Admission Requirements

Eligibility Requirements for Admission

The following Eligibility Requirements for Admission to the ARC Program must be met by the established program year application deadline for admission consideration. We encourage applicants to begin completing the requirements as soon as possible.

1. Degree Requirement

Bachelor’s Degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. Applicants with a Bachelor's degree earned outside of the U.S. must have their credentials evaluated by agencies approved by the Connecticut State Department of Education (course by course analysis is required).

2. GPA Requirement

A minimum grade point average (GPA) of “B” (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) in either an undergraduate degree program or at least 24 semester hours of graduate study is required. If an applicant does not meet these requirements, they must apply for a GPA waiver for consideration within the online application.

3. Praxis Core Academic Skills Test

Completion of the Praxis Core tests (Reading, Writing, Mathematics) or meeting the requirements for the Praxis Core Waiver based on having obtained minimum scores on the SAT, ACT, GRE, or PAA is required. Passing scores on the Praxis Core tests are not required. Refer to ARC Testing Requirements for all testing requirements and information. ARC administration must receive official assessment results by the application deadline.

4. Subject Area Test(s): Praxis II or ACTFL

Passing scores on the appropriate Praxis II test or ACTFL (World Language) tests are required. ARC administration must receive official passing results by the application deadline. Refer to the ARC Testing Requirements for all testing requirements and information.

Additionally, the CT State Department of Education requires that every candidate recommended for CT teacher certification has completed a 3.00 credit course in US History. Transcript audit occurs within the admissions process. The unsatisfied CSDE US History course requirement will not prevent the advancement in the admissions process or acceptance into the Alternate Route to Certification Program if all admission requirements have been met. However, an ARC teacher candidate cannot be recommended for certification until the requirement has been satisfied therefore, the enrolled candidate must satisfy the requirement by May 15 2024. 

To satisfy this requirement candidates can enroll in any of the Approved Courses in US History to complete the 3.00 credit course requirement. Alternatively, to meet this requirement, a candidate may take a College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam. Successful completion of a CLEP exam must be posted to an official transcript from a regionally accredited institution. Charter Oak CLEP has a test for either History of the United States I or History of the United States II to obtain the 3.00 credits. For more information concerning CLEP exams, contact Charter Oak State College at (860) 832-3800 Charter Oak Testing.

Admissions Process

1. Eligibility Review

All required application documents and test scores must be received for a candidate's application to be considered complete. Only complete applications will be reviewed to determine if the candidate meets ARC’s eligibility requirements.
An Admissions Committee reviews all applications based on:

2. Interview

ARC conducts virtual interviews for all qualified candidates prior to an admission decision and may also request additional evidence of English language proficiency. If you are not a native speaker of English, you may be required to submit evidence of your proficiency in the English language. See here for requirements. Failure to respond to a request for an interview or failure to attend a scheduled interview could impact admission decisions.

3. Offer of Admission

Admission notices are sent electronically. Failure to respond to a letter of acceptance or to submit the initial deposit by the published due dates will result in the forfeiture of the applicant’s admission to the program.
The ARC Program does not have an option to defer admission to a future program year as program requirements, tuition, certification offerings, etc. are subject to change for future programs. We encourage applicants who are not offered acceptance or unable to enroll to re-apply for a future program. Application documents will not be returned to applicants. ARC maintains submitted test scores and official transcripts for two application years. Previous applicants are required to re-apply to future programs to ensure that ARC has an updated online application, resume, current references, and additional recent application documents.

Enrollment for the Alternate Route to Certification’s (ARC) 2023-2024 Program Year closed as of June 29, 2023.

Refer to the 2024-2025 Program Admission Dates and Costs Program Admission Dates and Costs for Enrollment dates for the Alternate Route to Certification's (ARC) 2024-2025 Program.

We highly encourage applicants to review the eligibility requirements and begin to complete the required testing, refer to the ARC Testing Requirements. Any questions regarding admissions must be directed to ohe.arc@ct.gov.

Required Application Materials

All application materials including completed reference forms and test scores must be received by the established application deadline(s) for consideration to that ARC Program year.
Applicants are responsible for monitoring the status of their application and the receipt of application documents through their online account. Applicants are able to view the status of their application once the online application and the non-refundable application fee has been received by ARC. All required application documents and passing test scores must be received for an applicant's application to be considered complete. Only complete applications will be reviewed to determine if the applicant meets ARC’s eligibility requirements.