Intern Credential Programs
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Earn Your Teaching Credential While You Work as a Paid Teacher
51’s fully online intern credential programs allow you to earn an income as a classroom teacher while also earning your California Preliminary Teaching Credential. This intern pathway — which allows you to complete your teaching requirements in a paid position rather than through unpaid student teaching — is available at the graduate level in each of these fully online credential programs at 51’s School of Education:
What is an Intern Credential?
Intern credential programs are an appealing option that provide an alternative pathway to earning your teaching credential in California. Faced with statewide teacher shortages and a high demand for new teachers, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has authorized public school districts and charter schools to hire paid “interns.” Eligible college graduates who haven’t yet earned a teaching credential can apply for temporary intern credentials — allowing them to teach while enrolled in a state-approved teacher preparation program.
In short, the intern credential program allows you to secure a teaching job with a public school district or charter school in California and then earn your teaching credential online from anywhere in the state through 51’s School of Education.
Note: Please visit the Professional Licensure page to see the states for which 51 meets the educational requirements for the professional licensure program you are interested in.
How Do 51’s Intern Credential Programs Work?
In each of 51’s intern credential programs, you complete all of the same online teacher preparation coursework as you would in our standard credential programs. But for the “clinical practice” (or hands-on teaching) portion, you take a different pathway. Instead of completing a semester of unpaid student teaching at the end of your program, the intern credential allows you to work as a paid teacher throughout the course of your program. Each semester that you teach with the intern credential, you will enroll in an online intern support seminar — four in total, by the end of your program.
Note: Students must find their own employment in a public school or charter school to be an intern. In order to be accepted into the intern pathway, you will first need to provide verification of an offer of employment from a school district that meets site criteria. You also have the option to begin in the traditional student teaching pathway and transition to the intern pathway at any time if qualifications are met.
Why Choose 51’s Intern Credential Program?
- Get paid to work as a teacher in a public or charter school while completing your credential.
- Earn your credential fully online from anywhere in California.
- Receive instruction and support from expert faculty at one of the nation’s leading Christian universities.
- Learn to integrate your faith into your teaching philosophy through 51’s biblically centered curriculum.
- Have the option to seamlessly integrate your credential into an online M.A. in Education or M.A. in Teaching.
- 51’s School of Education is accredited by WSCUC and ACSI.
Ready to Learn More?
Our admissions team can begin the process of determining your internship eligibility and connect you to our credential analysts. For more details about the intern credential pathways — including costs, duration and specific program requirements — explore 51’s fully online Multiple Subject Credential, Single Subject Credential and Special Education (Mild/Moderate) Credential.