The Department of Linguistics & TESOL at UT Arlington

TESOL Certificate Program Description

The Department of Linguistics and TESOL at UT Arlington offers a Graduate Certificate in TESOL, which helps prepare students who are planning to teach English to speakers of other languages in either the United States or other countries. The 19-credit certificate, issued by the Office of Graduate Studies, confirms the completion of a linguistically-focused program of preparation for work in the field of TESOL.

You can contact us at ling.advisor@uta.edu for more information about admissions.

Additional Information about TESOL

If you are considering a career in TESOL – or are simply curious – you can find additional information at our TESOL as a Discipline page.

Eligibility & Admission

The TESOL Certificate Program is open to any student admitted to the UT Arlington Graduate School. Students may also pursue the TESOL Certificate independent of other graduate study by enrolling as a non-degreed student and selecting to work on the TESOL Certificate. For general information about admission, contact the UT Arlington Graduate School, Davis Hall, 3rd floor, or visit the Graduate School's Home Page.

Also consult the Prospective Students page to learn more about our department.

Admissions Requirements for Applicants

Be sure to read the Admissions Requirements (PDF) for Linguistics & TESOL graduate programs.

Course Requirements

The Certificate requires 19 credit hours, including 18 credit hours of coursework and a 1-credit practicum course. (Upon enrolling in your last certificate class, download the Request for Certificate form (pdf) and submit it to the TESOL Graduate Advisor.)

LING 5300: Linguistic Analysis or LING 5309: Linguistics for Language Professionals
LING 5301: Teaching ESFL
LING 5302: Methods & Materials for TESFL
LING 5305: Second Language Acquisition
LING 5310: Sociolinguistics or LING 5347: Pragmatics
LING 5304: Pedagogical Grammar of English or LING 5307: Pedagogical Phonology of English
LING 5110: TESOL Practicum

Course Sequencing

LING 5300 (or equivalent graduate level linguistics foundation) is prerequisite for LING 5310/-11/-51, and LING 5305; LING 5301 or LING 5302 is a prerequisite for LING 5304 and LING 5307.

To accommodate the needs of students who are otherwise occupied during daytime hours, UT Arlington has scheduled most of the TESOL Certificate courses as evening classes (5:30 PM and after).

Transfer Credit

A maximum of three (3) credits of relevant graduate-level coursework done at another accredited institution can be counted toward the TESOL Certificate. Inquire with the TESOL Graduate Advisor for details.

NOTE: The UT Arlington Graduate Certificate in TESOL does not automatically confer credentials for teaching ESL in Texas public schools. A subset of the Linguistics Program's TESOL Certificate courses, however, do conform to state guidelines regarding teacher preparation in the area of ESL, as published by the State of Texas Board of Educator Certification. For more information about public school teacher certification and endorsement, and for further options regarding coursework that can be used toward state endorsement in the field of ESL, contact the UT Arlington College of Education and Health Professions, Hammond Hall, 5th floor.