Admission to Teacher Education: Professional Education Services

The Office of Professional Education Services is responsible for admitting students to the Teacher Education Program at EKU. Questions may be directed to teacher.admissions@eku.edu.

Admission Requirements


Students must meet the below requirements in order to be admitted to the Teacher Education Program.

  • 30+ hours of credit
  • Enrolled in a teacher education degree program
  • Minimum GPA
  • 2.75 Overall GPA
  • 3.0 GPA on most recent 30 hours of coursework (approx. 2 semesters)
  • Grade of “C” or higher in EDF 203 or CDF 203 or “S” in EDF310
  • EDF 310 required for transfer students with credit for EDF 203, CDF 203, EDF 219, or CDF 235
  • Grade of “S” in CED 100 or “A” in CED 150
  • CED 150 required for transfer students with credit for EDF 203, CDF 203, EDF 219, or CDF 235
  • Grade of “C” or higher in ENG 102 or HON 102 or “B” or higher in ENG 105
  • Grade of “C” or higher in CMS 100 or CMS 210 or HON 103

Note: Admissions Test Scores are determined by Kentucky’s Education Professional Standards Board. Score Requirements are subject to change on January 1st of each year.

View the most current Qualifying PRAXIS Scores

ACT Scores are valid for 10 years

  • English Writing Assessment
    Achieve at least one of the below scores:
  • ACT Composite Score 22
  • ACT English Score 18
  • Qualifying Score on PRAXIS Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing (5723)
  • 3.0 Overall GPA and score within 5 points of Qualifying Score for CASE: Writing (5723)
  • Reading Assessment
    Achieve at least one of the below scores:
  • ACT Composite Score 22
  • ACT Reading Score 20
  • Qualifying Score on PRAXIS Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading (5713)
  • 3.0 Overall GPA and score within 5 points of Qualifying Score for CASE: Reading (5713)
  • Math Assessment
    Achieve at least one of the below scores:
  • ACT Composite Score 22
  • ACT Math Score 19
  • Qualifying Score on PRAXIS Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics (5733)
  • 3.0 Overall GPA and score within 5 points of Qualifying Score for CASE: Mathematics (5733)

  • Completed and Approved Background Check through Verified Credentials
  • Completed in CED 100/150
  • Must be less than 5 years old
  • Students must self-report violations on their Character and Fitness Declaration
  • Recently Completed and Approved KY Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) Report
  • Must be less than 6 months old when you enroll in CED 300
  • Fall Admits: Order in March or later
    Spring Admits: Order in August or later
  • Authorize release to teacher.admissions@eku.edu at time of ordering for expedited processing
  • Students must self-report violations on their Character and Fitness Declaration
  • Clear University Violations Check
  • Completed by our office at time of application
  • Students must self-report violations on their Character and Fitness Declaration
  • If you are unsure if a violation shows up on your records check and should be reported, you may request a copy of your records from Student Conduct
  • Recent Character and Fitness Declaration
  • Completed in CED 100/150 and as part of Application
  • Click here to complete a Character and Fitness Declaration Form outside your application
  • (If Applicable) Incident Report for each violation reported on Character and Fitness Declaration
  • Click here to complete an Incident Report outside your application
  • An incident report must be completed for each violation or offense reported in your Character and Fitness Declaration, on your background check, or on your Student Conduct record
  • (If Applicable) Professional Education Admissions Committee (PEAC) Decision Letter
  • Students with adverse events on any of the above items require a decision letter from the committee prior to admissions
  • Review Professional Education Admissions Committee and Appeals Process

  • Two Satisfactory pre-service professional disposition reviews recommending admission
  • Requested at time of application
  • Can come from your faculty advisor, and/or your instructor in one of the below courses or their transfer equivalent
  • EDF 203, EDF 219, CDF 203, CTE 262, EDF 310, CED 200, CED 150, faculty instructor in other education courses or non-education core subject courses
  • Satisfactory Professional Disposition Declaration Self-Evaluation
  • Completed via Taskstream in your CED 200 blackboard course shell
  • Click here to access blackboard
  • Click here to sign on and complete via Taskstream
  • Click here if you are unable to complete the form directly through Taskstream
  • (If Applicable) Professional Improvement Plan
  • Students who do not receive a satisfactory rating on their dispositional review must meet with their advisor to develop a professional improvement plan to address any concerns prior to admission.

Ready to Apply?


Have the following items with you when you complete your application. Applications will NOT be reviewed until all of the below items are submitted:

  • Copy of Verified Credentials Background Check
  • Log in to Verified Credentials to access
  • Copy of Updated CAN Report
  • For Fall Admission: Dated March or Later
  • For Spring Admission: Dated August or Later
  • Can be uploaded after submitting application
  • Name + Email Address for two CEAHS faculty for recommendations

Make sure you’ve completed the below items outside of your application to ensure there are no delays in admission

  • Passing Assessment Scores
  • Meet Academic Progress Requirements
  • Candidate Professional Disposition Self-Evaluation completed in Taskstream

If you have questions about admission to professional education, please email teacher.admissions@eku.edu or call 859-622-2520.

