Alternative Teacher Certification in Mississippi

Mississippi alternative certification requirements, step by step

Each requirement below is stated as Mississippi Department of Education — Office of Educator Licensure publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Hold a non-education bachelor’s degree and complete required testing first

   Alternate route is for prospective educators who hold a non-education bachelor’s degree. All programs require a passing Praxis Core (or 21 ACT / SAT equivalent or 3.0 GPA on the baccalaureate or last 60 hours), a Praxis II subject test in the area you want to teach, and Foundations of Reading for Elementary and Mild/Moderate K–12. ABCTE completers use ABCTE Passport to Teaching plus subject and pedagogy assessments.

   Source: mdek12.org

2. 2

   Choose a Mississippi-located alternate route program

   MDE lists Master of Arts in Teaching, Teach Mississippi Institute, American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, and iteach Mississippi. Subject areas differ by provider (for example, ABCTE is limited to Biology, Chemistry, English, Math, and Physics). Only nontraditional programs located in Mississippi are accepted for licensure.

   Source: mdek12.org

3. 3

   Complete the program’s training or coursework, then apply for the initial alternate license

   After testing, enroll and finish the required training or coursework. Submit a MECCA licensure application, an official transcript showing the non-education bachelor’s degree, original Praxis scores from the testing company, and proof of alternate-route enrollment. The provider later submits online recommendations for initial and standard licensure (not required for the Five-Year Alternative Certification Option).

   Source: mdek12.org

4. 4

   Complete the one-year paid teaching internship

   The internship is the first year of teaching. Mentoring is provided, pay is based on bachelor’s-degree first-year-teacher status, and the year is provisional based on successful completion of the school year. All listed alternate programs share testing, training/coursework, and this one-year internship.

   Source: mdek12.org

5. 5

   Apply for the five-year standard license after the internship

   Submit a completed licensure application and proof of internship completion in MECCA after the provider’s online recommendation. The resulting credential is a five-year standard (alternate-route) teaching license. There is currently no application-review fee.

   Source: mdek12.org

Testing-before-enrollment is the official sequence, not an optional extra. The Alternate Route Programs page tells candidates to decide the subject and age level, complete all required tests, then enroll and finish training before the initial alternate license and internship. Reversing that order—accepting a job first and testing later—does not match the published steps, except where a district separately requests a Special, Non-renewable license under Miss. Code Ann. §37-3-2.

Provider menus are not equivalent. MAT offers the widest subject list, including Elementary Education and Special Education. Teach Mississippi Institute omits elementary. ABCTE is limited to five secondary sciences and humanities fields. iteach Mississippi includes elementary plus a shorter world-language and STEM list. Choosing a provider that does not offer your subject wastes a test registration. MDE’s FAQ also repeats that only programs located in Mississippi are approved, even when a brand operates in other states.

The internship year is paid and provisional. MDE describes it as the first year of teaching with mentoring, compensation on the bachelor’s-degree first-year schedule, and continuation based on successful completion of the school year. After that year the educator applies for the five-year standard license with internship proof and the provider recommendation. That two-step license (initial alternate, then five-year standard) is the documented alternate structure—not an immediate Class A issued on test scores alone.

District-requested credentials sit beside, not inside, the alternate-route internship. A Special, Non-renewable license is a one-year Class A credential that only an employing local district or eligible nonpublic school may request, for up to three years, for candidates who have not met all §37-3-2 requirements. An Expert Citizen license is a five-year, district-requested credential for specialized or technical courses. Neither replaces MAT/TMI/ABCTE/iteach for a person seeking a portable five-year standard teaching license through the published alternate steps.

Required exams and fees

Mississippi uses ETS Praxis Core (or ACT/GPA substitute), Praxis Subject Assessments, Praxis PLT, and Foundations of Reading (elementary / special education). Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Moving a license to Mississippi

Mississippi does not accept out-of-state nontraditional programs for initial alternate licensure. Earn a standard license in the state that governs that program, then apply under Mississippi’s 21-day standard-license reciprocity. In-state alternate completers use MECCA plus the Mississippi provider’s online recommendation. Special, Non-renewable licenses are district-requested only.

Official Mississippi reciprocity guidance