Become a Teacher in South Carolina

To earn your South Carolina teaching credential you will have to complete the required amount of undergraduate coursework and pass standardized tests, as well participate in an accredited certification program.

South Carolina issues an initial certificate (valid for 3 years, can be renewed) to beginning teachers. In order to obtain an initial certificate. During that period, a teacher must pass the appropriate Praxis II PLT exams and participate in the state’s formal teacher evaluation system in order to advance to a professional certificate (renewable every 5 years).

Learn more about getting your South Carolina teaching credential.

The South Carolina Program of Alternative Certification for Educators provides a route for eligible candidates who have not met regular certification requirements to teach in areas where there is a critical shortage of teachers. Candidates who have at least two years of postsecondary work experience and have obtained employment with a South Carolina public school in a content area with a teacher shortage complete periodic training in classroom instruction, complete at least three approved core courses and undergo a period of mentoring and evaluation.

South Carolina recognizes the ABCTE teaching certification route for teachers of biology, chemistry, English, mathematics, physics, or science. ABCTE is a self-paced, online teacher certification program.

South Carolina also has a Teaching Fellows program.

Finally, adjunct certification for part-time teaching is available to subject experts in certain specialties. An adjunct certificate cannot be converted to a professional teaching certification.

Interstate reciprocity is a program that allows teachers who are certified in one state to teach in another. To find out what states have interstate reciprocity with South Carolina, visit the Teach.com reciprocity page. For specific questions about your situation, contact the South Carolina Department of Education.

To find out what other state teaching licenses can be used in South Carolina, check out our Teacher Certification Reciprocity page on Teach.com.

CERRA runs a Teacher Job Bank which teachers can use to submit a centralized application to a variety of postings. The job bank makes it easy to browse jobs by district, region, and specialty. CERRA also runs the South Carolina Teacher Expo, which can be a useful event for teachers seeking employment.

Learn more about finding a teaching job on Teach.com.

In South Carolina, teachers earn an average of $49,090 per year in 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. South Carolina provides loan forgiveness for teachers in high needs schools and shortage subjects.

Learn more about teacher salaries on Teach.com.

All retirement benefits for South Carolina teachers are handled by the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority Retirement Systems.

Average final compensation is calculated by taking the average of an individual’s three 3 highest consecutive years of compensation.

Learn more about benefits for teachers on Teach.com.

A teacher shortage occurs when there are not enough teachers in key subject areas, which has been partly caused by years of teacher layoffs during the Great Recession, a growing student population and fewer people entering teacher preparation programs, according to the Learning Policy Institute.

The following is a list of teacher shortage areas in South Carolina for the 2020-21 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

South Carolina residents are eligible for the Applegate/Jackson/Parks Future Teacher Scholarship as well as the TEACH Grant, a grant which gives financial aid to students in return for an agreement to teach in a high-need school.

Learn more about how to finance your Master’s degree on Teach.com.

The South Carolina Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) and administers the Teacher Cadet Teaching Fellows and ProTeam programs for mentoring and recruiting new teachers. The newly created Call Me MISTER program run through Clemson University also helps recruit and mentor new teachers in South Carolina. Additional professional development programs vary by district.

It is no longer enough for educators to only have years of experience teaching to remain qualified. After No Child Left Behind and other academic quantification measures, teachers are almost entirely being evaluated by their results in the classroom.

A master’s degree in the field of education can give you more educational theory and classroom skills, as well as more hands-on student teaching experience with a mentor. After completing a master’s program, you will be able to achieve better results in the classroom and have more job security and earn higher pay.

A master’s degree in South Carolina may result in an over $4,000 increase in initial salary compared with those who only have a bachelor’s degree. Salary statistics can be found on the Department of Education website.

Learn more about the benefits of a Master of Arts in Teaching vs. Master of Education on Teach.com.