Candidates Seeking Admission to Teacher Education are required to complete a background check. Undergraduate candidates will complete this during enrollment in CED 100 or CED 150.

We have partnered with Verified Credentials, Inc. to establish a consistent screening procedure for all candidates.

You MUST use the following Teacher Education applicant code or we cannot see your report:
Code: MMBHR-62472

Order and Release your Background Check
Your background check is NOT considered complete until you have authorized its release to EKU on the Verified Credentials website. Failure to do so will impact your ability to pass CED 100/150 and will impact your ability to be admitted into the program!

  • Go to Verified Credentials’ website: scholar.verifiedcredentials.com/eku
  • Enter the Program Code in the First Time Users box
    MMBHR-62472
  • Click “Get Started”
  • Create an account
  • All information is required
  • Verify your email address
  • Create Username/Password
  • Agree to Terms of Use
  • Sign the forms and notices
  • Enter your identifying information (Names, Birthday, Social Security Number, etc)
  • If you do not have an EKU ID, please enter 000000000
  • Enter your Address History
  • Pay for your report
  • It will be $47 ($40.00 + $7.00 Processing fee)
  • Your report will NOT run until it has been paid for
  • Wait for your results to be returned (2-3 business days)
  • Return to Verified Credentials’ website: scholar.verifiedcredentials.com/eku
  • Log in under “Returning Users”
  • Under Incomplete Requirements, click “Work on this now”
  • Review your results
  • You must click the PDF to download your results before you can proceed
  • Authorize release to EKU
  • This option won’t appear until AFTER you’ve downloaded your results
  • You MUST authorize release of your results to EKU before they can be approved! Failure to do so will impact your ability to pass CED 100/150 and be admitted to the program.

If you are unsure if you have successfully released your background check, please reach out to our office via email at teacher.admissions@eku.edu.

Download a Copy
You will need to upload a copy of your background check to your application to Teacher Education. You are also welcome to download a copy for your personal use. To access a copy, follow the directions below.

  • Go to Verified Credentials’ website: scholar.verifiedcredentials.com/eku
  • Under “Returning Users” log in with the username and password you set up when you created your account
  • If you’ve forgotten your username or password, click “Forgot Username?” or “Forgot Password?” to reset it
  • Directions will be sent to the email you used to create your account – this may be different from your EKU email address
  • From the main screen, click the “Background Center” tab
  • Click “View Report”
  • Your report will begin automatically downloading as a PDF to your device.

If you have completed a Verified Credentials background check for them, please notify our office via email at teacher.admissions@eku.edu. Once we are able to confirm you have completed a background check for the Child and Family Studies program, you will not be required to order a new one.

Background checks typically take 2-3 business days to complete. After they’ve been completed, you will need to log back into Verified Credentials’ website and authorize its release to EKU before it can be approved.

Verified Credentials Background Checks are valid for 5 years.

No. We cannot accept a report completed by any outside agency. It must have been done for this department or EKU Child & Family Studies by using Verified Credentials.

  • If any information is found that would negatively affect your eligibility for enrollment in any CEAHS course, you will be given an opportunity to challenge the information through the Adverse Action process associated with Verified Credentials before making a decision to release your background check. If you have any questions on Verified’s Adverse Action process, please contact Client Services at (800) 938-6090.
  • All violations must be self-reported by checking “Yes” to the relevant item on your Character and Fitness Declaration and submitting an Incident Report. You will then be referred to the Professional Education Admissions Committee (PEAC). The PEAC will review your information, conduct an interview with you, and make a determination regarding your program eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
  • See TES Admissions Page to access the Character and Fitness Declaration and review the Professional Education Admissions Committee and Appeals Process.
  • Students who decline to release their background check will be unable to pass their CED course and will not be admitted to the Teacher Education Program.

All background checks must be released to EKU and reviewed by our office before they can be approved. If you do not release your background check to us, you will not be able to pass your CED 100/150 course, or be admitted to the Teacher Education Program.

If you encounter difficulty accessing, opening the link or ordering your background check, you may contact Verified Credentials’ Client Services Team for assistance.
Phone: (800) 938-6090
Email: ClientServices@verifiedcredentials.com
Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 PM CST, 9:00 am to 6:00 PM EST

Additional Information



PRAXIS DISCLAIMER: Kentucky educator certification requirements are subject to change. Before registering for the test(s), please check the Education Professional Standards Board website at www.epsb.ky.gov for current test requirements and current cut scores. You may also contact the Division of Professional Learning and Assessment at (502) 564-5778.