Art Teacher Licensure is issued by State departments of education, with Praxis examinations administered by ETS in most states. State licensure is the only credential that converts a studio education into a salaried job with benefits. Here is the pathway, the examinations, the costs, and the alternative routes for people who already hold a BFA. Requirement status: Required for public school art teaching in every state. Typical cost: Roughly $300 to $800 in examination and application fees, plus program costs. Assessment format: Praxis Core where required, Praxis Art Content Knowledge, and a state pedagogy assessment. Renewal: Typically every five years with continuing education requirements. Eligibility requires a bachelor degree, usually from a state approved art education program, supervised student teaching, typically one full semester, passing scores on required state examinations. Exam content covers art history across periods and world cultures, studio processes: drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, digital, elements and principles of design and how to teach them, curriculum planning and assessment of creative work. Our assessment of whether it is worth it: Yes, if you want to teach in schools. There is no alternative route to a public school classroom. Career impact: opens salaried public school art teaching with benefits and a pension. Requirements and fees change without notice, so confirm every detail directly with State departments of education, with Praxis examinations administered by ETS in most states before paying anything. Reviewed by David Chen, Executive Director and Art History Lead, ArtDegree.org. Last updated August 2026.
Art teaching is the most stable job in the visual arts and art schools treat it as the fallback option. It is not a fallback. It is a salaried position, in a room full of materials, with a pension and a free summer, and a large share of the exhibiting artists you admire have one.
Who is this credential for?
Artists who want to teach art in a public school. Yes, if you want to teach in schools. There is no alternative route to a public school classroom.
Do you need it, and what does it cost?
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Issuing body | State departments of education, with Praxis examinations administered by ETS in most states |
| Required by law or employers? | Required for public school art teaching in every state |
| Typical total cost | Roughly $300 to $800 in examination and application fees, plus program costs |
| Assessment format | Praxis Core where required, Praxis Art Content Knowledge, and a state pedagogy assessment |
| Renewal | Typically every five years with continuing education requirements |
| Discipline | Art |
What does it cost in detail?
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Praxis Core examinations, where required | $90 to $150 |
| Praxis Art Content Knowledge | $120 to $180 |
| State pedagogy assessment | $100 to $300 |
| State application fee | $50 to $200 |
| Background check | $30 to $90 |
| Five year renewal | $50 to $200 plus professional development |
Fees are approximate, vary by state, provider, and membership status, and change without notice. Confirm current pricing with State departments of education, with Praxis examinations administered by ETS in most states before registering. Figures flagged for re-verification.
Who is eligible?
- A bachelor degree, usually from a state approved art education program
- Supervised student teaching, typically one full semester
- Passing scores on required state examinations
- Background check and fingerprinting
- State specific coursework requirements, which vary considerably
What does the assessment cover?
Format: Praxis Core where required, Praxis Art Content Knowledge, and a state pedagogy assessment. The content areas are:
- Art history across periods and world cultures
- Studio processes: drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, digital
- Elements and principles of design and how to teach them
- Curriculum planning and assessment of creative work
- Studio safety, materials handling, and equipment
- Child and adolescent development
- Differentiated instruction and special education law
How should you prepare?
1. Verify your target state requirements
Get the requirement list from the state board directly. Requirements vary and change, and program advisors are sometimes working from outdated information.
2. Broaden your studio range before testing
Content examinations cover ceramics, print, sculpture, and digital work as well as drawing and painting. Studio students with a narrow concentration are the ones who fail content sections.
3. Study art history systematically
The art history component is broad and includes non Western traditions. This is the section studio focused candidates most consistently underprepare for.
4. Prepare the pedagogy assessment to the rubric
Pedagogy assessments are scored against published rubrics covering planning, instruction, and assessment. Read the rubric and structure your submission to it explicitly.
5. Complete everything before the spring hiring cycle
District hiring is seasonal. Licensure processing takes weeks, so finish examinations in the autumn or winter before you intend to apply.
What does it do for your career?
- Opens salaried public school art teaching with benefits and a pension
- Places you on the district salary schedule alongside all other teachers
- A master degree adds a contractual salary increase in most districts
- Qualifies you for department chair and arts coordinator roles over time
- Supports museum education and community arts programming credibility
If you already have a studio BFA
You are not locked out, and the routes are well established. A master of arts in teaching takes one to two years, satisfies licensure, and moves you up the district salary schedule at the same time. A post baccalaureate certification program covers only the pedagogy coursework and student teaching, which is faster and cheaper but adds nothing to your pay scale position.
In shortage areas, districts sponsor alternative certification that lets you teach while completing requirements. These vary enormously by state and are worth investigating directly with districts you would want to work in, because the district often knows the local route better than a university advisor does.
