ESL Certification Program

The ESL certification program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a course of study that leads to K-12 ESL teacher certification. ESL is an add-on certification, which means that the candidate must already hold a WI teaching license in early childhood education, elementary education, or a secondary core content area (defined as science, social studies, math, or English/language arts) in order to qualify. All courses are at the graduate level, and may be taken either as a “special student” (i.e. for those students not degree oriented), or as a graduate student enrolled in the C&I Master’s degree program.* All coursework is offered in “teacher hours.” In most cases, this means one night per week during the academic semesters. The program consists of 22 credits of coursework. For applicants who meet the eligibility criteria, we schedule an advising appointment, in which we detail program requirements and assess whether any competencies may have already been met through candidates’ previous coursework. Through this process we determine an individualized plan and timeline for potential program participants. 

* All credits taken for certification may be applied towards a Master’s degree (M.S.) in Curriculum and Instruction with ESL as the area of concentration if the candidate has been accepted into the C&I Master’s Program. The Master’s degree requires 24 credits, plus a thesis and final oral; complete information on graduate program requirements and application procedures can be viewed at C&I Grad Programs.

Eligibility Criteria 

Potential applicants must have:

• a Bachelor’s degree
• a WI teaching license in early childhood or elementary education, or in a secondary core content area (defined above)
• a minimum GPA of 3.0 on the last 60 credits of the undergraduate degree.
• experience learning another language (this may be fulfilled by a minimum of 2 years of High School foreign language study, one year of college foreign language study, or a substantial experience living in a language community other than English).

Proficiency in another language is not required.

For application information, please email Julie Minikel at jtminikellac@wisc.edu

Bilingual Certification Program

The Bilingual Certification Program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a course of study that leads to K-12 Bilingual Certification. Bilingual Certification is an add-on to ESL Certification, which means that candidates for Bilingual certification must meet UW-Madison Department of Curriculum and Instruction requirements for ESL certification first, then acquire additional competencies in the areas of bilingualism and biliteracy. Students typically follow the course of study for ESL certification candidates discussed above, then complete an additional 5-credit course with fieldwork. They receive both ESL and Bilingual certification.

Proficiency in another language is required, and students must pass a language proficiency test in the target language upon completion of the program in order to be certified.

For application information, please email Julie Minikel at jtminikellac@wisc.edu