Yes — graduate credits for Washington teacher renewal count, and they count generously. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) converts college credit directly into the 100 clock hours every certificate holder needs every five years, at a rate that makes graduate coursework one of the fastest ways to finish your renewal. Here’s exactly how the conversion works, what qualifies, and how to make sure the same credits also move you up your district’s salary schedule.
Washington’s Renewal Requirement, in Brief
Every Washington teaching certificate — Residency, Professional, and Continuing — renews on a five-year cycle. To renew, you need 100 clock hours of approved continuing education, submitted through your E-Certification (EDS) portal ahead of the January 1 on-time deadline (certificates uniformly expire June 30). Two conditions apply inside that 100-hour total:
- 15 hours must be in Equity-Based School Practices, required of every renewing educator.
- 15 additional hours must have a STEM emphasis, but only if you hold a STEM endorsement — a Professional Growth Plan goal with a STEM focus also satisfies this.
Teachers with a current National Board certificate are considered to have met both the general clock-hour requirement and the STEM piece. Everyone renewing for the first time also has to attest to completing training on recognizing abuse and emotional or behavioral distress in students.
Graduate Credits for Washington Teacher Renewal: How the Conversion Works
This is where graduate coursework pulls ahead of one-off workshops. Per OSPI’s official conversion table, college and university credit converts to clock hours at a fixed rate, no matter which accredited institution issued it:
| Credit Type | Clock Hour Value | Credits Needed for Full 100-Hour Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Semester Credit | 15 clock hours | ~6.7 credits |
| 1 Quarter Credit | 10 clock hours | 10 credits |
| CEUs / PDUs from an accredited institution | 1-to-1 as clock hours | 100 CEUs/PDUs |
In practical terms: a single 3-semester-credit graduate course is worth 45 clock hours — almost half of your entire five-year requirement in one enrollment. Two courses like that, plus a short equity-focused workshop, and most teachers are done.
Note: OSPI accepts credit from any regionally accredited college or university, in-state or out-of-state. Audited courses and coursework where no credit was actually earned don’t count — the credit has to appear on an official transcript.
What Graduate Credit Actually Qualifies
To count toward your 100 clock hours, graduate coursework generally needs to:
- Come from a regionally accredited college or university.
- Be credit-bearing (not an audit) and appear on an official transcript.
- Fall within your certificate’s five-year validity window (or the five years preceding your application if you’re renewing an expired certificate).
General graduate coursework — the kind most teachers take toward a master’s degree or an endorsement — satisfies the numeric clock-hour count. But remember the two carve-outs above: 15 of your hours still need to be specifically in equity-based practices, and STEM-endorsed teachers still need 15 STEM-focused hours (or a STEM-focused PGP goal) on top of general credit. Plan at least one of your courses around those categories so you’re not scrambling for a separate workshop at renewal time.
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See Your Washington Salary Roadmap
The same graduate credits that renew your certificate can also bump you to a higher salary lane. See your personalized roadmap — how many credits to your next lane and exactly what it pays in your district.
The Bigger Win: These Credits Also Move You Up the Pay Scale
Most teachers earn their renewal clock hours through whatever workshop their building offers and never think about it again. That’s the missed opportunity. As we cover in our guide to how teacher salary schedules work, Washington districts place teachers on lanes like BA, BA+45, MA, MA+45, and MA+90 based on college credit earned beyond your degree — separate from the automatic, experience-based steps. A lane change is permanent: it raises your base salary for every year you remain in the district, and district collective bargaining agreements commonly value each lane jump in the range of $2,000 to $6,000 a year.
Because clock hours and graduate semester credits convert on a fixed schedule, the same transcript you send to OSPI for renewal can go straight to your district’s HR office for a lane placement review. There’s no reason to earn “renewal-only” hours when graduate credit does both jobs for the same time investment. For a full walkthrough of how Washington’s lane structure works, see our Washington Teacher Certification: The Complete Guide.
Pro-Tip: Renewal and salary advancement are two separate submissions. Upload your transcript to your E-Certification (EDS) account for OSPI, and send an official copy to your district’s HR or payroll department for a lane review — one doesn’t automatically trigger the other.
How to Submit Graduate Credit for Renewal
- Enroll in accredited graduate coursework — ideally with at least one course addressing equity-based practices (and STEM, if you’re STEM-endorsed).
- Request an official transcript once grades post; unofficial copies or in-progress coursework won’t count.
- Log into your E-Certification (EDS) account and submit your renewal application with the transcript attached before the January 1 on-time deadline.
- Send a second official transcript to your district’s HR department so the same credits are reviewed for a salary lane change.
CFT’s graduate-level courses are built for exactly this — regionally accredited, self-paced, and designed to satisfy both a state’s continuing-education requirement and a district’s lane-advancement criteria at once. You can see how the courses work more broadly on our graduate credits for teachers page.
Graduate Courses for Washington Teachers
Renew Your Certificate and Raise Your Pay
Our regionally accredited graduate courses convert directly to OSPI clock hours and count toward your district’s salary lanes — one enrollment, two benefits.