Admission Requirements

Admission requirements are in the Queen's section of the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre Teacher Education Application Service (TEAS) website.

• Teacher Education Application Service (TEAS) Application Guide

Selection of applicants is based on:

1. meeting the admission requirements and/or recommendations (Note: meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission);
2. the number of spaces available in the option/teaching subject/program track requested;
3. practicum placement availability;
4. the score from the Personal Statement of Experience; and
5. the score based on the academic average and number of prerequisites and/or recommended courses.

The scores from “4” and “5” above have equal weight.

See also How to Apply.

For information regarding admission, please contact Student Services.

See Technological Education for admission requirements for the Technological Education program.

Applicants (except for Technological Education), are required to have an acceptable undergraduate degree (minimum 3-year General degree).  Preference is given to applicants with a 4-year Honours undergraduate degree.

Recommendations (except for Technological Education):

• A minimum “B” average based on the grading scheme of the issuing postsecondary institution.
• 1 half‑year course in Developmental Psychology (or equivalent) or 1 full‑year course in Introductory Psychology (or equivalent).
• Completion of a 4‑year Honours undergraduate degree (20 full‑year courses). If you have less than 20 full-year courses, it is recommended that you take additional courses to add up to 20, as this can be an advantage for salary and advancement.

Notes on Policies:

• Recommended courses provide a broader subject knowledge that will be helpful with a teaching career.
• The recommendations listed in the Admissions Policies are suggested for admission. Having the recommended items may help applicants to be more competitive in the admission process, but applicants may gain admission without the recommended items.
• Unless otherwise specified, throughout the Admissions Policies, a “course” means a university‑level or second‑year CEGEP course.
• “1 full-year course” means a full‑year course or its equivalent (e.g., 2 half‑year courses).

Primary-Junior Requirements and Recommendations

Primary-Junior Recommendations

In addition to the above, preferred status will be given to candidates who have completed at least one half-year undergraduate or graduate course in at least four of the following areas: 

• English
• Geography or Canadian History
• Health and/or Physical Education
• Mathematics
• Science
• The Arts (visual arts, music, drama, dance)
• Developmental Psychology or full-year Introduction to Psychology

Intermediate-Senior Requirements and Recommendations

1. Please refer to the Teaching Subject Course Requirements (below) for the required and/or recommended courses for teaching subjects offered in the Queen’s Teacher Education program.
2. It is recommended that applicants have a minimum “B” average in the courses that meet the teaching subject requirements.
3. Five full‑year courses are required for the first teaching subject; three full‑year courses are required for the second teaching subject (four are required if Music is the second teaching subject). Completing some of the teaching subject courses from upper‑year course offerings at the university level is recommended. Consideration for offers of admission may be given at the discretion of Student Services.
4. Each course taken in preparation for a teaching subject may be used only once towards either teaching subject (i.e., “double counting” is not acceptable).
5. A maximum of one full‑year course will be accepted from outside the department of the teaching subject

Teaching Subject Requirements

Dramatic Arts

Required:

• One full‑year practical studio course (acting or directing); and
• One half‑year course in theatre history (which may include any of the following components: performance in western and eastern theatre traditions from early classical eras to the end of the 19th century, a survey of production methods, and architecture).

Recommended:

• One half‑year course in theatre production (which may include any of the following components: stage management, scenery design, costumes, lighting and sound systems).

English

Required:

• Half year course with Canadian content in English literature or poetry; and
• One full‑year or a combination of two half‑year courses in any of the following:
  • English literature
  • Poetry
  • Creative writing
  • Linguistics

Recommended:

• Media
• English course that explores diverse topics and voices in literature (E.g., gender & sexuality in literature, race in literature, Indigenous literature in Canada, etc.)

An acceptable equivalent for the full‑year writing course would be one full‑year English course or equivalent that includes an exploration of writing in a variety of literary genres (e.g., poetry, drama, fiction and non‑fictional prose).

First Nations, Métis and Inuit Studies

No additional course requirements beyond the 5 full-year courses required for the first teaching subject and 3 full-year courses required for the second teaching subject.

French as a Second Language*

Required:

• 1 full‑year course with strong overall grammar review at a minimum second‑year level;
• 1 full-year course in writing for accuracy;
• 1 full‑year comprehensive literature course; and
• 1 full‑year oral communication course.
  For a second teaching subject, only 3 of the 4 are required.

