Start teaching with your online Alternate Route degree as soon as next fall!

Sometimes quicker is not better. The TMI program provides only 9 hours of coursework prior to the candidate securing a teaching position. Teaching is complex. It is difficult to address all the demands of teaching within 9 hours of coursework though USM does its very best to do so. TMI candidates should anticipate a much longer, and perhaps more difficult, transition to the profession. In contrast, the online alternate route teaching degree candidates complete 33 hours of coursework and have ongoing support from program faculty for a more extended period (3 to 4 semesters). With this sustained contact and more in-depth coursework, alternate route candidates often have an easier transition to the teaching profession and experience greater satisfaction.

Schedule an appointment with the Program Coordinator. You will have to apply to the MAT program. However, your application will be nearly identical to your previously completed TMI application. The new application is a USM Graduate School requirement. We must have you reclassified as a MAT candidate and the application is how this is accomplished.

Contact the Program Coordinator. In conjunction with USM’s licensure official, we will do what we can to assist you.

Speak with the Program Coordinator before agreeing to the new position because it could impact USM’s ability to observe you during the internship courses.

Under state law (June 2016), alternate route candidates can receive a special, nonrenewable license at a district’s request so long as they are currently enrolled in and making progress towards an alternate route certificate or degree. USM’s role is minimal. USM simply verifies to your district and/or the state that you are enrolled. It will be up to you to communicate to your district and to ensure that you have met their requirements under this law.

USM’s Registrar’s Office will not automatically send your transcripts to MDE. You can order them online through your Student Center in SOAR or through the Registrar’s website. They will send them electronically and you should get an email when they go out.

No, USM did not and cannot send these materials on your behalf.

You are responsible for securing a teaching position in a Mississippi public school with a new teacher induction program in an endorsed content area. If we hear of schools that need positions filled, we will certainly get the word out to you via our Facebook page. We suggest using the Securing a Teaching Position help document above to guide you.

Once you have secured a job, you take one (TMI) or two (MAT) internship classes. CIS 694 is our fall semester internship class. CIS 794 is our spring semester internship class. The faculty member assigned to that class communicates with you on regularly for the semester. Additionally, there are assignments that she/he will ask of you. Visitations to your site by the supervisor will be coordinated with you as well.

Yes, if your district wants to hire you. However, candidates should realize that they can never convert a 3-year, nonrenewable license to a 5-year, renewable license without the internship courses. As a result, the 3-year license will expire, you will no longer hold a viable teaching license, and you may lose your teaching position.

Using your transcripts, we can look at the possibility of transferring up to 6 graduate credit hours from another institution for the MAT. These evaluations are done by the Program Coordinator on a case-by-case basis. Courses cannot be transferred for certificate programs like TMI.

The candidate will need to complete the Graduation Deferment Form to change the date of graduation. There may be fees associated with the deferment.

Please print the form – sign and send to the Program Coordinator to sign (scan & email). There are fees associated with graduation or certificate completion. To pay the fees, go to the Graduate School website. Pay the fee and the late fees as applicable. Send the receipt payment with the application form to the Program Coordinator.