Become a Teacher
in Missouri

• Courses appropriate for Elementary grades: a. Mathematics (two (2) courses, minimum total of five (5) semester hours), b. Economics; c. Geography; d. Health; and e. Art or Music
• Area of Concentration: The student must have a total of at least twenty-one (21) semester hours in an area of concentration. the specific coursework required to make the total. For grades 5-9 teachers are required to earn 21 credit hours in at least one subject as part of the middle school concentration portion of their professional education. Subject Area Requirements (Minimum requirement of twenty-one (21) semester hours):Subject area certification in grades 5-9 will be granted upon the basis of a minimum of twenty-one (21) semester hours with appropriate distribution as determined by the teacher preparation institution and/or the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in one (1) of the following areas: d. Language Arts 5-9; e. Mathematics 5-9; f. Science 5-9; g. Social Science 5-9.

• Composition and Rhetoric: 12 credits (Must include a course in the teaching of writing)
• Study of the English Language: 5 credits (Must include modern grammar, history of the language, and/or dialects)
• American Literature: 5 credits (must include at least one (1) major unit or module in literature for adolescents and one (1) in literature of ethnic groups)
• English and/or World Literature: 5 credits
• Elective English Credit: 3 credits
• Minimum Total Semester Hours: 30

• Calculus and Analytical Geometry: 8 credits
• Algebraic Structures: 3 credits
• Geometry: 3 credits
• Computer Science: 2 credits
• Elective from: Calculus and Analytical Geometry, Algebraic Structures, Geometry, Computer Science: 4 credits
• A minimum of ten (10) semester hours from at least 3 (three) areas of Mathematics such as the following: History of Mathematics (2-3 credits), Structure of the Real Number System (2-3 credits), Number Theory (2-3 credits), Completion Calculus Sequence (2-5 credits), Probability and Statistics (2-3 credits), Computer Science (2-5 credits), Math for Exceptional Children (2-3 credits), Linear Algebra (2-3 credits)
• Minimum grand total semester hours: 30

• U.S. History: 12 credits
• World History: 8 credits
• Political Science (State and U.S. Government): 6 credits
• Economics: 3 credits
• Geography: 3 credits
• Behavioral Science (Sociology, Anthropology, or Psychology): 6 credits
• Elective Social Studies: 0-2 credits
• Minimum total semester hours: 40 credits

• History/Philosophy of Science and Technology—two (2) semester hours
• Twenty (20) hours in Biology which includes: 1) Cell Biology; 2) Plant Form and Function; 3) Animal Form and Function; 4) Genetics; 5) Evolution; 6) Biology Electives
• Ten (10) additional hours in Science which includes: 1) Chemistry; 2) Physics; 3) Earth Science; 4) Environmental Science;
• Minimum total semester hours: 32 credits

• History/Philosophy of Science and Technology—two (2) semester hours
• Twenty (20) hours in Chemistry which includes: 1) Inorganic Chemistry; 2) Analytical Chemistry; 3) Organic Chemistry (Lect-Lab); 4) Physical Chemistry; 5) Biochemistry; 6) Chemistry Electives
• Ten (10) additional hours in Science which includes: 1) Physics; 2) Biology; 3) Earth Science; 4) Environmental Science
• Minimum total semester hours: 40 credits

• History/Philosophy of Science and Technology—two (2) semester hours
• Twenty (20) hours in Earth Science which includes: 1) Astronomy; 2) Meteorology; 3) Geology/Physical Geography; 4) Earth Science Electives
• Ten (10) additional hours in Science which includes: 1) Chemistry; 2) Biology; 3) Physics; 4) Environmental Science
• Minimum total semester hours: 40 credits

• History/Philosophy of Science and Technology—two (2) semester hours
• Thirty (30) hours in Science course work which includes: 1) Chemistry (Lect-Lab); 2) Biology (Lect-Lab); 3) Physics (Lect-Lab); 4) Earth Science; 5) Astronomy; 6) Environmental Science
• Minimum total semester hours: 40 credits

• History/Philosophy of Science and Technology—two (2) semester hours
• Twenty (20) hours in Physics course work which includes: 1) Mechanics; 2) Electricity and Magnetism; 3) Heat, Sound, and Light; 4) Atomic or Modern Physics; 5) Physics Electives
• Ten (10) additional hours in Science which includes: 1) Chemistry; 2) Biology; 3) Earth Science; 4) Environmental Science
• Minimum total semester hours: 40 credits

• Incentives to teach in high-needs schools or shortage subject areas: Missouri 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: All new teachers must participate in a two-year mentoring program
• Average Elementary Teacher Salary: The average elementary school teacher in Missouri makes $44,070
• Average Secondary Teacher Salary: The average secondary teacher in Missouri makes $43,280
• Teacher Salary vs. State Average Salary: The average teacher in Missouri makes 125% of the salary of the average worker in Missouri
• Number of Vacation Weeks Per Year: The average teacher in Missouri receives 15 weeks of vacation per year

Basic Skills Test

• Missouri does not require a basic skills test for student teaching or for certification.

Subject Area Competence

• Praxis II: Subject Tests in your specialty area
• Praxis II PLT (Principles of Learning and Teaching)Grades 5-9 or 7-12