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Subject Matter Competency 

According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), teacher candidates must demonstrate Subject Matter Competency in their respective subject areas. Subject matter competency must be met prior to applying for fieldwork, as well as prior to receiving a recommendation for an Intern Teaching Credential or a Preliminary Teaching Credential.

Options To Meet The Subject Matter Competency Requirement

Examination

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

CSET Examinations for Single Subject

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. 

College Degree

Successful completion of a bachelor’s degree or higher in the respective subject area will qualify as proficiency in the subject area if the following conditions are met:

  • The degree must have been earned at a regionally accredited university.
  • Successful completion of an academic major in the subject area.

Multiple Subjects

For Multiple Subject credentials, the major must be Liberal Studies. This can also include Liberal Studies degrees that include any focus or concentration in the title. Examples include, but are not limited to, Liberal Studies: Urban Education and Liberal Studies: Elementary Education.

Single Subject

For Single Subject credentials, the major must be in one of the subjects named in Education Code section 44257(a). 

      • Agriculture
      • Art
      • Business
      • English
      • World Language (in any of the languages for which there is a credential)
      • Health Science
      • Home Economics
      • Industrial and Technology Education
      • Mathematics
      • Music
      • Physical Education
      • Science (including Biology, Chemistry, Geoscience or Earth and Space Science, and Physics)
      • Social Science

At this time, the Commission will also accept applied majors in the single subject credential areas (e.g., Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics) and exact majors in one of the single subject areas that may have additional modifiers (e.g., Biology: Environmental Biology; Art: Art History; and Physical Education: Kinesiology).

Education Specialist

For Education Specialist credentials, the major must align with one of the acceptable majors for the Multiple Subject credential or Single Subject credential mentioned above.

 

Transcript Review: 

Degree equivalence will be determined by the Office of Student Success in collaboration with department faculty in line with Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and State policy.   

Subject Matter Program

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.

College-Level Coursework

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 Student Success (OSS) for review. 

Please allow 3-4 weeks for review.

Instructions

  1. Review the Example Domain Chart and watch our Video Tutorial to learn how to fill out a Domain Chart for a coursework review.
  2. Download the Domain Chart for your subject matter area.*
  3. Review the domain areas on the Domain Chart and compare them to your college-level coursework. You can use coursework from both two-year and four-year institutions as long as you earned a grade of C or higher. One course can be used to meet multiple domains. Multiple courses can be combined to meet one domain.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 oss@redlands.edu. This step does not need to be repeated if you have already provided the official transcripts as part of your admissions application.
  7. Submit the Domain Chart to your designated advisor via the Etrieve File Upload Form. It will be added to the queue for a formal review by a credential analyst in our office. This process takes 3-4 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:

See information from CTC here: 

Domains of the Subject Matter Requirements Adopted by CTC

Subject Matter and CSET Examination by CSET

Combination

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 Student Success (OSS) for review. 

Please allow 3-4 weeks for review.

Instructions

  1. Review the Example Domain Chart and watch our Video Tutorial to learn how to fill out a Domain Chart for a coursework review.

  2. Download the Domain Chart for your subject matter area.*

  3. Review the domain areas on the Domain Chart and compare them to your college-level coursework. You can use coursework from both two-year and four-year institutions as long as you earned a grade of C or higher. One course can be used to meet multiple domains. Multiple courses can be combined to meet one domain.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 oss@redlands.edu. This step does not need to be repeated if you have already provided the official transcripts as part of your admissions application.
  7. Submit the Domain Chart to your designated advisor via the Etrieve File Upload Form. It will be added to the queue for a formal review by a credential analyst in our office. This process takes 3-4 weeks. Once the review is completed, you will be notified via email.
  8. Attach your passing CSET exams scores and/or partial program waiver letter to the same Etrieve File Upload Form for review.

​​​​​​​*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:

See information from CTC here: 

Domains of the Subject Matter Requirements Adopted by CTC

Subject Matter and CSET Examination by CSET

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 according to the options below.

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 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 your designated OSS advisor. 
Applicants/Potential Students: Upload completed Verification of Subject Matter Competency 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 at 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.