Dual Language and Immersion Education Postbaccalaureate Certificate

This graduate-level certificate program gives students an opportunity to complete a coordinated series of courses in the area of dual language and immersion education. The program does not lead to a state teaching certificate or licensure (note that a university certificate program or certificate is distinct from a state certificate or certification).

In Minnesota and other states in the US, dual language/immersion teachers at the elementary level are required to hold a teaching license in elementary education, and at the secondary level a license in the subject matter they teach (e.g., science, social studies, math). The University of Minnesota offers an initial teacher licensure program in elementary education with a focus on dual language and immersion education.

The dual language and immersion education certificate program is designed for preK-12 teachers and other professionals to be able to work effectively in the following school-based program models:
- "One-way" foreign language immersion programs designed for native English-speaking students
- "Two-way" bilingual immersion programs designed for native English-speaking students and native speakers of the program's partner language, such as Spanish
- Developmental bilingual programs designed for minority language learners, such as native Spanish speakers
- Indigenous language immersion programs designed for Native American children in indigenous communities with the goal of revitalizing an endangered language and culture

In dual language and immersion programs, the second/foreign/minority language that students are acquiring is a vehicle to teach school subjects. In order to be considered a dual language or immersion program, the immersion language must be used for at least 50 percent of subject-matter instruction during the elementary school years. In a middle/secondary continuation program, at least two, year-long content courses must be taught in the immersion language.

These programs aim for "additive bilingualism and biliteracy," or the acquisition of another language at no expense to the first, native language.

This unique University certificate program incorporates a coherent set of courses designed specifically for dual language and immersion teachers, and other professionals. Offered by the college's Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I), the program was designed jointly by the college's Second Language Education faculty, and representatives of dual language and immersion programs in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.