How to Apply & Deadlines

Post-Baccalaureate Admissions -
Becoming a Lateral Entry Teacher

If you enter the teaching profession without first completing a teacher education program, you are called a lateral entry teacher.

The minimum qualifications to become a lateral entry teacher are based on your academic content background.  In order to be eligible for employment, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • a content relevant major with at least a 2.5 GPA*
  • at least 24 semester hours in the content that you want to teach with at least a 2.5 GPA
  • passing the Praxis II examination in the area that you want to teach.

*If your GPA is less than 2.5, you would still be eligible if you pass the Praxis I examination and have a 3.0 in your major or a 3.0 in your senior year or 3.0 in the last 15 semester hours of post-baccalaureate coursework taken in the last five years.

The Praxis examinations are administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The Praxis II tests required for licensure are listed under State Requirements.

The lateral entry license is issued for three years, but requires annual progress toward completion (at least 6 semester hours/year) of an approved teacher education program. This can be done through a university affiliation or a Regional Alternative Licensing Center (RALC). The university affiliation will give you nationally accredited backing. The RALC is recognized only by the state. There are fast track and fully online teacher education programs available through the UNC-CH School of Education.

Lateral entry teachers are employed when the pool of available licensed teachers is exhausted. Lateral entry teachers are therefore most likely to be employed late in the summer and in content areas where there is a shortage of teachers. The shortage of teachers is greatest, particularly locally, in the areas of mathematics, science, special education, English as a second language and Spanish.

The NC Department of Public Instruction has an electronic application that can be used for all 117 school systems across the state. You can also use this site to link directly to each school system’s web information as well as postings of job vacancies. You should follow up with each school system to verify that they do not require additional documentation.

We encourage you to contact the School of Education to discuss developing the best plan for you to become a teacher.