Calculus 1
Self-paced online Calculus 1 course (Math 165). NCCRS recommends 4 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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30 or 18 credits? The 2025 New York content core change explained
By the team. Checked 15 Nov 2026.
The short answer
New York's content core is 30 semester hours for most individual evaluation applicants. An amendment to 8 NYCRR 80-3.7, effective 23 April 2025, cut it to 18 semester hours for teachers who already hold an initial, permanent or professional classroom certificate and are adding a middle childhood or adolescence subject. Everyone else still needs 30.
What changed in April 2025
Before the change, almost everyone applying through individual evaluation for a grades 5-9 or 7-12 subject needed a 30 semester hour content core. The amended rule keeps 30 as the default but adds a shorter route for teachers who are already certified. They now complete 18 semester hours in the subject of the additional certificate.
The change sits in 8 NYCRR 80-3.7, the regulation on meeting education requirements through individual evaluation. The published text shows the amendment effective 23 April 2025.
Who gets 18 and who needs 30
The 18-hour route depends on two things: you already hold a New York classroom certificate, and the new title is a middle childhood or adolescence subject.
| Applicant | Content core | Covered subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Holds an initial, permanent or professional classroom certificate | 18 semester hours | English, a world language, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, mathematics, social studies |
| First certificate through individual evaluation | 30 semester hours | Same subjects |
| Holds only a career and technical subject certificate | 30 semester hours | The 18-hour route excludes these titles |
| Childhood education applicant | 30 semester hours in the liberal arts | 6 each in math, science and social studies |
Social studies has its own split
For social studies, the 30 semester hour content core includes economics, government and 21 hours across United States history, world history and geography. A certified teacher adding social studies completes 18 semester hours that still include study in economics, government, United States history, world history and geography. Plan the 18 hours so every named area appears on a transcript.
- Economics and government.
- United States history.
- World history and geography.
What did not change
The quality rules are the same for 18 or 30 hours. Courses must be college coursework from a degree-granting college accredited by a USDE-recognised institutional accreditor, offered for degree credit. Undergraduate grades need a C or better. Methods courses, CEU and professional development courses still do not count, and no one can approve a course in advance.
If you take courses outside a college, the credit still needs a college transcript. TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit, and NYSED decides at evaluation whether each course meets the requirement.
Check your own notice
Your TEACH account shows the requirement OTI applied to your application. If you hold a classroom certificate and your notice still shows 30 hours for an additional middle childhood or adolescence title, check when you applied and ask OTI which version of the rule applies. Requirements can change over time, and NYSED applies those listed on your application.
What to ask in writing
Before you enrol
Ask the college that will post your credit, in writing, how the course will appear on its transcript and under which department, and keep the reply; NYSED itself reviews only at evaluation.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Questions people ask
Does the 18-hour rule apply to my first certificate?
No. The 18 semester hour content core is for teachers who already hold an initial, permanent or professional classroom teaching certificate and are seeking an additional middle childhood or adolescence certificate. A first certificate through individual evaluation still needs 30 semester hours in the subject.
Which subjects does the 18-hour rule cover?
English language arts, a world language other than English, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, mathematics and social studies, in middle childhood (grades 5-9) or adolescence (grades 7-12). Teachers who hold only a specific career and technical subject certificate are excluded from the shorter route.
Can my 18 hours be online courses?
They can be online if they are college courses offered for degree credit by a degree-granting, institutionally accredited college, with a C or better. If you take courses elsewhere, a college has to post the credit on its transcript first, and NYSED decides at evaluation whether each course counts.
Courses that fit
ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses, studied online at your own pace.
Intro to Biology 1
Self-paced online Intro to Biology 1 course (Biology 100). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
US History 1
Self-paced online US History 1 course (HIST 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →Start when you have it in writing
Check your TEACH requirement description first, ask the posting college in writing, then take the subject courses at your own pace.
Sources
- 8 NYCRR 80-3.7 (Cornell LII text)Individual evaluation: content core of 30 semester hours in the subject, no more than 6 in a cognate; middle childhood and adolescence titles 30 semester hours, or 18 for holders of an initial, permanent or professional classroom certificate seeking an additional such certificate; childhood content core 30 semester hours in the liberal arts and sciences with 6 each in math, science and social studies; 2.5 GPA. Last amended eff. 4/23/2025. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- NYSED: Colleges and College Coursework (official)College coursework is study taken for college credit at, or transferred to, a degree-granting institution approved by the Commissioner or an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and offered for degree credit. Content core must come from an institution accredited by a USDE-recognised institutional accreditor; undergraduate grade C or better, graduate B-. Professional development, CEU, audited and waived courses do not count. OTI, BOCES and colleges cannot approve coursework before it is completed. Pedagogical coursework must come from a college with an approved teacher education programme. Statistics from a math or statistics department counts up to 6 credits for mathematics; environmental science and engineering are not acceptable science courses. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.