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College of Education and Human Sciences

Licensure Programs

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Southern Miss offers initial teacher licensure programs at the traditional undergraduate level and the alternate-route graduate level for those wishing to teach in Mississippi.  We also offer advanced licensure programs and programs for other school professionals at the graduate level. We do not guarantee to meet the licensure requirements of other states.  Please review the Professional Licensure Disclosure statement below regarding licensure in other states.

Professional Licensure Disclosure

Teacher education programs at The University of Southern Mississippi are designed to meet the professional competency standards for licensure in Mississippi. The University of Southern Mississippi cannot determine whether any program leads to licensure in any state other than Mississippi. It is recommended that students who intend to seek licensure in another state verify that their program of study meets the desired state's licensure requirements. For assistance with out-of-state licensure questions, please refer to the Professional Licensure Disclosures web page.

Students who intend to apply for licensure in Mississippi should refer to the Mississippi Department of Education Office of Educator Licensure for the most current licensure requirements, application procedures, and deadlines.

Below you can find websites and contact information for all our educator preparation programs.

CAEP Initial Teacher Licensure Preparation Programs--Traditional Route by College

College of Arts and Sciences

School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences 

  • Biological Sciences (Licensure) BS 
    • Grade Levels: 7-12
    • Contact for Hattiesburg: Dr.%20Allison%20Downing (allison.downing@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg and Gulf Park
    • SPA National Recognition by: National Science Teachers Association (8/1/2025)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026.

School of Humanities

  •   English (Licensure) BA 
    • Grade Levels: 7-12
    • Contact: Dr.%20Rebecca%20Powell (rebecca.a.powell@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg and Gulf Park
    • SPA National Recognition by: National Council of Teachers of English (2/1/2027)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026.
  • History (Licensure in Social Studies) BA 
    • Grade Levels: 7-12
    • Contact for Hattiesburg: Bradley%20Phillis%20 (bradley.phillis@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg and Gulf Park
    • SPA National Recognition by: National Council for the Social Studies (2/1/2027)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026.

School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

  • Chemistry (Licensure) BS 
    • Grade Levels: 7-12
    • Contact: Megan%20Fortenberry (megan.fortenberry@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg
    • SPA National Recognition by: National Science Teachers Association (8/1/2025)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026.
  • Mathematics (Licensure) BS 
    • Grade Levels: 7-12
    • Contact for Hattiesburg: Susan%20Ross (susan.ross@usm.edu)
    • Contact for Gulf Park: Marlene%20Naquin (marlene.naquin@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg and Gulf Park
    • SPA National Recognition by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2/1/2027)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026.
  • Physics (Licensure) BS 
    • Grade Levels: 9-12
    • Contact: Dr.%20Chris%20Sirola (christopher.sirola@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg
    • SPA National Recognition by: National Science Teachers Association (8/1/2025)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026. 

School of Music

School of Performing and Visual Arts

School of Social Science and Global Studies

  • World Languages (Licensure) BA  
    • Grade Levels: K-12
    • Contact for French: Dr.%20Joanne%20Burnett (joanne.burnett@usm.edu)
    • Contact for Spanish: Leah%20Fonder-Solano (leah.fonder-solano@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg
    • SPA National Recognition by: American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (2/1/2028)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026. 

College of Education and Human Sciences

School of Education

  • Elementary Education (Licensure) BS 
    • Grade Levels: K-6
    • Contact: Dr.%20Kelley%20Stricklin (kelley.stricklin@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg and Gulf Park
    • SPA National Recognition by: Association for Childhood Education International (2/1/2027)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026.
  • Elementary Education (Licensure) BS  Teacher Assistant Pathway (TAP)
    • Grade Levels: K-6
    • Contact: Dr.%20Kelley%20Stricklin (kelley.stricklin@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Online
    • SPA National Recognition by: Association for Childhood Education International (2/1/2027)
    • CAEP Accredited through Fall 2026. 

School of Kinesiology and Nutrition

CAEP Initial Teacher Preparation Program--Alternate Route 

 

CAEP Advanced Educator Preparation Programs 

Educator Preparation Programs for School Professionals (Non-CAEP)

  • Music Education MME 

    • Grade Levels: K-12
    • Contact: Stacey%20Miles (stacey.miles@usm.edu)
    • Location of Program Offered: Hattiesburg
    • Accredited by: National Association of Schools of Music (8/1/2025)

 

Contact Us

College of Education and Human Sciences

127 Joseph Greene Hall (JGH) 
118 College Dr. #5023
Hattiesburg, MS 39406

Campus Hattiesburg

Campus Map

Phone
601.266.4568

CAEP Accreditation