*If you choose French as a teaching subject, one or more of your practicum placements may take place in a French setting (Immersion, Core, or Extended)

Geography

Required:

• 1 half‑year course in Canadian geography (physical and/or human)

Recommended:

• 1 half-year course in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)/Geomatics/Geo-Informatics, which may include: Cartography and Remote Sensing
• Courses in Physical Geography, which include: Geomorphology, Climatology, Bio-geography, Geography of Soils, Glaciation, Lithosphere and Plate Tectonics, Natural Disasters
• Courses in Human/Economic/Cultural Geography, which include: geography courses that cover global issues, such as tourism, development, environment, poverty, demographics/population, resources, resource management, land use: rural and urban, urban & rural planning, international trade and aid, Environmental Impact Assessment, regional geography (especially Canadian)
• Related courses: Geology, Earth Science

History

Required:

• 1 full‑year survey course in Canadian History

Recommended:

• 2 or more of the following courses central to the History program taught in Ontario high schools:
  • Indigenous History
  • American History
  • Ancient & Medieval History
  • Modern European History
  • World Politics

Mathematics

Recommended:

• Courses beyond those in the core calculus/analysis stream.

A related course may be considered (up to a maximum of one full‑year course or equivalent) if the course has a math or statistics course listed as an exclusion; in these cases, calendar descriptions listing the exclusion must be sent to Student Services.

Music (Instrumental or Vocal)

Applicants may not select both Music – Instrumental and Music – Vocal as teaching subjects.

Required:

• A minimum of 1 half‑year university course in each of the following areas of music study:
  • Music theory
  • Additional Music Theory or Music Creation (may include: Composition, arranging, orchestration, electroacoustic)
  • Musicology/Ethnomusicology
• A minimum of 1 full‑year university course in each of the following areas of music study
  • Applied Music (For instrumental music, applicants must have a minimum of 6.0 units in instrumental lessons or ensembles. For vocal music, applicants must have a minimum of 6.0 units in vocal lessons or ensembles. The applied music course is equivalent to a Grade 8 Conservatory certificate.)
  • Music Education or Education-related (1 half-year course required for second teaching subject). May include: conducting, secondary instrument, instrumental techniques (e.g., keyboard skills, vocal tech, guitar tech, brass tech, etc.)

Science - Biology

Required:

• One full‑year course that has a major laboratory component, from a university biology department.

Note: Only one full‑year course in each of biochemistry and human biology will be accepted.

Recommended:

• Any or all of the following courses will be useful: cell biology, ecology, genetics, microbiology, plant and animal (invertebrate and vertebrate – including human) biology.

Science - Chemistry

Required:

• One full‑year course in introductory chemistry; and
• One half‑year course in organic chemistry.

Only one full‑year course in biochemistry will be accepted. Applicants with an undergraduate degree in engineering must specify the chemistry content of each course and supply calendar descriptions.

Science - Physics

Required:

• One full‑year, first‑year introductory physics; and
• One half‑year course in electricity & magnetism beyond first‑year introductory physics.

Applicants with an undergraduate degree in engineering must identify the physics content of each course, using mechanics, sound, optics, and electricity and magnetism as headings, supplemented by calendar descriptions, to indicate the physics content in any course not labelled as Physics.

Social Sciences 

Required:

• One full-year course (or equivalent) in Psychology
• One full-year course (or equivalent) in Sociology
• One full year course (or equivalent) in two other general social science subjects including:
  • Anthropology
  • Cultural Studies
  • Gender Studies
  • Philosophy
  • Indigenous Studies
  • Food and Nutrition
  • Fashion

Visual Arts

Required:

• One-and-a-half full‑year courses in comprehensive studio practice (including at least 2 of: Drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics, or fiber arts) and
• One full‑year survey course in art history (for e.g., Ancient Greece through to the Modern Era) And
• One half-year course in one of: Period-specific Art History OR Thematic Art History; Contemporary Art; Canadian Art History; Indigenous North American Art; Non-Western Art (Eg. Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Islamic); Aesthetics and Art Criticism; History of Architecture; or History of Canadian Architecture

Program Tracks

Artist in Community Education

Please submit all supplemental documents using the Supplemental Documents Form. Please note: this form can only be completed once, so please ensure all your documents are finalized and ready for submission.

Supplemental Documents:

• An application cover sheet with your name and Queen's student number (Concurrent applicants) or OUAC number (Consecutive applicants).
• An arts resumé focusing on your education, experiences and interests in the arts (visual arts, music, drama, or creative writing).
• A one-page letter of introduction providing a brief overview of your artistic activities as they relate to your strong commitment to education and your commitment to artistic practice in one or more of the arts, with particular emphasis on work completed outside artistic requirements of your program of study.
• An artistic portfolio outlining your professional arts activities. There is no specified format for the portfolio. Applicants are encouraged to include material that demonstrates, illustrates and/or documents the details of their artistic and arts-related practice.

If you have questions please contact Education Student Services.

Indigenous Teacher Education Program

Please submit all supplemental documents using the Supplemental Documents Form.

Supplemental Documents:

• A resumé providing a clear and concise overview of both (a) your academic background, and (b) work experience. Submit PDF via Supplemental Documents Form.
• Applicant information sheet. Automatically submitted through Supplemental Documents Form (above)

If you have questions or for contact information, please contact Education Student Services.

