nine TESOL certificate credits counting as electives toward the M.A. program yields an M.A. plus the certificate in 42 credits.
• Students may take classes as full-time or part-time students.  Courses are available in the evenings and during the summer.

• Students currently or previously enrolled in a graduate degree program at Valparaiso University need only submit the application for the TESOL certificate, updated transcripts, and evidence of prior experience learning a foreign language.
• All others must, in addition to the above, meet standard admission requirements of the Graduate School.

The above information comes from the 2016-17 graduate catalog, below, p. 99.  Students typically follow the catalog for the year in which they matriculate.