Special Student Requirements and Application

Admission Requirements

Starting Fall 2023 academic requirements for the program are as follows:

• Complete a 15-credit program of prescribed upper-division courses, including a practicum (covered during your course work).
• Maintain a cumulative minimum GPA of 3.0 in all TESOL courses.
• Native English speakers must satisfactorily complete at least four college-level semesters (or the equivalent, such as 4 years in high school) of one language prior to or completed concurrently with certificate coursework. For non-native English speakers, English fulfills this requirement.
• Demonstrate English proficiency of spoken and written English commensurate with the role of language model. Nonnative English speakers must have a score of at least:
  • 50 on the SPEAK test or
  • 26 on the iBt speaking section, with an overall score of 100 on the iBt or
  • 600 on the paper version of TOEFL
  • 7 on IELTS.

This certificate records a course of study at UW-Madison; it is not necessarily equivalent to professional certification by other bodies, such as the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Application Process

• If you have already completed your undergraduate/graduate degree, you will be registered as a Special Student and pay undergraduate tuition. 
• Contact the DCS (Division of Continuing Studies) at advising@dcs.wisc.edu about the Special Student application process. 
• Download the Undergraduate TESOL application.
• Email us at asktesol@english.wisc.edu and attach the Undergraduate TESOL application once your Special Student application with the DCS has been completed and you have an active student status.
• We will process the TESOL certificate declaration.

Courses

Foundation Courses 

• English 314 3 cr. Structure of English
• English 318 3 cr. Second Language Acquisition
• English 415 3 cr. Introduction to TESOL Methods – must precede English 515 and 613-618

Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Courses

• English 515 3 cr. Techniques and Materials for TESOL

Students must take 3 credits of TESOL Workshops during the same semester. Each spring, 3 of the 6 one credit workshops are offered in alternate years:

• English 613 1 cr. TESOL Workshop: Pedagogical Grammar I (spring)
• English 614 1 cr. TESOL Workshop: Pedagogical Grammar II (spring)
• English 615 1 cr. TESOL Workshop: The Teaching of Listening and Speaking (spring)
• English 616 1 cr. TESOL Workshop: The Teaching of Reading (spring)
• English 617 1 cr. TESOL Workshop: The Teaching of Writing (spring)
• English 618 1 cr. TESOL Workshop: The Teaching of Pronunciation (spring)