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Education, Elementary—Bachelor of Arts

Degree: Bachelor of Arts

Website: Teacher Education Department

College/School: Dreeben School of Education

Accreditation: Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation

Accreditation: Texas Education Agency

Apply to UIW: Application for the Bachelor of Arts in Education—Elementary

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Arts in Education-Elementary offers an undergraduate degree concurrent with preparation for Early Childhood through 6th Grade Texas teaching certification. A student following this course of study will complete the UIW core, the Education-Elementary Major, the Literacy Minor, Special Education coursework, and the Professional Development course sequence. Students completing the Education-Elementary Major may elect to add a specified additional course to earn the Special Education Minor. Upon successful completion of program requirements and applicable TExES examinations, the student will be eligible to apply for state teaching certification.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking entry into the Teacher Education Program must first apply and be admitted to the University. See the Admissions section for complete university admission requirements.

Students who plan to pursue initial teaching certification must also formally apply, and be admitted, to the Teacher Education Program (TEP) before enrolling in professional development coursework. Students should apply for admission the semester prior to beginning the professional development coursework. Application dates (spring and fall) are announced by the Dreeben School of Education. Acceptance to the Teacher Education Program does not guarantee acceptance to the Clinical Teaching Cohort or the granting of state certification.

NOTE: Effective March 15, 2017, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires a fee for each admitted teacher candidate. The $35.00 fee will be paid to UIW upon offer of acceptance and is then forwarded to the Texas Education Agency.

Students who plan to pursue initial teaching certification must meet all requirements for admission to the UIW Teacher Education Program. TEP applications are accepted each semester during announced application periods. Applicants are responsible for meeting posted deadlines. Application requirements are subject to change in accordance with TEA regulations. Current (as of August 2021) application requirements include:

  • A current transcript (dated within three months of the TEP application) from each college or university attended verifying that:

    • A minimum of 60 credit hours has been completed with a minimum of 12 credit hours in the subject-specific content area for the certification sought (15 hours for mathematics or science candidates).

    • The student has a cumulative grade point average of 2.75 or greater at time of application. Students are responsible for maintaining the minimum GPA requirement of 2.75 until program completion. All courses taken at all institutions will be calculated to determine the cumulative grade point average. In the event courses are repeated at the same institution, only the highest earned grade will be included in the GPA calculation (in agreement with UIW policy).

    • For undergraduates, a grade of “C” or higher must have been earned for every course taken toward the major and supporting coursework. Education--Elementary majors must earn a "C" or higher in all coursework included in the full degree plan (UIW core included). A minimum grade of B- is required for all professional development coursework. If a lower than required grade is earned, the course must be repeated.

  • A copy of a current degree plan (from Degree Works) will be provided by the applicant for a review by the DSE Certification Officer.

  • Verification that all three sections (reading, writing and mathematics) of the THEA (Texas Higher Education Assessment) exam have been successfully completed with a score of 230 or higher.

  • Verification that EDUC 2305 Foundations of Education has been successfully completed or is in progress.

  • Submission of two faculty feedback forms. Whenever possible, the applicant should request feedback from their discipline faculty and from the Teacher Education Faculty.

    NOTE: Additional information from the UIW community (solicited and non-solicited) may be considered regarding applicants' professional disposition--maturity, independence, responsibility, interpersonal relations, communication, etc. This information is of great significance to the decisions made by both the Dreeben School of Education and the university-wide Teacher Education Advisory Council regarding acceptance into the TEP.

  • Applicants will participate in a group interview to assess effective and professional oral communication skills.

  • A signed DSE Texas Educator's Code of Ethics Statement of Affirmation form must be submitted with the application packet acknowledging the applicant is informed of and consents to the professional expectations for Texas educators.

The group interviews typically consist of one hour sessions with five to eight applicants in each session. Dreeben School of Education faculty and administrators, as well as University faculty and administrators from other disciplines, will make up the interview teams. Recommendations from the interview teams will then be presented as a component of the applications packet. Teacher Education faculty and the Teacher Education Advisory Council review all components of the TEP applications and make a recommendation for program admission. A formal decision letter will be emailed to each applicant by the end of the semester. The committees may decide to "hold" an application in the event an application requirement is lacking but in progress. The Dreeben School of Education Office will not make any announcements as to the status of any applicant until such letters are sent.

