LEAP Teaching Licensure Program
Meeting the Need for Ag Teachers
If you’ve ever envisioned yourself working with agriculture and people or thought about inspiring young people in a classroom setting, the LEAP program may be for you.
Licensure in Education for Agricultural Professionals (LEAP) is an online teacher certification program in agricultural education. Upon completion, LEAP graduates are certified to teach agriculture in schools.
What is LEAP?
Offered through NC State, the LEAP program is available nationwide and is delivered through distance education technologies. The program provides the coursework needed to obtain a license to teach agriculture in school settings and is for individuals who have baccalaureate degrees in agriculture, natural resources, and closely related disciplines. The goal of the program is to address the shortage of qualified agricultural education teachers.
Students who successfully complete the program will apply to receive a class “A” teaching license from the state of North Carolina. The North Carolina teaching license is recognized by 40+ states, Department of Defense schools, and the U.S. Territories. The teacher education program at North Carolina State University is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
Admission Requirements
LEAP is a rigorous program and requires significant commitment.
- A baccalaureate degree in agriculture, natural resources, or a closely related field from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States.
- 24 credit hours of agriculture content is required for an agricultural teaching license. If these hours are not met prior to applying to the program, you can add these content courses to your LEAP program hours. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers several introductory agriculture courses at a distance that can be taken to satisfy the requirement, or coursework may be completed at a local community college
- Minimum 2.75 GPA on all collegiate-level work
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits | Fall | Spring | Summer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANS 150 | Introduction to Animal Science (nDE) | 3 | X | X | |
| ANS 225 | Principles of Animal Nutrition | 3 | X | ||
| ANS 230 | Animal Nutrition (c) | 3 | X | X | |
| ARE 201 | Introduction to Agriculture and Resource Economics | 3 | X | X | X |
| ARE 303 | Farm Management (nDE) | 3 | X | ||
| ARE 304 | Agribusiness Management | 3 | X | X | X |
| CS 213 | Crop Science (a) | 3 | X | X | |
| ENT 201 | Insects and People | 3 | X | X | X |
| ENT 212 | Basic Entomology | 1 | X | X | |
| FS 201 | Introduction to Food Science | 3 | X | X | X |
| FS 250 | Basics of Food Safety and Quality | 3 | X | X | |
| HS 200 | Home Horticulture | 3 | X | X | X |
| HS 201 | The World of Horticulture | 3 | X | X | X |
| PO 201 | Poultry Science and Production (nDE) | 3 | X | X | X |
| Poultry Science and Production | Poultry and People: Why did the chicken cross the world? | 3 | X | X | |
| SSC 200 | Soil Science (b) | 3 | X | X | X |
(b) CH 101 or CH 100 prerequisite
(c) ANS 150 or BIO 183 prerequisite
(nDE) No DE sections are currently offered
Program Requirements
The LEAP program requires 15 credit hours. Students must maintain a minimum 2.75 GPA in all coursework. (If the courses are to be applied toward a graduate certificate or master’s degree, a 3.0 GPA is required.) Only courses in which you earn a grade of “C” or higher can be counted toward licensure requirements.
All LEAP students are assigned an advisor. The advisor will assist you in selecting courses and determining the appropriate course load.
Click on each course name to view more information and when they’re offered.
AEE 535 – Teaching Agriculture in Secondary Schools or AEHS 735 – Effective Teaching in Agriculture and Life Sciences or AEE 426 – Methods of Teaching Agriculture
(3 hours – offered in Fall). Techniques for instructing students are the focal point of this course. Testing, grading, student management, and other related topics are also covered. Faculty at the University of Arizona and Washington State University assisted in the development of this course. This is one of the first courses people who have been employed to teach agriculture should take.
AEE 503 – Youth Program Management or AEE 303 – Administrators and Supervisors of Student Organizations
(3 hours – offered in Spring). One of the major responsibilities of the agricultural teacher is to develop the leadership potential of young people through the FFA program. This course teaches how to operate and manage the FFA program. University of Missouri faculty assisted in developing this course. This course is taught every spring semester.
AEHS 522 – Occupational Experience in Agriculture or AEE 322 – Experience Learning in Secondary Agricultural
(3 hours – offered in Fall). Experiential learning is a hallmark of agricultural education. Students in this course learn how to involve students in supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs. Fort Valley State University was involved in the design of this course. This course is taught every fall semester.
