Become a Teacher
in New Mexico

All states require that certified teachers at a minimum have a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, some states have undergraduate credit hour requirements for certification in specialty areas. Here are New Mexico's undergraduate prerequisites for some of the most popular specialty areas:

• Elementary Education:
  • A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university and including, for those students first entering a college or university beginning in the fall of 1986, the following:
    • Twelve (12) semester hours in English,
    • Twelve (12) semester hours in history including American history and western civilization,
    • Six (6) semester hours in mathematics,
    • Six (6) semester hours in government, economics or sociology
    • Twelve (12) semester hours in science, including biology, chemistry, physics, geology, zoology, or botany, and
    • Six (6) semester hours in fine arts.
  • Credits from a regionally accredited college or university which include thirty to thirty-six (30-36) semester hours of professional education in an elementary education program approved by the Public Education Department, including completion of the Public Education Department's approved functional areas and related competencies in professional education.
  • A mandatory student teaching component.
  • Twenty-four to thirty-six (24-36) semester hours in one teaching field such as mathematics, science(s), language arts, reading, and social studies (or other content related areas). Individuals must also complete the Public Education Department's approved functional areas and related competencies in the teaching field.
  • Six (6) hours in the teaching of reading for those who have first entered any college or university on or after August 1, 2001 regardless of when they graduate or earn their degree.
  • Pass all required portions of the New Mexico teacher assessments or any successor teacher examination adopted by the department.
  • If teaching in an elementary school, you must satisfy the requirements of a highly qualified beginning elementary teacher.
  • If teaching the core academic subjects in a middle or junior high school, you must satisfy the requirements of a highly qualified beginning middle or junior high school teacher holding elementary K-8 licensure, or possess a valid certificate issued by the national board for professional teaching standards for the appropriate grade level and type.
• Secondary English/Language Arts::Beginning teachers seeking an endorsement in language arts to an initial level 1 New Mexico teaching license, must satisfy all of the requirements of the license as provided in Public Education Department rule for that license, which includes, among other requirements, 24-36 semester hours in language arts and passage of a content area test in language arts.
• Secondary Mathematics:: Beginning teachers seeking an endorsement in mathematics to an initial level 1 New Mexico teaching license, must satisfy all of the requirements of the license as provided in Public Education Department rule for that license, which includes, among other requirements, 24-36 semester hours in mathematics and passage of a content area test in mathematics.
• Secondary History/Social Science: Beginning teachers seeking an endorsement in history, geography, economics, civics and government to an initial level 1 New Mexico teaching license, must satisfy all of the requirements of the license as provided in Public Education Department rule for that license, which includes, among other requirements, 24-36 semester hours from among history, geography, economics, civics and government and other social sciences and passage of a content area test that examines the candidate’s knowledge of history, geography, economics, civics and government.
• Secondary Science: Beginning teachers seeking an endorsement in history, geography, economics, civics and government to an initial level 1 New Mexico teaching license, must satisfy all of the requirements of the license as provided in Public Education Department rule for that license, which includes, among other requirements, 24-36 semester hours from among history, geography, economics, civics and government and other social sciences and passage of a content area test that examines the candidate’s knowledge of history, geography, economics, civics and government.

New Mexico will accept some teaching credentials from the following states. Contact the New Mexico Public Education Department to inquire about your specific situation. Please see our interstate reciprocity disclaimer for more information.

• Incentives to teach in high-needs schools or shortage subject areas: New Mexico provides no support for teachers teaching in high needs schools or teachers teaching in shortage subject areas
• Policies in place that articulate elements of effective induction: New Mexico has limited to weak induction policies in place
• Average Elementary Teacher Salary: The average elementary school teacher in New Mexico makes $51,660
  
• Average Secondary Teacher Salary: The average secondary teacher in New Mexico makes $54,700
  
• Teacher Salary vs. State Average Salary: The average teacher in New Mexico makes 147% of the salary of the average worker in New Mexico
• Number of Vacation Weeks Per Year: The average teacher in New Mexico receives 15 weeks of vacation per year

Basic Skills Test

• NMTA (New Mexico Teacher Assessments)

• New Mexico Public Education Department
• New Mexico Teacher Tenure
• This page is sponsored by MAT@USC, an innovative Master of Arts in Teaching program delivered online from the University of Southern California. Click here to learn more and become a teacher in New Mexico