It happens to many, many people who got into teaching abroad just for the travel: they graduate, they get a TESOL certificate, and they take the plunge and accept a position overseas. After a couple of years, they decide that maybe this wasn’t as crazy as it felt in the beginning, and that they would like to pursue this line of work as a career. Sound familiar?

To be clear, one does not need a teaching license to teach in many institutions abroad, (see the different kinds of teaching jobs abroad). That being said, there are two primary reasons why you may want to get one: 1. You are planning to return home in the near future and would like to do so with the prospect of continuing to teach there. 2. You would like to seek employment at an international school abroad.

Once you decide that a teacher’s license is something that you want/need to have, then you need to think about whether to go home and get it, or to get it online. There are a variety of factors that you need to take into account when making this decision. First and foremost is of course the cost. Prices vary depending on your country of origin, but earning a teaching license in England typically costs around 9000 pounds, while Canada and the U.S. offer courses starting at CND 2,500 and USD 10,000 respectively. Aside from the program costs, you should compare your cost of living for the 1 year+ back home to the cost of flying back periodically to sit exams if you are studying  online. As you will read below, there are no online options that I know of that offer full-fledged teaching license without some kind of trip back home. For other considerations, read on!

The Process of Getting Your Teaching License Online

In the United States:

There are a number of online programs cropping up that are taking advantage of state legislature promoting alternative paths to licensure. Most of them require you to come home to take your subject matter tests, and in some cases perform student teaching or a practicum component, but they typically allow you to do an abbreviated set of coursework so that you don’t have to go back to school and do a whole new degree.

If you decided that you want to continue to teach abroad, but it would be more economical for you to return home to do your teaching license, many states (Texas and Florida for example) are offering accelerated licensure programs. For those who already hold bachelor’s degrees, one can seek employment as a teacher while doing coursework concurrently. 

Here is a link to two different kind of programs as an example. I am not affiliated with any of them, and there are plenty of others depending on which state you are from: https://www.teacherready.org/ offers a Florida State licensure which can be done primarily online and https://www.teachersoftomorrow.org/texas/ has similar programs in Texas.

In the United Kingdom:

For those looking to get Qualified Teaching Status (QTS) in the UK, the quickest – and easiest, way is to do a one-year Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). For those living abroad, several U.K. universities offer the PGCEi or PGCE overseas, which are graduate level courses. They do not, however, give graduates Qualified Teacher Status, which is conferred by the Teaching Agency on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education (England).

While some international schools may accept these degrees for ESL teaching positions, they wont qualify you to teach at any school in the U.K. That may be fine for you, but if you want to keep your options open, don’t despair. As in the case with the U.S., there are online PGCE courses that allow students to obtain QTS provided you come home periodically to do course work and sit exams. 

In Canada: 

One of the unique features of the Canadian Teacher certification program is that candidates are required to have completed one year of teaching. While this includes can include TEFL experience gained abroad, there don’t seem to be many online options for Canadian citizens. You may end up going the traditional, although in some cases abbreviated, route.

You’ll have to enroll in a one-year teacher’s college, and there are numerous universities in Canada that offer this program. On the application, students are asked to state which grades they would like to teach and to provide a list of educational certificates or diplomas that prove their qualifications.

After successful completion of the teacher’s college, all graduates will receive their teaching license. You can then seek employment abroad, or in the state of your choice. Graduates looking to teach in French-Canada will have to pass a French proficiency test. 

So there you have it. While online teaching licensure is still in its infancy, it seems to be the furthest along in the US. It is still not as convenient as I would like, but I think that for those who know they are ready to make the next step in the near future, a little but of planning can make one of the programs a decent options.  

Have your or someone you know done a teaching license online? If you have anything to add, send me an email at matthew@teachfortravel.com I want to hear from you! Also, don’t forget to check out my guides page for more information about teaching to travel!