A CT art teacher laughs with students as she helps them at their desk.

Choose Your Endorsement Area

Decide what you want to teach, and choose the certification endorsement area that’s right for you. Read this page or download our full certification guide.

Get the Free Guide

Before you enroll in a teaching program, you’ll need to decide what you want to teach — the subject and age group. On this page, we’ll go over your options.

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How do I choose an endorsement area?
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What endorsements can I earn?
3
Get the Certification Guide

What is an endorsement area?

A CT teacher looks up thoughtfully to her right. Around her are illustrations of a mortarboard and teacher certification.

A quick note on language: Your teacher certification is the document that lets you teach in a Connecticut classroom. Your certification or endorsement area refers to the specific subjects and grade levels you’re qualified to teach.

You can have endorsements in multiple subjects, and you can add endorsements throughout your career!

How do I choose an endorsement area?

If you already know what subject you want to teach, you can jump to the next section.

If you’re not sure or you’re open to different subjects, click on the tabs to see how you can increase your job opportunities.

In some cases, you may have multiple certification endorsement options to choose from. For example, if you want to teach fourth, fifth or sixth grade, you could earn an elementary endorsement for grades 1–6 or an endorsement for grades 4–8 in a specific subject area, like social studies or math.

What endorsements can I earn?

Once you know the grade and subject you want to teach, you can select your certification endorsement area. Click the tabs to explore your options.

Remember: You can add endorsements throughout your career. You don’t have to get them all at once!

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
Elementary	1–6
Integrated Early Childhood/Elementary Education and Special Education	Nursery–Grade 3 (Elementary Ed) Nursery–K (Special Ed)
Integrated Early Childhood/Special Education	Birth–K
Montessori, Elementary (You may need an additional certification from Association Montessori International.)	1–6
Montessori, Primary (You may need an additional certification from Association Montessori International.)	Birth–K

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
English	7–12
English, Middle School	4–8
History & Social Studies	7–12	✅
History & Social Studies, Middle School	4–8

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
Art	PK–12
Dance (You can also teach this with a P.E. endorsement.)	PK–12
Music	PK–12
Theatre and Drama (You can also teach this with an English endorsement.)	PK–12

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
Agriculture	PK–12
Biology	7–12	✅
Biology, Middle School	4–8	✅
Chemistry	7–12	✅
Chemistry, Middle School	4–8	✅
Earth Science	7–12	✅
Earth Science, Middle School	4–8	✅
General Science	7–12	✅
General Science, Middle School	4–8	✅
Mathematics	7–12	✅
Mathematics, Middle School	4–8	✅
Physics	7–12	✅
Physics, Middle School	4–8	✅
Technology Education	PK–12	✅

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
Health	PK–12
Physical Education	PK–12

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
Blind	PK–12	✅
Comprehensive Special Education	K–12	✅
Deaf & Hard of Hearing	PK–12	✅
Integrated Early Childhood/Elementary Education & Special Education	Nursery–Grade 3 (Elementary Ed) Nursery–K (Special Ed)
Integrated Early Childhood/Special Education	Birth–K
Partially Sighted	PK–12	✅

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
Business	7–12
Health Occupations, Comprehensive High School (You must have career experience in this field.)	9–12
Health Occupations, Vocational Technical Schools (You must have career experience in this field.)	9–12
Family & Consumer Science/Home Economics	PK–12
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (You'll also need a Department of Defense teacher certificate.)	7–12
Marketing Education (You must have career experience in this field.)	7–12
Occupational Subject, Vocational Technical Schools (You must have career experience in this field.)	9–12
Practical Nurse Education Instruction (You must have career experience in this field.)	9–12
Trade & Industrial Occupations, Comprehensive High School (You must have career experience in this field.)	9–12
Vocational Agriculture (You must have career experience in this field.)	7–12

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
Bilingual Education (This requires an endorsement in one other area AND coursework in your teaching subject.)	PreK–12	✅
Remedial Reading and Remedial Language Arts (This requires three years of classroom teaching experience.)	1–12
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)	PK–12	✅
World Language Instructor (You'll also need a world language endorsement.)	1–6

Get the Certification Guide

The cover of the TEACH Connecticut Certification Guide

Keep a list of endorsement areas handy, and step-by-step details on pathways to teaching and how to get certified in Connecticut.

It’s all free in our certification guide!

Have questions about how to choose the right endorsement area? A TEACH Connecticut coach can help. Get all your questions answered with free 1-on-1 or group advising. Sign up.

Get the Free Guide

What’s next

All About the Durational Shortage Area Permit

if you have a bachelor’s degree, you may be able to start teaching right away with a DSAP.

Career Coaching in Connecticut

Have questions about becoming a certified CT teacher? Talk to an expert. Attend a group info session or get 1-on-1 advice on what to teach and how to choose and apply to the right program. It's all free.

CT Teacher Certification (Guide) | TEACH Connecticut

Discover how to become a teacher in Connecticut in our step-by-step CT teacher certification guide. We’ll help you on your journey toward becoming a teacher.

Shortage Areas. Connecticut State Department of Education. https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/Talent_Office/Talent-Office-home-page/Shortage-Areas.
Endorsement Codes. Connecticut Bureau of Certification. https://portal.ct.gov/sdecertification/Knowledge-Base/Articles/Resources/Endorsements/Endorsement-Codes?language=en_US.

Choose Your Endorsement Area

What is an endorsement area?

How do I choose an endorsement area?

What subjects are "shortage areas"?

What endorsements can I earn?

Get the Certification Guide

What’s next

All About the Durational Shortage Area Permit

Career Coaching in Connecticut

CT Teacher Certification (Guide) | TEACH Connecticut

References

Subject	Grades	Shortage Area?
French	7–12	✅
German	7–12	✅
Italian	7–12	✅
Latin & Classical Humanities	7–12	✅
Mandarin Chinese	7–12	✅
Portuguese	7–12	✅
Russian	7–12	✅
Spanish	7–12	✅
Other World Language	7–12	✅

Choose Your Endorsement Area

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What endorsements can I earn?

Get the Certification Guide

What is an endorsement area?

How do I choose an endorsement area?

What subjects are "shortage areas"?

Consider a K–12 subject

What endorsements can I earn?

Humanities

World Languages

Fine Arts

Math & Science

Physical Education & Health

Special Education

Career & Technical Education

Academic Specialty

Get the Certification Guide

What’s next

All About the Durational Shortage Area Permit

Career Coaching in Connecticut

CT Teacher Certification (Guide) | TEACH Connecticut

References

How do I choose an endorsement area?