In New York, Relay offers two paths to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching degree and teacher certification, as well as an Advanced Certificate in Special Education program for teachers with a general education background. Relay students teaching in New York enroll in programs offered out of Relay New York City.

Join our community of practitioners focused on achievement, and well-being of students and teachers.

The Relay Approach

Relay New York is one of the largest educator preparation programs in the United States. First chartered in 2013, it is Relay’s longest-standing location with an alumni base of over 5,600 strong. We are committed to cultivating talent and training educators to work in high needs schools and subject areas throughout New York State. This compares to 25% on average in national teacher preparation programs. Teachers and principals affirm the effectiveness of Relay’s programs - nearly 90% were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of Relay’s core and content faculty, and 83% of students strongly agreed or agreed that what they are learning at Relay is having a positive impact on their students’ achievement.

Faculty

Relay faculty are experienced classroom teachers who blend theory with real-world application and build supportive communities of adult learners.

State Requirements

Each state has its own admissions requirements for students applying to Relay Graduate School of Education. This section will help you understand what's needed for the program you're interested in, so you can feel prepared and confident as you begin your application.

Understanding your GPA admissions requirements

All students must be admitted to Relay Graduate School of Education in order to enroll in coursework.

If you plan to pursue teacher certification or licensure, you will also need to meet the admissions criteria for Relay's Educator Preparation Program (EPP) — requirements that are separate from Graduate School admissions and based on state-specific certification guidelines.

In short:

• If you are pursuing a degree, you must meet Graduate School admissions requirements.
• If you are pursuing a degree with certification, you must meet both Graduate School and Educator Preparation Program requirements.

Requirements for admission to our Master of Arts in Teaching Program

To be eligible for our Master of Arts in Teaching Program with or without certification, you will need to:

• Complete your application
• Complete your admissions checklist
• Submit your official, degree-conferred transcript with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher (Relay offers limited exceptions for applicants with a GPA below a 2.5 who meet other criteria. Email support@relay.edu for details.)‍
• Obtain a program-aligned instructional role prior to beginning clinical practice coursework

If you are planning on pursuing certification, you will also need to:

• Complete Transition Point 1 requirements for the program, which will be added to your admissions checklist
• Have a GPA of 3.0 or above (Relay offers limited exceptions for applicants with a GPA below 3.0 who meet other criteria. Email support@relay.edu for details.)

In New York, the Educator Preparation Program for Master of Arts in Teaching candidates is the New York Transitional B Alternative Teacher Preparation Program or the New York Residency Teacher Preparation Program (for the four term residency MAT program).

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GPA Requirements

Requirements for admission to our Advanced Certificate in Special Education Program

To be eligible for our Advanced Certificate in Special Education Program only (without certification), you will need to:

• Complete your application
• Complete your admissions checklist
• Submit your official, degree-conferred transcript with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher
  
  • Relay offers limited exceptions for applicants with a GPA below 2.5 who meet other criteria. Email support@relay.edu for details.
• Obtain a program-aligned instructional role before beginning clinical practice coursework

If you are planning on pursuing certification, you will also need to:

• Complete Transition Point 1 requirements for the program, which will be added to your admissions checklist
• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
  
  • Relay offers limited exceptions for applicants with a GPA below the requirements who meet other criteria. Email support@relay.edu for details.

In New York, the Educator Preparation Program for Advanced Certificate in Special Education candidates is the New York Additional Certification Program.

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GPA Requirements

Check out our Program Offerings in New York.

Review our Admissions deadlines page.

School & District Partners

Relay partners with 70 public school systems and schools in New York state. Here is just a sample:

NYC Partners

• Achievement First
• Classical Charter Schools
• Ed Prep NYC (NYCDOE)
• KIPP New York
• NYC Teaching Collaborative (NYCDOE)
• Teach For America
• Uncommon Schools
• Zeta Charter Schools

Upstate Partners

• Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School
• Persistence Preparatory Academy Charter School
• Rochester Academy Charter School
• Rochester Academy of Science Charter School
• Uncommon Schools Rochester Prep
• Uncommon Schools Troy Prep