Certification Requirements

• Admission to the graduate program of Texas A&M University in the School of Education and Human Development, Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture (TLAC).
• Specific coursework offered by TLAC
• A valid Texas teaching certificate.
• The successful completion of a TExES examination, given by the State of Texas.
• Two years of teaching experience at an accredited school – can be completed before, during or after coursework.
• Students must declare their interest in pursuing the Reading Specialist certification when accepting the admission offer for the master’s graduate program.
• Students must also claim a TEA ID# if they do not already have one. The TEA ID# must be claimed at the time of admission into the master’s program.
• All requested information must be provided by the student by the deadlines provided.
• Students who began their graduate studies prior to 2014 can no longer be approved to take the exam(s).

The Reading Specialist certification program requires students to contact an advisor at the time of admission into the master’s graduate program in order to be eligible to pursue the certification.

Students will need to provide a TEA ID# and a UIN within 7 days of their acceptance notification.

The Reading Specialist certificate is a State of Texas teaching certificate that requires:

• 7 specific courses (see below)
• The successful completion of a TExES examination
• A valid Texas teaching certificate
• Two years of successful teaching experience in an accredited school (can be completed before, during, or after coursework)

Current guidelines can be found on the TEA website.

View master’s admissions requirements.

Download course requirements

Download the Reading Handbook