Graduation and Career

Join us for a series of online sessions to chat about the transition into becoming a Teaching Professional and get all your questions answered. Current students should refer to the Undergraduate Programs in Education - Student Resources D2L Calendar for a list of upcoming external and internal events. For more information, contact the UPE Field Experience & Career team, upecareer@ucalgary.ca  

Current students should refer to the Careers & Certification section of the Undergraduate Programs in Education Resources Shell on D2L for more information on the basics of certification and considerations for the job search journey. 

Once in your final year, you must ensure to submit an application for graduation through your MyUofC.

For more information about applying to graduate, the convocation ceremony, and picking up your degree, visit the Convocation Office’s site.

Please Note: You cannot be awarded your degree if you don't apply to graduate!

Students must ensure to submit their application to Alberta Education for certification. For more information, visit: Application Process.

Dean's Recommendation

Once final 500-level grades have come in, the Undergraduate Programs in Education office will audit student transcripts to ensure that all necessary certification requirements have been met, and will then electronically recommend students for certification directly to Alberta Education. The list of recommended students will also be submitted to the Alberta Teachers' Association Teacher Qualifications Service for salary assessment purposes. This generally occurs in May/June. Students will be notified once these recommendations have been uploaded.

Early Clearance Letter*

*Formerly known as the 'Dean's Recommendation Letter'.

As per Alberta Education, graduates from an Alberta Bachelor of Education program with an employment offer are eligible for a 90-day temporary teaching authority. 

A quick description of the process:

1. Apply to graduate!
2. Apply for Teacher Certification (TWINS) with Alberta Education: submit your Interim Professional Certificate (IPC) application, including all required documentation, and submit your fee at least 8 weeks before the end of your degree program. Alberta Education will process your application for a pre-certification letter in approximately 20 business days.
3. Request an offer letter from your prospective employing school authority.
4. Email upe@ucalgary.ca a copy of your pre-certification letter, and the offer letter from your employer, along with your UCID, to request an Early Clearance Letter stating that you have successfully completed your program, and will be recommended for teacher certification.
5. Complete all your degree requirements!
6. If you have met all the degree requirements, and completed your application to graduate, the Early Clearance Letter will be issued on or after the official last day of Field Experience IV.
7. With these three letters, you are authorized to teach for 90 days in Alberta.
8. Again, in May/June, our office sends the university formal Dean’s Recommendation list to Alberta Education Teacher and Leadership Certification. Once processed, an IPC will be issued and mailed to you.

Details:

The Early Clearance Letter is an ‘interim’ document that the Undergraduate Programs in Education office can issue, should a student have a job offer that begins before Alberta Education has fully processed their certification. Generally, this covers students who have an offer of employment with a start date prior to the end-of-August.

We offer the Letter as an interim measure for the hiring body to confirm that a student is eligible for certification. These letters are only issued when the student has met all mandated certification requirements, including successful completion of their final Field Experience (IV).

The Letter is not required for certification. Once certification has been processed, students will not need this Letter to begin employment (Ie, Students with jobs starting in September do not require the Letter, as they will have long since received their certification).

Please Note: You cannot begin an offer of employment before you have finished all of your Bachelor of Education degree requirements.

As soon as final grades and indication of credit have been submitted for the winter semester, we will begin the process of reviewing files and issuing Recommendations for Certification.

A Second Note: All students who meet certification requirements will be recommended to Alberta Education electronically, as soon as final grades are submitted (usually in late May or early June) – students do not require an Early Clearance Letter to be certified!

Again, we are unable to issue an Early Clearance Letter before confirming receipt of credit for EDUC 560.

Per above, if you require an Early Clearance Letter, you must submit the following items:

• An offer of employment
• A letter of confirmation from Alberta Education that your application for teacher certification is now complete
• Your UCID number
• You will also need to ensure you have applied to graduate, as our team will also be looking for this indicator on your file. 

These documents must be submitted electronically, via email.

Early Clearance Letters are not issued for hiring meetings, information sessions, or other informal employment information reasons.

Please Note: Alberta Education neither requires, nor wants, the Early Clearance Letter. They only require the official Recommendation itself, which comes directly from the Undergraduate Programs in Education office.

Teaching in Other Provinces

If you complete your degree at the University of Calgary, you must first apply to Alberta Education for teacher certification in Alberta. You may then apply for certification in your desired province. It may be necessary for you to take additional coursework to meet another province's requirements: please check with individual provincial bodies.

As per Alberta Education's section on Cross-Canada Labour Mobility, under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), teachers who hold a valid teaching certificate from another Canadian jurisdiction are eligible for certification in Alberta without requiring additional education, training, or examination. Teachers certificated in another jurisdiction in Canada may be asked to demonstrate language proficiency in the language of practice in Alberta.

Individuals must still apply for Alberta teacher certification and will be eligible for either an Interim Professional Certificate or a Letter of Authority with the same scope of practice as authorized by your valid teaching certificate from the other Canadian jurisdiction.