College of Education

Admissions | Added Secondary

The Added Secondary Endorsement program prepares you to become an exceptional teacher in a new content area. In our admissions process, we prioritize students who already have placements in their new endorsement area and all students must be able to make it to PSU's campus weekly during fall term for our comprehensive methods classes.

Admissions Timeline
Application OpensSeptember the year before program start
Application DeadlineSeptember 1 the year of program start
Final Application Materials Due*September 15
Program StartFall

Additional Timeline Information:

*Recommendations can sometimes take longer to arrive. You can submit your application before these have arrived. This deadline is to allow a short grace period for your recommendations to arrive, if necessary.

After submission, your application will be reviewed by staff and faculty. We make every effort to communicate admissions decisions within three to four weeks.

Enrollment in this added endorsement is limited and the earlier you apply, the better your chance of being admitted. Applications are reviewed as they are received.

Applicants who don’t already have a placement in their new content area:
If you are adding a content area but don’t already have a placement, we recommend that you apply as early as possible to allow for the placement process.

Admissions Requirements:

  • Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and meet minimum PSU admissions requirements
  • Hold a current Oregon teaching license
  • Earn a passing score on the NES test for the content area you are applying to
  • Work or live in an area in which you can travel to PSU’s downtown campus weekly for the methods course

Required application materials

Below is the list of the materials and information you will need to provide as part of your online application. We recommend preparing these materials in advance of submitting your application.

  • Unofficial Transcripts from your bachelor’s degree-granting institution and from any institution at which you have earned graduate-level credit.
  • English Language Proficiency: Automatically assessed in your application materials. Learn more about your options for proving proficiency.
  • Résumé: Outline your work experience with youth in an educational setting.
  • Statement of Purpose: Please complete a statement of purpose that answers the following prompt: Please tell us why you are interested in adding this endorsement and describe your personal experience working with youth, especially as it relates towards working towards equity and socially just practices. Your writing sample will be evaluated for content, as well as writing style and ability and should be between 400-500 words.
  • NES Test: Submit a passing NES test score for the content area to which you are applying.
  • Oregon Teaching License 

Admissions Review Process

We review your application for the following:

  • Academic Requirements: Via your transcripts, we assess whether you meet the university’s minimum admissions requirements.
  • Content Area Expertise: Assessed via your passing NES test score.
  • Experience with youth: Evaluated via your résumé and statement of purpose, we assess for your prior experience teaching and how this has prepared you to move into a new content area. 
  • Interest in social justice: Assessed via the statement of purpose, we are interested in learning about your commitment to equity and social justice practices.
  • Placement: We prioritize applicants who already have a placement in their new content area, ie, their own classroom.

Admissions instructions

  1. Review PSU Graduate School minimum admissions requirements.
  2. Create an account or sign into the Portland State University Admissions Application system.
  3. Select "Start New Application"
  4. Then select "Graduate Application"
  5. For the college, select "College of Education"
  6. For the program of study, select "Added Secondary Endorsement"
  7. Select the term you plan to start the program
Questions? Contact Tatiana! about this content

Post-Admissions

You will be notified of your admission decision to the program via an email and a formal digital letter from the Graduate School. After admission, you will be assigned a faculty advisor and a staff student success advisor, both of whom will support you through your program. The college provides an online orientation module to help you take your next steps to begin your program. You will also be invited to a live orientation session to ensure that you’re fully prepared to begin.

A few additional things to keep in mind:

  1. All students must submit their official transcripts to the Graduate School after admission.
  2. If you’re still completing a bachelor’s degree, you must apply for your degree, and it must be awarded by the term before you begin your graduate program. (Ex: if the program begins summer, the degree must be awarded by the end of spring term).
  3. You must register for coursework in the term that you are admitted in order to validate admission to the program. If you do not, your admission status will be canceled.