AEE 524 – Coordinating the High School Agricultural Education Program or AEE 529 – Curriculum Development in Agricultural and Extension Education or AEHS 521 – Program Planning in Agricultural Education and Human Sciences or AEE 424 – Program Planning in Agricultural Education
(3 hours each – 524 offered in Spring, 529 offered in Fall). Principles of program planning applied to educational programs about agriculture; theory and field experiences in planning, organizing, and evaluating secondary agricultural education programs; development of plans for conducting all aspects of the complete agricultural education program.
AEHS 641 – Practicum in Agricultural and Extension Education or AEE 441 – Special Topics
(3 hours – offered in Spring). Successfully complete a teaching internship in a school under the direction and guidance of an experienced teacher. Distance education technologies such as Skype and Google Talk are used to observe teaching and to conference with the students. There may also be live observations from NCSU faculty members. This course is available in the fall and spring but should be completed after you have taken the majority of the other courses. You will spend eight weeks in a school observing and teaching. For people who are hired to teach on a provisional or emergency teaching certificate, this requirement can be done on-the-job in the school in which you are employed. For those not teaching, we will help you locate a school and make arrangements for this experience.
The five core AEE/AEHS courses are all web-based. Students need access to the internet and a computer that can handle streaming video and audio. Students will also need a word processing program and PowerPoint.
Program Costs
LEAP students pay tuition at North Carolina State University. Visit the Student Services website for current distance education course fees. Students who are in the LEAP program and take two courses a semester may qualify for federal loans and other financial aid.
LEAP students may also be eligible for NC Teaching Fellows. More information can be found on the NC Teaching Fellows website and questions can be directed to Crystal Espey at cnespey@ncsu.edu.
Ag teachers are in
high demand
The LEAP certification program helps meet the significant need for qualified Ag teachers.
Applying to the LEAP Program
Applying and enrolling in LEAP is a two-stage process.
Stage 1
Email transcripts of your academic work to Desiree Mallon (unofficial copies are OK). We will create a LEAP plan listing the coursework you have credit for and the remaining required coursework needed for licensure.
Stage 2
You must apply for admission to NC State University.
You have three pathways for completing the LEAP coursework at NC State:
Enroll in the Agricultural and Extension Education graduate certificate program.
The graduate certificate is a formal graduate program. You will need to complete a Graduate School application online. The AEE graduate certificate requires 15 graduate-level credit hours and must be completed within four years. You must have an undergraduate degree prior to application review. A 3.0 undergraduate GPA is required for admission to the Graduate School. You can find application deadlines here.
Enroll as a Non-Degree Studies student.
NDS-PBS (Non-Degree Studies, Post-Baccalaureate Studies) students are limited to two (2) courses per semester and are not considered students in the department. You will need to complete an application online (on the application under the Enrollment Term & Objective, select “Begin an Online or Distance Education Program/Certificate” and you can find “Licensure in Education for Agricultural Professionals” in the dropdown box under the “Licensure” section). This route is ideal for students who have less than 15 credit hours needed to complete LEAP or cannot complete the program within four years. Starting off as NDS is also ideal for those who need some or all of the 24 hours of agricultural content in addition to the 15 hours of LEAP content or need to boost their GPA for a graduate school admission. Students are limited to 30 credit hours as NDS and two courses per semester. If not planning on transferring courses into a graduate program, this option also allows flexibility to take the undergraduate version of our courses. You can find application deadlines here.
Enroll in the Agricultural and Extension Education master’s degree program.
The application process for a master’s degree is the same as for the graduate certificate program and requires 30 graduate-level credit hours. This option is ideal for students who are already considering earning a master’s degree, but must be completed within six years. A 3.0 undergraduate GPA is required for admission into the Graduate School. You can find application deadlines here.
Stage 3
After admission to the university, students work with their LEAP advisor to register for classes.
Note: A student can enroll in non-degree studies or the graduate certificate program and then apply to the AEHS master’s program at a later date. A total of twelve (12) credit hours taken as NDS or in the graduate certificate program can be applied towards the master’s program, but only six (6) NDS credit hours can apply towards the graduate certificate program. The time limit to complete a master’s (6 years) or certificate (4 years) program begins with the earliest course applied towards said program.
Contact
For questions and more information on LEAP, contact:
Misty Lambert
Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences
Campus Box 7607
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695
Phone: 919-515-2707
E-mail: mdlamber@ncsu.edu
Desiree Mallon
Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences
Campus Box 7607
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695
Phone: 919-513-2349
E-mail: ddmallon@ncsu.edu