Degrees for Education

The Department of Secondary Education is responsible for the Secondary Education Certification programs at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate levels. At the graduate level, the Advanced Studies in Secondary Education program is offered leading to the Master of Arts Teaching degree. Additionally, the Department of Secondary Education is responsible for several of the educational foundations and professional courses offered in the College of Education and Human Services.

Programs Secondary certification is offered in Art, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Social Studies, Communications, English, Earth Science, Mathematics, and Foreign Languages (French and Spanish).

Individuals with bachelor’s degrees may become certified through the Post-baccalaureate Certification Only Program by taking courses required for public school certification that were not taken at the undergraduate level. Secondary Education Majors are advised both in the Department of Secondary Education and in the department of their academic area.

The Elementary/Early Childhood Education Department, accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), has as its goal to prepare elementary and early childhood teachers with the knowledge, skills, and disposition essential to becoming successful members of the teaching profession. All course work and experiences in the major prepare students to meet the following Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) principles: (1) knowledge of subject matter, (2) knowledge of human development and learning, (3) adapting instruction for individual needs, (4) multiple instructional strategies, (5) classroom motivation and management skills, (6) communication skills, (7) instructional planning skills, (8) assessment of student learning, (9) professional commitment and responsibility, and (10) partnerships. The Elementary/Early Childhood Education programs are also rooted in the standards of the Association of Childhood Education International (ACEI) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).