Bachelor of Arts in Education—Elementary Degree Plan

The Bachelor of Arts in Education—Elementary degree program requires 130 credit hours to complete.

Total hours in UIW Core Curriculum: 43

Total hours in the Education—Elementary Major: 57

Total hours in Professional Development coursework: 30

UIW Undergraduate Core Curriculum

UIW core coursework is required. Review the Undergraduate Core Curriculum Here and review the degree plans for each concentration for scheduling of the core curriculum classwork. In addition, 45 Community Service hours are part of all bachelor's degree programs. See Community Service.

**Note. The Education—Elementary program requires specific courses from the UIW core. These are listed in the course table.

 

UIW Core Curriculum 
 Composition and Rhetoric  6 credit hours 
 Literature and Art 6 credit hours 
 Science and Mathematics 7 credit hours 
 History and Behavioral Science 6 credit hours 
 Philosophy and Religion  9 credit hours 
 Second Language  6 credit hours 
 Wellness and Physical Education  3 credit hours
  43 total core credit hours
   
 Community Service  45 clock hours (non-credit) 
ENGL 1311Composition I

3

ENGL 1312Composition II

3

ENGL 2310World Literature Studies

3

EDUC 3321Creative Arts for Elementary Teaching

3

PHIL 1381Introduction to Philosophy

3

RELS 13XX
Religious Studies

3

RELS/PHIL 33XX/43XX
3 additional upper-division hours from Philosophy or Religious Studies

3

Modern Must be two consecutive courses of the same language or equivalent
Second Language

6

HIST 1321The United States to 1865

3

POLS 1315American Politics

3

BIOL 1401Diversity of Life and Laboratory

4

MATH
MATH 1304 or higher-level MATH course

3

DWHP 1200Dimensions of Wellness

2

PEHP 11XX
Physical Education Activity Course (1 hour)

1

Total Credit Hours:43

 

Pre-Professional Coursework

EDUC 2305Foundations of Education

3

HIST 1322The United States Since 1865

3

HIST 2322Texas History

3

MATH 2374Math for Elementary Teachers I

3

MATH 2375Math for Elementary Teachers II

3

EDSI 2374Physical Science for Elementary Teachers

3

EDSI 2375Earth and Space Science for Elementary Teachers

3

EDUC 2373Learning Theories

3

PEHP 2303Health and Physical Education for Elementary Teachers

3

EDUC 3330Social Studies Instruction

3

EDUC 2345Child Development and Play

3

Total Credit Hours:33

Literacy Minor

EDRD 3307Essentials of Literacy Instruction

3

EDRD 3327Developing the Fluent Reader

3

EDRD 3337Developing the Strategic Reader

3

EDRD 3347Differentiating Literacy Instruction

3

EDRD 3385Writing in Literacy-Rich Environments

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Special Education Sequence

EDUC 2315Survey of Students in Diverse and Inclusive Settings

3

EDUC 3343Teaching Students with Learning Differences

3

EDUC 3346Teaching Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

3

Total Credit Hours:9

Professional Development Sequence

Students must apply and obtain full acceptance to the Teacher Education Program to enroll in the professional development courses. Teacher Education Program acceptance is by cohort with each cohort beginning in the spring semester. See the Education Advisor or the Director of Teacher Education for Teacher Education Program requirements and application process information. Program admission requirements are subject to change in accordance with the Texas Education Agency requirements for teacher certification candidates.

EDUC 3340Instructional Technology

3

EDUC 3368Social Emotional Learning and Classroom Management

3

EDUC 3375Teaching Children in the Primary Grades

3

EDUC 3377Teaching Children in the Intermediate Grades

3

EDUC 3379Instruction and Assessment

3

EDUC 3385Culturally Responsive Teaching

3

EDUC 4305Clinical Teaching Seminar

3

EDUC 4905Clinical Teaching

9

Total Credit Hours:30

Total Credit Hours: 130