Quick Facts
Next Start Date:
August 24, 2026
- Delivery: 100% Online
- Credits: 18
- Total cost: under $10,000
- 3-4 semesters to licensure
What are the chances that you recently graduated with a degree in a content area but never planned to get a teaching license? Or that you’ve been working for a few years in a disciplinary field but think you’d make a great secondary teacher? Are you filling a position due to your school’s teaching shortage but need to earn your license? Are you a college professor wondering about other classroom levels?
Wherever you are, we have good news: you can always make a transition. Ball State’s transition to teaching program for secondary education is one of the few online transition programs for those considering a career in the senior high, junior high, and middle school classroom.
Students from across the state may pursue their teaching license without relocating. Digital technology is used for lesson observations, as well as pre- and post-observation conferencing. Test preparation courses are available through PRAXIS to help you complete your certification. You will also be required to pass the edTPA portfolio assessment.
You only leave home to do student teaching and a field experience, which you’ll perform in an Indiana secondary school located near you.
You can begin the program in the fall, spring, or summer semesters, depending on your schedule. And you can finish the program in four semesters, including a 16-week, full-time student teaching experience in an Indiana secondary school during one of the final two semesters of the program. You can do your student teaching in a school where you work or at another educational setting that is near your home. A university supervisor provided by the Teachers College will supervise your teaching.
Have a bachelor's in a STEM field?
If you have a bachelor's in a STEM field—science, technology, engineering, or math—and can teach in an underserved school in Indiana for at least three years, you may qualify for funding from the
Hoosier STEM Academy.
The Academy offers programs for STEM professionals interested in teaching and licensed teachers wanting to teach dual credit. To learn more, contact
Jill Bradley-Levine.
For students who are looking for a faster transition to teaching, the program can be completed as quickly as three semesters. If you’re looking for a quicker transition, talk with your student success specialist about how to structure your program of study. It is possible to obtain complete certification in one year.
Hoping to keep your job during this transition? There are options to help you make the most of your time and allow you to still earn an income while completing the student teaching component of your certification, potentially at the school where you are currently employed. If you don’t already have a teaching job or a position at a school, the Ball State Office of Teacher Education Services can help you find the right placement for your needs.
Ball State’s Teachers College, which consistently ranks among the best in the U.S., has prepared innumerable teachers, counselors, principals, and superintendents. We are one of the nation’s most comprehensive universities in both the quantity and quality of educator programs.
Ball State's Teachers College has been nationally accredited since 1954 and is the largest teacher provider in the state of Indiana. Teachers College also boasts one of the nation's most comprehensive offerings in terms of the quantity and quality of educator programs available.
Program Contacts
James Helwig
Online Student Recruitment Specialist
Alisa Grady
Assistant Teaching Professor of Educational Studies
What can You Do with a License in Transition to Teaching for Secondary Education?
You will be licensed to teach your content area in senior high school, junior high school, and/or middle school (grades 7-12) in the state of Indiana.
Evidence of academic content knowledge: you must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the content/subject area you would like to be licensed to teach or a passing score for at least one of the secondary Praxis content/subject exams required by the Indiana Department of Education for licensure (Note: middle school Praxis exams will not be accepted). A list of secondary content/subject exams is available on the ETS website. The degree or exam must be in a content/subject area approved for transition to secondary teaching programs. Evidence may be provided with Praxis score report(s), or a document stating you have a degree(s) in a secondary content/subject area.
Master of Arts in Secondary Education Option
You will need only four additional courses to complete a master of arts in secondary education (MASE). You are able to pursue the MA while working on the licensure courses OR after you complete the Transition to Secondary Teaching program.
In addition, a concentration in Secondary Teaching exists under the MA, which will allow you to complete the Transition to Teaching licensure requirements within the MASE program.
You will also have a variety of options for add-on licenses to help you focus your studies in your areas of interest.
A Transition to Teaching Scholarship is available to students interested in pursuing a career in education. This is a need-based, one-time, non-renewable scholarship of up to $10,000.
Eligibility Requirements: In exchange for the Transition to Teaching Scholarship, recipients must commit to teaching for five years at an eligible Indiana school.
Learn More and Apply for the Scholarship
Course Requirements
You will complete 18 credit hours, including courses that explore the foundations of education, educational psychology, meeting the needs of diverse learners, curriculum development, classroom management, home and school connections, and student assessment.
- EDPS 600 Advanced Educational Psychology (3 credits)
- EDSE 660 Introduction to Secondary Planning and Instruction (3 credits)
- EDSE 670 Advanced Secondary Planning and Instruction (3 credits)
- EDSE 680 Student Teaching: Secondary School (3 credits)
Choose one course from the following:
- EDFO 620 Social, Historical, and Philosophical Foundations of Education (3 credits)
- EDMU 660 Multicultural and Multiethnic Education in American Schools (3 credits)
Choose one course from the following:
- BED 620 Improvement of Instruction with Technology (3 credits)
- CTE 622 Instructional Materials and Strategies for Improvement of Instruction (3 credits)
- CTE 625 Problems and Issues (3 credits)
- EDSE 695 Dynamics of the Secondary School Classroom (3 credits)
- EDSE 534 Classroom Management: Practical Approaches to Improving Student Behavior (3 credits)
- ENG 672 Workshop in English Language Arts (3-9 credits)
- HIST 670 Introduction to Teaching History (3 credits)
- MATH 690 Curriculum and Instruction in Mathematics Education (3 credits)
Ready to Apply?
Review deadlines, admission requirements, and application materials, then start your application.
Get Started
Want to Learn More?
Do you have questions about this program or online learning? We’re here to help! You may request more information using our online form, or feel free to reach out directly to one of our staff.