What the job asks that a BFA does not prepare you for
Breadth. You will teach ceramics, printmaking, drawing, painting, digital, and sculpture, frequently within the same week, to students with wildly varying ability. A BFA optimises for depth in one medium, which is close to the opposite of what the classroom requires.
Also budget, inventory, kiln and equipment maintenance, safety compliance, and advocacy for your program when district budgets tighten. None of that is in a studio curriculum, and all of it decides whether your program thrives or is cut.
- Take at least one course in every major studio area before you test.
- Learn kiln operation and maintenance. It is a practical requirement in most art rooms.
- Learn to write a materials budget and defend it.
- Document student outcomes from your first year. It is what protects the program.
How does this compare to other art credentials?
Credentials only make sense relative to the alternatives. These are the other art credentials we cover, with the same three questions applied to each: who issues it, whether anyone requires it, and what it costs.
| Credential | Issuer | Requirement status | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art Teaching Licence (this page) | State departments of education | Required for public school art teaching in every state | Roughly $300 to $800 in examination and application fees, plus program costs |
| Museum Studies Certificate | Universities offering museum studies certificates | Not required, but frequently expected alongside a subject master degree | Roughly $4,000 to $20,000 for a graduate certificate depending on institution |
Of these, Art Teaching Licence is genuinely required for specific work rather than optional. If you are choosing between credentials on a limited budget, start there and treat everything else as education you are purchasing rather than permission you are being granted.
Is the cost proportionate to the earnings in this field?
This credential costs roughly $300 to $800 in examination and application fees, plus program costs. In our Creative Arts Career Outcomes Survey 2026, the Art and Art History subsample of 268 graduates reported a median bachelor level first position salary of $52,000 and an employment rate of 81 percent within six months. Set the credential cost against that figure rather than against its own marketing.
Our working rule is simple. A credential costing under one percent of a first year salary needs only to be plausibly useful to justify itself. One costing five percent or more needs to be named in job postings you can actually find. And any credential requiring ongoing renewal is a subscription rather than a purchase, so include the renewal cost in the calculation from the start: this one renews typically every five years with continuing education requirements.
What this means for you
Yes, if you want to teach in schools. There is no alternative route to a public school classroom. Before you spend anything, confirm three things directly with State departments of education, with Praxis examinations administered by ETS in most states: current eligibility requirements, current fees, and the renewal obligations you are taking on. All three change, and the version published anywhere other than the issuer, including here, may be out of date by the time you read it.
Then check the market. Search live job postings in your field and count how many name this credential. If it appears in most of them, it is a requirement. If it appears in none, it is optional and should be weighed against what else you could do with the same money and weeks of preparation.
Related on this site: Art educator, Fine artist, every credential we cover, and programs that prepare you for them.
When should you skip this credential?
Skip it if you cannot find it named in job postings you would realistically apply for. Skip it if the money would be better spent on equipment, studio time, or a portfolio project that demonstrates the same capability more convincingly. And skip it if you are buying it to feel qualified rather than because a specific employer or regulator asks for it, which is the most common and most expensive reason people acquire credentials in creative fields.
Take it if it is legally required for the work you want, if it appears repeatedly in postings for your target roles, if you need to teach the subject, or if you are changing careers and have no portfolio yet and need structured evidence that you can operate at a professional standard. Those four cases cover almost every situation in which a creative credential pays for itself.
One more consideration that gets overlooked: the preparation is frequently worth more than the certificate. The study process for this credential covers art history across periods and world cultures, studio processes: drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, digital, elements and principles of design and how to teach them, and that knowledge is useful whether or not you ever sit the assessment. If the material is what you actually need, you can study it without paying for the examination, and for several credentials on this site that is the rational choice.
Art Teaching Licence questions
Can I teach art with a studio BFA and no licence?
Not in a public school. Some private schools hire without licensure, and community programs and museum education roles generally do not require it. The salaried job with benefits requires the licence.
How long does art teacher certification take?
Four to five years through an art education bachelor including student teaching, or one to two years through a master of arts in teaching or post baccalaureate program if you already hold a degree.
What does the Praxis art examination cover?
Art history across periods and cultures, studio processes across all major media, design principles, curriculum and assessment, and studio safety. Studio students most commonly underprepare on the art history and non Western sections.
Do art teachers earn less than other teachers?
No. Pay is set by the district salary schedule and is identical for all subjects at the same experience and education step. The variation is between districts, not between subjects.
Can I keep exhibiting while teaching?
Yes, and many art teachers do. Term time output is lower, summers are productive, and proximity to materials and equipment helps. Protect specific studio hours or the job will absorb them.