Options To Meet The Subject Matter Competency Requirement
The California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) is a series of subject matter examinations for prospective teachers who choose to meet the subject matter competence requirement by taking examinations. Computer-based CSET exams are available year-round by appointment. See scheduling CSET information.
Passing Standards
To pass the CSET in a given subject area, a minimum scaled score of 220 must be achieved on each subtest. CSET website
CSET Examinations for Multiple Subjects
- See information from CTC on the Multiple Subject Credential Examinations.
- Sign up for the Multiple Subject CSET exams.
CSET Examinations for Single Subject
- See information from CTC on the Single Subject Credential Examinations and which single subjects candidates can be credentialed in. The number of subtests will vary by subject.
- Sign up for the Single Subject CSET exams.
CSET Examinations for Education Specialists
Teacher candidates earning an Education Specialist credential can demonstrate subject-matter competence in either Multiple Subjects or a Single Subject area.
Subject matter competency can be met through the successful completion of a bachelor's degree or higher in the respective subject area if the following conditions are met:
- The degree must have been earned at a regionally-accredited institution of higher education.
- The degree major is one of the acceptable degree majors in the credential subject area being sought.
See if your degree automatically meets subject matter competency by reviewing the CTC's Appropriate Degrees to Satisfy Subject Matter Competence web page. Note that the University of Redlands is not accredited for the Dance and Theater Single Subject credential areas.
Candidates seeking an Education Specialist credential who are meeting subject matter competency by degree must have a major that aligns with one of the acceptable degree majors for the Multiple Subject credential area or one of the Single Subject credential areas noted on the web page above.
Note that while the University of Redlands is not accredited for the Dance and Theater Single Subject credential areas, Education Specialist candidates may meet subject matter competency through the acceptable degree majors for those credential areas as listed on the CTC’s web page.
For candidates who have degree majors in areas that are in the unacceptable column, this means that these majors are not acceptable under the college degree option. However, some of the college-level coursework taken for the completion of the degree may satisfy some subject matter requirements through the coursework review process. Please see the College-Level Coursework accordion below for more information on the coursework review process.
Institutions of higher education may be approved by CTC to offer undergraduate subject matter preparation programs. Completion of a subject matter program offered by a Commission-approved institution satisfies the subject matter requirement necessary to earn a teaching credential.
Students who wish to meet subject matter competency by the subject matter program option must request a letter from their undergraduate subject matter program.
The University of Redlands has a CTC approved subject matter program for Music.
Learn more about the University of Redlands' Subject Matter Music program.
Teacher candidates can meet Subject Matter Competency through college-level coursework that they successfully completed at one or more regionally accredited institutions of higher education which addresses each of the subject matter domains adopted by CTC in the content area of the credential.
Within their first semester, teacher candidates must fill out a Subject Matter Domain Chart for their credential area and submit to the Office of Licensures and Credentialing (OLC) for review.
Please allow 5-6 weeks for review.
Instructions
- Review the Example Domain Chart and watch our Video Tutorial to learn how to fill out a Domain Chart for a coursework review.
- Download the Domain Chart for your subject matter area.*
- Review the domain areas on the Domain Chart and compare them to your college-level coursework. One course can be used to meet multiple domains. Multiple courses can be combined to meet one domain. You can use coursework from any regionally accredited institution of higher education as long as you earned a grade of C or higher, "Pass," or "Credit." Courses must be degree-applicable to an Associate or higher degree and credit bearing. Remedial or professional development coursework is not accepted by the CTC.
- Locate the course descriptions for the courses you will include on your Domain Chart in the institution's archived course catalogs. The course description must be from the year the course was taken. Most archived course catalogs can be found on an institution's website (see example here). If a course catalog year is not available, please contact the institution's registrar's office for a copy of the course description to provide.
- Fill in the course number, title, institution name, course description (copied from course catalog), final grade, and link to the course catalog for each course you include on the Domain Chart. The catalog link must be to the archived course catalog from the year the course was taken. For example, if a course was taken in Fall 2021, the 2021-2022 catalog link must be provided.
- We need the official transcripts for all coursework documented on the Domain Chart. Request any official transcripts that the University of Redlands may not have be sent to olc@redlands.edu. This step does not need to be repeated if you have already provided the official transcripts as part of your admissions application.
- Submit the Domain Chart via the Etrieve File Upload Form. It will be added to the queue for a formal review by the Office of Licensures and Credentialing. This process takes 5-6 weeks. Once the review is completed, you will be notified via email.
*Please note that teacher candidates earning an Education Specialist credential can submit a domain chart to meet subject matter competence in either Multiple Subjects or a Single Subject area.
Subject Matter Domain Charts
Click to download a fillable Word document:
- Agriculture
- American Sign Language
- Art
- Business
- English
- Health Science
- Home Economics
- Industrial and Technology Education
- Mathematics - Foundational Level Mathematics
- Mathematics
- Multiple Subjects
- Music
- Physical Education
- Science - Biological Sciences
- Science - Chemistry
- Science - Earth and Space Science
- Science - Foundational Level General Science
- Science - Physics
- Social Science
- Spanish
- World Languages (Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, Filipino, Hmong, Khmer)
See information from CTC here:
Subject matter competency can be met through a combination of examination, subject matter program, and college-level coursework in whole or in part, which meet or exceeds each of the subject matter domains adopted by the commission in the content area of the credential.
Within their first semester, teacher candidates must fill out a Subject Matter Domain Chart for their credential area and submit to the Office of Licensures and Credentialing (OLC) for review.
Please allow 5-6 weeks for review.
Submitting Evidence of Meeting Requirement
Each student must submit evidence of meeting subject matter competency. To submit evidence, follow the steps below:
Step 1:
Identify how you will meet the Subject Matter Competency requirement according to the options listed above.
Step 2:
Obtain official test results, program waiver letter, or official transcripts. Official transcripts must be received by the University of Redlands directly from the accrediting institution. Transcripts provided by students are not considered official. Official transcripts can be sent to registrar@redlands.edu
Step 3:
Complete the Verification of Subject Matter Competency Form.
Step 4:
Current Students (or recent Graduates who still have MyRedlands access): Upload completed Verification of Subject Matter Competency Form and any supporting documentation to the File Upload Form in Etrieve. Select “Subject Matter Competency” as the document title.
Graduates/Alumni (who no longer have MyRedlands access): Email the completed Verification of Subject Matter Competency Form and any supporting documentation to the Office of Licensures and Credentialing.
Applicants/Potential Students: Upload completed Verification of Subject Matter Competency Form to your admissions application portal. If you have questions on how to complete the form, please contact your designated assistant director of enrollment.
- Please Note: Transcript review will occur in the first semester of the program. Admission to the program does not imply that subject-matter competency has been met. Students will be asked to resubmit the Verification of Subject Matter Competency Form during their orientation for additional verification.
Fieldwork Eligibility
Subject matter competency must be met prior to applying for student teaching, internship eligibility, or Teacher Residency. Proof of meeting Subject Matter Competency must be submitted to the student teaching application and teaching internship eligibility application.
For students taking the CSET exams, they should schedule exams accordingly to ensure test scores are received prior to the designated application deadlines.
View the Computer-Based CSET Test Release Dates >
Learn more about student teaching and internship eligibility >