Upon completion of this program, qualified candidates will be recommended for initial teacher licensure in elementary (K–6), secondary (6–12), or Hawaiian Language Immersion (K–12) in a general education classroom. Secondary content areas include English/Language Arts, Hawaiian Language, Math, Science, Social Studies & World Languages.

Once completing an initial teacher licensure program, graduates are eligible to apply for a state license through the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, which will allow the licensee to teach in public and charter schools in the State of Hawaii.

Hawai’i also participates in the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement which facilitates the mobility of educators among the states that are members of NASDTEC. UHM recommends you contact the office of certification in any state to which you may be relocating to get the most current information. See the NASDTEC website for more information.

We have been preparing teachers since 1991. Our alumni include three Hawai‘i State Teachers of the Year, a National Teacher of the Year finalist, a Milken Award winner, and a National Milken Educators of Hawai‘i Teacher of Promise. MEdT graduates are employed in a variety of educational institutions, both public and private, at all levels: K through 12, postsecondary (community colleges and universities).

Applicants must have:

• An undergraduate degree awarded by an accredited college or university in a field other than educational licensure program.
• A minimum GPA of 3.0 (GPAs of at least 2.7 will be considered only after those who meet the minimum requirement)
• Prior teaching experience is not required.

MEdT candidates pay general graduate tuition. The approximate cost of tuition for 46 credits is $30,000. See the UH Manoa Outreach College website for the current general graduate tuition rate: https://www.outreach.hawaii.edu/admissions-and-aid/tuition-and-fees/

For more information about applying for financial aid, visit the Financial Aid website: https://www.hawaii.edu/fas/get_started/.

For candidates in the Dual Secondary/SPED cohort, a 31-credit tuition stipend may be available for those who agree to teach SPED in a Hawaii DOE school for a minimum of 3 years after program completion.

Candidates in the MEdT Secondary may be eligible for Grow Our Own Teacher Initiative (GOO) stipends that cover most of the cost of tuition and fees. GOO is made possible through a partnership between the College of Education of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and Hawai‘i Department of Education. For more information on eligibility requirements and the application process, please visit our Grow Our Own Teachers page.

Subject to availability of funds

Our MEdT Programs are offered in both a face-to-face and statewide hybrid (online and face-to-face) format to accommodate learner preferences and those who are teaching full-time.

The face-to-face cohort will meet face-to-face on weekdays and have two courses offered in the evenings and weekends hybrid format. Schedules vary from cohort to cohort and are determined by the faculty teaching in those cohorts.

The hybrid statewide cohort will meet for class online in the evenings from 4:30pm – 7:00pm (3x/week max) with three face-to-face weekend sessions each semester. The program will provide a partial stipend subsidy for neighbor island candidates traveling to weekend face-to-face meetings.

All MEdT candidates attend a mandatory orientation in early August.

To earn their degree, MEdT candidates are required to complete 46 credits of MEdT and Special Education courses. Candidates entering the program are expected to have completed an undergraduate program of study that provided depth and breadth of knowledge in mathematics, science, social studies, or English/ language arts needed to succeed as a secondary classroom teacher. Deficits in the content areas may require additional coursework.

The MEdT program consists of the following:

• Core Courses (31 credits) –  With a focus on inquiry, the core coursework (Professional Studies, Field Observations, Student Teaching & Internship) involves one field course and one seminar each semester. This combination of coursework and structured time in partner schools gives MEdT candidates opportunities to integrate theory and practice.
• Professional Specialization (15 credits) – The professional specialization coursework differs based on cohort and content area. These courses are meant to help candidates further develop their knowledge of teaching in their content area and their strengths as teacher leaders.
• A Plan B Paper/Project

Please see the following program sheets for more information:

• MEdT Elementary Education Licensure Program Sheet
• MEdT Secondary Education Licensure Program Sheet