Ontario Teacher Certification (MT & MA-CSE)

This can be done at any point during your MT or MA-CSE program, but most teacher candidates apply around December of their final year. You can get the needed number without paying – you pay when you complete your OCT application.

You can opt to become an OCT member when your degree is complete in order to:

• Have valid AQ credentials.
• Take Additional Qualifications courses after graduating. You will need to have an OCT number to get visible credit for the course – for it to “count”.
• Work for a public board of Education.
• Verify that you are a teacher in good standing through your membership.

For Year 2 MT and MA-CSE students who have completed their degree requirements with satisfactory grades and are applying for the Teaching Certificate:

• If you have already applied for the Transitional Certificate in the past and have provided your OCT number, you do not need to submit it again. We will retrieve your OCT number from your previous Transitional Certificate documentation and proceed with recommending you for the Teaching Certificate.
• If you have not previously applied for the Transitional Certificate, you must provide your OCT number by submitting the OCT Number Collection Form.
• If you are an MA-CSE student, please send your OCT number to Vanessa Dane Kirkham at vanessa.dane@utoronto.ca.

Annual Deadline: May 31

The following documents are required by OCT:

• Official Transcripts 

   

  Official Transcripts can be ordered through ACORN and OUAC. 

   

  ACORN: You should order your transcript after your convocation to ensure that the "Degree Conferred" notation appears on the document. Before ordering transcript through ACORN, students should first check their Academic History on ACORN to ensure that their degree conferral has been updated. Please note: The conferral of your degree will typically appear on your official transcript approximately two days after the end of the final university convocation period.

   

  OUAC:  You have the option to order your transcript now and request that OUAC send your final transcript after your convocation, once the "degree conferred" status is updated. 

   

  If you do not have an OUAC account, you will need to select “Create My OUAC Account” to set one up.
  Once your account is created, log in using your username and password. Click “Continue” and select "Proceed to Transcript Requests".

   

  Request a transcript for “After Degree Conferred”. OCT prefers transcripts that say “degree completed” – however, same with the ACORN approach, this cannot take place until after the convocation. Be sure to set the print date for your transcript to after convocation so that your transcript will show that the degree has been conferred. Ordering your transcript too early (before convocation) means it won’t include your degree conferral, and you’ll need to submit a new one—costing you extra time and money.

   

  You may also need to provide the following:

• Proof of identity – provide a photocopy of your birth certificate or passport (passport only valid if shows full name at birth).
• The original copy of a newly acquired,  basic employee criminal record check - make sure it is not a vulnerable sector check.
• Proof of a name change (if applicable) – photocopy of marriage or name change certificate.
• MT and MA-CSE are consecutive programs. If you were graduating from a Combined Degree program, THEN you would answer yes to the question, "Was your teacher education program included as part of another degree program?"

Once you’ve completed the steps above, no further action is required. OISE will take care of the remaining process.

In early June, OISE will issue the "Report from Faculty" (also referred to as the “Letter from the Dean”) to OCT, recommending teacher candidates who have completed all requirements of the MT or MA-CSE but you will only be included in this report if you complete Step 2 by May 31. You do not need to email the Dean or the OISE Registrar's Office & Student Experience (ROSE) to request the letter if you completed Step 2 by this date. After that point, students must submit a manual request for a "Report from the Faculty" (see below for instructions). 

• If you need to register with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) for a spring or summer job, you can request a Confirmation of Degree Requirements through the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) to verify that you are eligible to graduate.
  Please note: Your official degree conferral will appear on your transcript only after the full Convocation period has ended.