PACE - Program of Alternative Certification for Educators

Current areas subject to PACE certification may be found at:

https://ed.sc.gov/educators/alternative-certification/pace/

When originally approved, the alternative route was limited to two critical areas (science and math). Over the years, the list of approved areas grew to the point that the State Board determined that all areas with an approved major equivalency would be considered critical for purposes of PACE. Therefore, PACE is now considered more of an alternative route in those specific areas rather than a critical need program.

A teaching license is issued to individuals who meet all admission criteria, who have secured employment in a South Carolina public school, and who have successfully completed the pre-service training. The certificate is renewed based on continued progress in the training program.

The candidate completes the equivalent of a traditional supervised clinical experience while employed during a three year induction/formal evaluation period.

PACE requires a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the content area an individual intends to teach. If an applicant does not have the degree posted on their transcript, they will be evaluated for an equivalent degree based on 30 undergraduate hours in the content area with 21 hours at the junior level or higher or 24 graduate hours in the content area. Courses that are not clearly in the content area must be evaluated by the appropriate department chair at a regionally accredited higher education institution.