Can a U.S. citizen go to Canada and get a degree in Education and then come back to the States to teach?

Question

Can a U.S. citizen go to Canada and get a degree in Education and then come back to the States to teach?

Answer 1

Yes. The steps needed - and level of difficulty to get from Point A to Point B - greatly depends upon the Canadian University's program of study, the state you plan to teach in, the school district within the state you plan to teach in, the level at which you plan to teach (elementary, secondary, post-secondary), the type of system you want to teach in (public, private, vocational, charter, etc.) and the subject area you plan to teach.  Some states require more stringent teacher certifications / licenses to teach in their ‘public’ schools – specifically for certain ‘subject areas’ - than others. It could be as simple as passing an exam after graduation or you could be required to complete additional courses certified by a state’s or school district’s governing authority. I think your best bet is to 'work backwards' - so to speak. Figure out 'where' you want to teach and contact that state’s Department of Education to identify the teacher certification / licensure requirements. If you have the school district identified - call them and double-check to ensure there are no additional teacher certification requirements outside of the state requirements – specifically for the subject area in which you plan to teach. It’s actually a good idea to do that even if you were to choose to go to school here. Anyway, once you have that information, contact the Canadian school's education department, alumni office, or career planning & placement center and ask if they can put you in contact with a U.S. graduate from their education program who is currently teaching in the states. Most of your larger Canadian universities should already have a network in place. Perhaps you won’t find someone teaching in your specific state, but it will be helpful to be connected with a graduate who has already been through the general process. Also, make sure that your Canadian university is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (most are), which will make you eligible for the Stafford Student Loan and your parents eligible for the Parent PLUS loan.  For a high level roadmap to apply to a Canadian university, the website below should help. On the website’s “Finding Your School” page, there’s a link to the “Consider Canada” website. That will provide you with a listing and contact information for American students currently attending Canadian universities. It might not be a bad idea to poke around that site to see if you can find a student currently enrolled in an education program. Even if they’re not attending your own school of interest, it would be nice to connect with someone a few steps ahead of you on the same career path. Finally, take good notes and don’t allow yourself to get discouraged if any bureaucracy at the state level gets in your way….just chalk it up to ‘lesson learned’ and keep going. Good luck and enjoy your journey!