You are encouraged to work with colleges offering approved teaching programs to meet all licensure requirements. Many colleges have outlined courses already approved to meet professional course requirements for obtaining a full, renewable Virginia teaching license as set forth by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) licensure guidelines. Most courses are offered online and may vary in cost from one college to another. Choose the college that best suits your needs!
VDOE Approved Course Lists
- George Mason University - College of Education and Human Development
- Liberty University - Department of Teacher Education
- Radford University - Special Education General Curriculum
- University of Mary Washington - College of Education
- University of Virginia's College at Wise - Center for Teaching Excellence (online courses offered)
Provisional License Holders
License holders who are within one or two courses of meeting licensure requirements, also see:
Provisional License Course Approval Process
If you are not sure if a course will meet Virginia provisional licensure requirements you should have the course pre-approved before enrolling. If you took a course that VDOE did not give you credit for and you feel very strongly that it meets licensure requirements, you should follow the instructions below to get the course approved.
You must send the following to the Certification Office:
- A completed Licensure Request Form (Word) indicating what requirement you need to meet or purpose of the course and include verification of the following:
- Official course description/syllabus taken directly from either the course catalog or college website with a direct URL address. (Course descriptions typed by you will not be accepted).
- Course credit information. (Most courses must be at least 3 credits)
- You must also include verification of the regional accreditation status if the college is located outside of Virginia.
It is also a good idea to confirm with the college prior to enrolling, that you will be able to obtain an official transcript with a stamp or seal reflecting the credits earned for the course. Certificates and grade reports are not accepted by the VDOE for licensure purposes.
Due to the overwhelming number of courses available it is often necessary to send this information to VDOE for an official approval and this process may take several weeks in some cases, please plan accordingly.