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Applying for New York certification with a degree from outside the U.S.

If your teaching qualification was earned outside the United States, New York generally cannot match it to a U.S. approved program. That usually points to individual evaluation, where coursework and credentials are reviewed one by one — and where how your documents reach NYSED matters as much as what they say.

Who this applies to

  • You completed your teacher education outside the United States.
  • You hold a teaching credential from another country and are relocating to New York.
  • You have a U.S. degree but your preparation program was completed abroad.
  • You are deciding whether your foreign coursework will be recognised before you pay for an application.

Individual evaluation is the usual starting point

New York's comparable-program routes are built around programs approved in a U.S. state or jurisdiction. A qualification earned elsewhere normally does not map onto that comparison, so the application moves to individual evaluation.

Individual evaluation is not a rejection. It is a review: the Office of Teaching Initiatives looks at your coursework and credentials against the requirements for the certificate title you are applying for, and lists anything still outstanding in TEACH.

Foreign transcripts need a credential evaluation

A degree earned outside the United States is not submitted as a plain transcript. NYSED requires a credential evaluation report, and that report has to be sent to NYSED by an approved evaluation agency rather than by you.

This is one of the most common places applications stall: the applicant believes documents were submitted, but the agency has not yet sent the report to NYSED.

  • Request the evaluation from an approved agency, not from a general translation service.
  • Ask the agency to send the report directly to NYSED.
  • Keep the agency's confirmation — you may need it if the report does not appear in TEACH.

Requirements that apply to every certificate title

The individual evaluation pathway covers a large number of certificate titles, and every one of them shares a core set of requirements. Subject-specific exams are added on top and differ by title.

The pathway page lists exactly those shared requirements and nothing invented beyond them.

  • A conferred bachelor's degree and the minimum undergraduate GPA.
  • Foundations of education and human development and learning coursework.
  • The Educating All Students (EAS) test.
  • The three mandated workshops and fingerprint clearance.

What to prepare, in order

Because the document trail is longer for foreign credentials, sequence matters more than speed.

  • Decide the certificate title you are applying for — requirements are attached to the title, not to the general idea of teaching.
  • Start the credential evaluation early; it is usually the longest step.
  • Collect workshop and exam records that are independent of your foreign transcripts.
  • Send remaining official documents together rather than one at a time.

Confirm before you rely on it

CertBridge summarizes public NYSED material and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NYSED. Evaluation agencies, accepted credentials and individual determinations are decided by the state, not by this page.

Related pathway pages

Which pathway fits your own record?

These guides describe whole pathways. The free assessment asks about your preparation and certificate, then returns the pathway and requirement checklist that applies to you.

Start the free assessment

Sources

CertBridge summarizes public NYSED material. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the New York State Education Department, and the issuing agency makes the final determination on every application. Requirements change — confirm specifics on the official pages above before you rely on them.