Admission Requirements for Gold Card

The Gold Card serves as documentation that a student has met all admission requirements and has been officially admitted into an undergraduate, initial licensure teacher preparation program within the Professional Education Unit at The University of Southern Mississippi.

To be admitted to an undergraduate teacher education licensure program, students must meet the following requirements:

• Successful completion of a nationally normed ability/achievement assessment OR a teacher education normed entrance test:

1. A minimum ACT composite score of 21 or a minimum SAT composite score of 1060.
2. Acceptable scores on the Core Academic Skills for Educators Test (CORE): Reading Test Code 5712 with a minimum score of 156; Writing Test Code 5722 with a minimum score of 162; and Mathematics Test Code 5732 with a minimum score of 150.

• A minimum grade of C in English Composition I and II
• A minimum Grade Point Average of 2.75 on the 44 semester-hour core curriculum of pre-major coursework
• Subscribe to the Watermark Assessment System, an electronic portfolio and data storage system.
• A clear background check via www.mycb.castlebranch.com

A student on academic probation, probation continued, or suspension cannot be admitted to teacher education.

Except for the Background Check that allows for a two week extension into the first semester (see Background Check Policy), all requirements must be met prior to enrollment in restricted teacher education courses.

Any student with a question about these requirements should be directed to the College of Education and Human Sciences Certification Officer.