Overview

As with all professions, specialized training is a prerequisite to specialized practice. However, due to a critical shortage of qualified teachers in some endorsement areas within Montana, the Board of Public Education (BPE) and the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) in cooperation with Montana State University (MSU), has developed a teaching endorsement internship program. The program is referred to as the Teaching Endorsement Internship - or TE Internship. This program is available for licensed teachers who are seeking to add an endorsement, and for those individuals in the advanced programs of library media, principal K-12, superintendent, and school counseling. The program relies on Montana school district personnel to recommend candidates and contribute ongoing support and a field supervisor (usually the school district principal).  Information regarding this pathway to endorsement can be found here: 

The Teaching Endorsement Internship endorsement categories that MSU sponsors are: 

MSU does not sponsor any other endorsement categories. 

Eligibility

The first step in determining if you are a candidate for the internship program is to contact Jamie O’Callaghan, Post Baccalaureate Specialist. She will guide individuals through a Licensure Endorsement Assessment Tool (LEAT) process.  Or, if  a candidate is enrolled in the Library Media or Family and Consumer Sciences programs, work to complete elegibility requirements and program enrollment. This process ascertains whether a candidate meets OPI’s eligibility requirements for the program:

  • Hold a current Class 1 or 2 Montana teaching
  • School district verification of a teacher contract or pending contract.

How to Apply for the Teaching Endorsement Internship Program

Working with the Field Placement and LIcensure Office, applications for the Teaching Endorsment Internship are accepted on an annual basis to cover the July 1 to June 30 academic year. Enrollment in this program is reported to the Office of Public Instruction annually by October 1 through the OPI TeachMT system.  Prior to applying for the TE Internship, we ask that you contact our Post Baccalaureate Specialist, Jamie O'Callaghan, [email protected], who will guide you through the process.   We do not accept applications until potential interns complete this procedure  with our Post Baccalaureate Specialist. All the details of the internship program are available in the TE Internship Procedures and Guidelines.

TE Internship Program Handbook

 

IMPORTANT:  The information on this webpage is specific to those individuals who hold a bachelor's degree, or post-baccalaureate.  If you are interested in the BPE Internship for master’s or advanced programs, please contact those programs directly at these websites:

 

NOTE:  Those seeking a Master’s in Family and Consumer Sciences[BROKEN LINK] should contact that department directly to get started on the process to apply.