LEAP Teaching Licensure Program

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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 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.

Non-North Carolina residents wishing to complete the graduate certificate at a distance must either attest to teaching in North Carolina at completion of the program or select the pre-approved state in which they will be teaching on their application.

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 .

You can find application deadlines here.When filling out the (on the application, under the Enrollment Term & Objective, select “Begin an Online or Distance Education Program/Certificate”. You can then select “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.

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.When completing an application, applicants should select the Agricultural Education – Teacher Licensure concentration within the Master of Agricultural Education and Human Sciences (MR, non-thesis) program. 

Non-North Carolina residents wishing to complete the master’s degree at a distance must either attest to teaching in North Carolina at completion of the program or select the pre-approved state in which they will be teaching on their application.