Graduate Internship in Secondary Teaching (GIST)

Graduate Internship in Secondary Teaching (GIST) is a Northwest graduate option designed for the person who wants to become a secondary teacher, and who possesses a college degree (B.S. or B.A.) in a certifiable field but lacks certification to teach. GIST candidates meet the same state and institutional requirements for secondary teacher certification as undergraduate students, but they substitute graduate-level courses for undergraduate-level courses wherever possible. The GIST option should not be confused with the Missouri Alternative Certification Program. The GIST option is restricted to students who are candidates for the M.S.Ed., Teaching: Secondary degree in Agriculture Education, English, History, Mathematics, and Science.

A person with no undergraduate deficiencies who enters GIST in June may complete secondary certification requirements by the following May. An additional summer of study may enable the candidate to complete an M.S.Ed., Teaching: Secondary degree. As a practical matter, however, most candidates should expect a longer period of enrollment because of undergraduate deficiencies in general education and academic specialty requirements.

The option includes a trimester-long teaching internship in a secondary school and a series of professional classes in which GIST candidates enroll along with experienced teachers, allowing the candidates to benefit by working and studying with professional colleagues. All GIST students seeking certification must take and pass the appropriate Missouri Content Assessment.