Teacher Certification

Apply for Teacher Certification

If you plan on teaching in Alberta upon graduating from the program then you must apply to Alberta Education for teacher certification. We recommend that you apply approximately two to three months prior to the end of your program.

Alberta Education will not issue a teaching certificate until the Dean of the Faculty of Education has recommended you for teacher certification.

At the end of each term, Education Student Services (ESS) sends a list, signed off by the Dean, of all graduating students to Alberta Education and Teacher Qualifications Service (TQS). This is commonly referred to as the “Dean’s recommendation”.

The list is typically sent 6-8 weeks after the end of the term once final grades have been posted on Bear Tracks and Student Advisors have completed a final review of programs for graduating students. Alberta Education will issue teaching certificates to applicants upon receipt of the Dean’s recommendation.

You will be recommended for teacher certification if you:

  • Applied for graduation on Bear Tracks by the appropriate deadline.
  • Fulfilled degree and convocation requirements.
  • Are eligible for teacher certification in Alberta.

Please contact Alberta Education directly if you have questions about the application process or about teacher certification.

Contact Information:

Alberta Education
Phone: 780-427-2045
Website: https://www.alberta.ca/teaching-in-alberta (search “teacher certification”)

Apply to Teacher Qualifications Service (TQS)

The Teacher Qualifications Service (TQS) is responsible for evaluating a teacher’s education for salary purposes. If you plan on teaching in Alberta upon graduation, we recommend that you apply to TQS for an evaluation approximately two to three months prior to the end of your program.

Applying for a TQS evaluation requires an ATA Online Member account. Instructions for getting an Online ATA account are available on the ATA's website under My ATA. You will need to set up a student account until you have a teaching certificate number. A brief video for creating an online student membership is available here.

Once you have an account, apply to TQS using their Online Applications portal available at tqsapplications.teachers.ab.ca/pages/home.aspx.

Please review the information for applicants and contact TQS directly if you have additional questions about the application process or your evaluation.

Contact Information:

Teacher Qualification Services
Phone: 780-453-2411
Email: tqs@teachers.ab.ca
Website: https://teachers.ab.ca/(search “Teacher Qualifications Service”)

Teaching Prior to Certification

If you want to start teaching upon completion of your program and prior to the issuance of your degree parchment and teaching certificate, you can obtain temporary teaching authority (valid in Alberta only).

To obtain temporary teaching authority, you must provide Education Student Services (ESS) with the following information:

  1. A letter from Alberta Education stating that your application for teacher certification is complete and that your Interim Professional Certificate will be issued upon receipt of the Dean’s recommendation.
  2. A letter from a school board or district stating that you have been offered employment.

This information can be dropped off in person to Education Student Services, sent via email to educ.info@ualberta.ca or faxed to 780-492-7533.

Upon receipt of these letters, a Student Advisor will complete a final review of your program to determine if you are eligible to graduate.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A final review of your program can only be completed once all degree requirements have been fulfilled and, depending on your last term in the program, one of two things has occurred:

  1. Final grades have been posted on Bear Tracks, or
  2. A copy of your APT final evaluation indicating credit granted has been received by Education Student Services.

Once our final review is complete and we have determined that you are eligible to graduate, a Student Advisor will send a letter, signed by the Associate Dean, to your @ualberta email verifying degree completion. To be eligible to teach, present this letter from the Associate Dean along with your letter from Alberta Education to the school board or district that has offered you employment.