General Catalog 2007-2009

Bachelor’s Degrees in Secondary Education

Certification programs are offered in a variety of academic disciplines. This provides the candidate opportunity to teach at the junior high, middle school, and/or high school level. (General Science certification is primarily oriented to the junior high and middle school.) Students pursuing certification in Secondary Education must complete the discipline certification requirements of the respective academic department. (Please review all notations at the end of each program of study.)

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Secondary Education-
English or Communications

The Secondary Education-English or Communications program is designed to prepare students for a career in teaching English at the secondary school level. The program includes coursework in the following areas: General Education requirements, English and Humanities Department requirements, specialization courses or English elective courses, professional preparation courses, and a professional semester of student teaching. This program provides instruction and practical experiences in determining effective instructional approaches in the teaching of particular components of the secondary school curriculum: language study, reading, literature, writing, listening, and speaking. Students develop an awareness of the many responsibilities faced by secondary English teachers and learn how to work within today’s school environment to improve instructional effectiveness and efficiency. The education courses focus on the effectiveness of the teacher’s methods and on the value of the students’ learning experiences.

Coursework for the Secondary Education-English program emphasizes study of literature, writing, language and linguistics, and drama or film. It includes twelve credit hours of English electives, with two courses chosen from literature, one of which must be multicultural. The Secondary Education-Communications program emphasizes study of communications (applied and theoretical), literature, drama, language and linguistics, and visual communication. It includes six credit hours of electives in speech, media, or drama.

Students must apply for admission into the teacher education program according to the Education Department’s guidelines. In addition, students must complete 150 hours of Field Experience and pass the PPST or C-PPST Reading, Writing and Mathematics PRAXIS exams and the English or Communication PRAXIS exam. (See Department of Education for a complete description of teacher preparation requirements.)

Requirements for Graduation:

To be eligible for graduation and certification with a Pennsylvania teaching certificate, students majoring in Secondary Education - Communications must complete all program requirements including a minimum of 127 credits, achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above, and complete the General Education Requirements of the College. Courses used to complete general education requirements may not be taken on a pass/fail basis, and credits earned in WRT100 may not be applied to degree requirements.

In addition, students must have earned a 3.0 cumulative grade point average to begin the Professional Semester and must achieve a grade of 3.0 or higher in WRT102, WRT202, CM104, MAT111, a second math course, and ED221. Students must pass all remaining core courses with a 2.0 or higher and may not take any of the courses offered by the department on a pass/fail basis.

Required Courses in Secondary Education-Communications:

Secondary Education-Communications (suggested course sequence)

Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education-English

Requirements for Graduation:

To be eligible for graduation, students majoring in Secondary Education-English must complete all program requirements including a minimum of 125 credits, achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above, and complete the General Education Requirements of the College. Courses used to complete general education requirements may not be taken on a pass/fail basis, and credits earned in WRT100 may not be applied to degree requirements.

In addition, students must achieve a grade of 3.0 or higher in WRT102, WRT202, CM104, MAT111, a second math course, and ED221. Students must pass all remaining core courses with a 2.0 or higher and may not take any of the courses offered by the department on a pass/fail basis.

Required Courses in Secondary Education-English:

Secondary Education-English (suggested course sequence)

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