Outdoor and Experiential Education

There are no supplemental documents for the Outdoor & Experiential Education program. 

If you have questions or for contact information, please contact Education Student Services.

Primary-Junior French as a Second Language

Please submit all supplemental documents using the Supplemental Documents Form.  Please note: this form can only be completed once, so please ensure all your documents are finalized and ready for submission.

Candidates must meet at least one of the following requirements:

• 5.0 full-year undergraduate courses in French or the completion of a degree in the French language*, OR
• A French Bilingual/Immersion/Extended Certificate and original transcript from an anglophone secondary school or an original transcript if you have graduated from a francophone secondary school, OR
• Diplôme approfondi de langue française (DALF) You will need to achieve an overall classification of C1 (Advanced 1). Test results are valid for life, OR
• Diplôme d’études en langue française (DELF) You will need to achieve an overall classification of B1 (Intermediate 1). Test results are valid for life, OR
• Test de connaissance du français (TCF) You will need to obtain a score of C1 (Advanced 1 in all four modalities: reading, listening, writing and speaking). Test results are valid for two years, OR
• Test d’évaluation de français (TEF) You will need to obtain a score of C1 (Advanced 1 in all four modalities: reading, listening, writing and speaking). Test results are valid for two years, OR
• An equivalent language proficiency test as determined by Student Services Office.

If you have questions, please contact Education Student Services.

*

Transcript submitted through TEAS application

Technological Education

Admission Requirements

Proof of Competency

Applicants must provide proof of competency in the same Broad-based Technology area to which they are applying in order to teach. This proof is a combination of both academic background and work experience in the same Broad-based Technology. Examples of activities that are not counted towards your skilled wage-earning experience are teaching, supervisory functions, management activities, customer service, and sales activities. Activities such as these cannot be counted even if they require knowledge of the Broad-based Technology area.

Proof of competence in the Broad-based Technology subject area must be demonstrated as follows:

• a minimum of 2 years of related postsecondary skilled work and/or wage-earning experience (in the same area of trade certification and in the same Broad-based Technology subject area that the applicant is seeking qualification)

or

• an acceptable combination of related academic studies and related skilled work and/or wage-earning experience

Required Academic/Work Experience Combinations

• Related university degree: A minimum of 2 years experience
• Related college diploma (3 years): A minimum of 2 years experience
• Related college diploma (2 years): 3 years experience
• 1 year of a 2-3 year related college diploma: 4 years experience
• Tradesperson (Secondary School Graduation Diploma): 5 years experience

*

Please note that 1 year equals 1850 hours.

Supplemental Documents for Technological Education

Please submit all supplemental documents using the Supplemental Documents Form.  Please note: this form can only be completed once, so please ensure all your documents are finalized and ready for submission. 

Supplemental Documents:

• A resumé providing a clear and concise overview of both your academic background: specify the highest grade of secondary school attained and any postsecondary education, including start and end dates, and diplomas, degrees, and certificates or trade licenses received; and your work experience: include employer names, start and end dates of work, and a brief description of the position held. Relevant work experience is that which clearly reflects the broad-based technological subject area to which application has been made.
• Copies of your certificate(s) of qualification and/or certificate(s) of apprenticeship (if applying to teach a regulated trade). To teach in automotive (Transportation), electrical (Construction) or hairstyling, the applicant must hold a valid trade license. If you are accepted to the Faculty, we will request that you bring in these original documents for validation by Student Services on your first day of classes.
• Letters of wage earning experience including your name, your position(s) in the company, the length of work experience(s), with start and end dates, typical hours of work per week, indication as to whether it was full or part-time employment, a description of the work, a detailed description of duties and skills used in the position. These letters must be original signed letters on official company letterhead, with the supervisor’s name, title, address and contact phone number and/or email address. 
  If it is impossible to provide original and appropriate documentation, submit a sworn statement or solemn affirmation made before a commissioner of oaths indicating the reason(s) why this information is not available. As well, submit copies of T-4 tax forms or a statement from an accountant to confirm the income and dates of employment.
• The Technological Education Applicant Information Sheet.

In addition, if you have been self-employed or employed in a family business, applicants are required to submit:

• A sworn statement or solemn affirmation made before a commissioner of oaths indicating that the applicant was self-employed in a family business. The statement should include the duration of employment, the actual start and end dates, and the nature of duties (providing specific statements of the skills used in the position).
• A copy of business license or registration supporting the duration of employment noted in the sworn statement.
• Copies of income tax assessments (which indicate self-employment) supporting the duration of employment noted in the sworn statement, or a statement from an accountant, confirming income, or an annual report.
• At least one letter (representing the period of self-employment) from a major supplier attesting to materials purchased and/or a client attesting to the work completed.

Successful applicants will require the same documentation to be forwarded to the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) as a part of the application for teacher certification.

If you have questions, please contact Education Student Services.