Special Teaching Qualification Program

The Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI – Québec’s ministry of immigration, francisation, and integration) has set up the Programme d’aide financière pour la formation d’appoint en reconnaissance des compétences (PAFFARC – Financial assistance program for skills recognition). The PAFFARC is specifically for people who were educated outside Canada. It gives you access to financial assistance to take occupational upgrading so you can get your skills recognized by a regulatory body.

The occupational upgrading has to enable you to work in Québec practising a profession or trade that the program covers. The PAFFARC is designed to help you settle into life in Québec and become part of Québec’s workforce.

To learn more about the program’s admission requirements and how to receive financial assistance, visit the PAFFARC’s webpage.

The Special Teaching Qualification Program is for you if:

Description

Two options are available:

If you have a teaching certification from a Canadian province or territory other than Québec: the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (MÉES) may award you a teaching diploma, provided that you successfully complete additional university courses.
If you have a university degree and a teaching certification from outside of Canada, and wish to renew a probationary teaching permit issued by the MÉES or obtain a Québec teaching diploma: the MÉES is responsible for determining whether you may be eligible for a teaching diploma by completing academic training. You will need to demonstrate that you have obtained a probationary teaching permit from the MÉES or that you have a notice of eligibility in a field for which Université Laval offers a major.

Important: If the MÉES requires you to complete internships, they cannot be done as part of the Special Teaching Qualification Program. The probationary internship that is sometimes required is managed by employers, not universities.

Typical MÉES requirements

You must complete the following mandatory education (depending on your advancement):

A course on the Québec school system
3 credits in learning assessment
3 credits in intervention for students with disabilities, learning disorders, or behavioural disorders
6 credits in a course on teaching related to the chosen discipline

The MÉES may require you to take additional courses, depending on your situation. The exact course list will be based on your discipline and will be shared with you if you receive an offer of admission.

Applying for admission

Contact the MÉES to find out about the conditions for obtaining a teaching permit or a notice of eligibility and to apply for a permit.
Apply for admission online for the Programme spécial de qualification en enseignement (Special Teaching Qualification Program) and select the discipline you are interested in.
Submit your probationary teaching permit and the notice of eligibility specifying the requirements of the MÉES to the Registrar’s Office with your application. Additional documents may be requested to review your application.

Description

If you have a Bachelor of Education in a discipline or specialty and you wish to add a discipline (field), you can check with a school service centre to see what types of credits are required for the addition and complete the relevant courses. The school service centre (or educational institution) will determine the exact number of credits needed for each discipline and will provide you with the necessary document for your admission.

Typical requirements of school service centres

You must follow the school service centre or educational institution’s instructions. Requirements may vary depending on the diploma you have and the additional qualification you are seeking.

For example, if you have a Bachelor of Music Education and you want to teach in primary school, the school service centre may require you to complete 15 to 30 credits in courses relating to the program, depending on the relevant subjects (French, math, science and technology, social sciences, etc.), to ensure that you are qualified in your new coveted field.

Applying for admission

Check with the school service centre or educational institution’s human resources to learn the number and disciplinary nature of the required credits and ask them to provide you with a letter attesting to the specific requirement for adding a field.
Apply for admission online for the Programme spécial de qualification en enseignement (Special Teaching Qualification Program) and select the discipline you are interested in.
Submit the letter from the school service centre or educational institution to the Registrar’s Office with your application. Additional documents may be requested to review your application.