Elementary & Secondary Education

Career potential

Public and private schools throughout Texas look to UNT for excellent teachers, especially in the areas of bilingual education, English as a second language (ESL), special education, mathematics and science.

The University of North Texas' College of Education has one of the finest educator preparation programs in the Southwest and is nationally recognized by the Association of Teacher Educators. The UNT programs in teacher education are accredited by the state of Texas and by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education [2010 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20036, telephone 202-466-7496].

Most states require teacher candidates to pass certification examinations before granting teaching credentials. In Texas, these tests are called the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES).

UNT's Career Center can help you prepare to pursue your career. The center has information about jobs and employers, and the staff can help you with resume and letter writing, job search strategies and interview preparation.

Majoring in interdisciplinary studies

Early childhood-4th grade or 4th-8th grade certification

The successful completion of the bachelor of science degree with a major in interdisciplinary studies will prepare you to become certified to teach in Texas schools at grades early childhood-4th (EC-4) or 4th-8th. It will also provide eligibility to apply for teaching credentials in other states. (By 2009, EC-4 certification will change to EC-6 certification.)

As a teacher, you will be vital in the development of the whole child, as you will affect emotional, social and academic growth. Teachers spend their days working with students from diverse backgrounds, often working in classrooms where several languages are represented, students with disabilities are included and stringent accountability measures are in place.

The EC-4 and 4-8 degree programs will prepare you for this rewarding but demanding workplace. You will gain understanding of how children learn, techniques of classroom organization and management, instructional strategies, assessment tools, strategies for effective teaching and learning, and collaborative skills for working with teaching teams to assure optimal student learning.

UNT's EC-4 and 4-8 programs in teacher education will require you to commit to a full year of professional courses and field experiences in the Professional Development School (PDS) program. This intense preparation assures that teacher candidates are well prepared for the challenges of the first few years of teaching. Many district administrators report that UNT teacher education graduates are as prepared in their first year of teaching as second- or third-year teachers. School districts are highly interested in hiring UNT graduates based on the excellent reputation of our candidates and the evidence that our candidates tend to remain in the profession longer than those who have not gone through a PDS program.

All UNT candidates are especially prepared for technology in teaching, ESL and special education strategies, infusion of the arts in the regular curriculum and addressing the needs of all learners.

In addition, you may choose to complete the requirements for certification in special education, bilingual education or ESL.

After you have completed the 47 credit hours in UNT's core curriculum, courses will focus on the academic major and teaching/pedagogy portions of the degree. In addition to the core curriculum, each program will require courses in a field of study to be completed before beginning courses in the academic major. The academic major for EC-4 includes courses in early childhood, mathematics, science, social studies and reading/English/language arts. The 4-8 academic major includes courses in mathematics, science, social studies and reading/English/language arts. Both programs will require an additional course in technology and one in fine/performing arts. These programs also will include courses in ESL strategies and inclusion strategies.

Grades 8-12 [secondary] education certification

To qualify for 8-12 certification in Texas, you must major in an academic subject area and complete certification course work in secondary education. Prospective high school English teachers, for example, major in English language arts through the College of Arts and Sciences and take education courses in the College of Education.

At the beginning of your freshman year or before transferring to UNT, you should check with the appropriate academic department for specific degree requirements. We also recommend that you seek advising for teacher certification through the College of Education's Student Advising Office in Matthews Hall, Room 105.

All-level certification in art, music and kinesiology

You may choose to work toward early childhood-12th grade certification in fields such as art, music and kinesiology. At the beginning of your freshman year or before transferring to UNT, you should check with the appropriate academic department for specific degree requirements. We also recommend that you seek advising for teacher certification through the college's Student Advising Office in Matthews Hall, Room 105.

Getting hands-on experience

In addition to the EC-4 and 4-8 Professional Development School (PDS) programs, other program areas such as art education, music education, kinesiology and secondary education in teacher education will engage you in extensive field experiences. These field-based programs will offer you immediate application of textbook learning, as you work directly with mentor teachers in area school district classrooms. For example, in the EC-4 and 4-8 programs, during the first semester of the PDS year students take UNT classes two days a week and spend two days a week with a mentor in an area school district classroom. Often, the teacher candidate then returns to the same campus and sometimes to the same mentors for a full second semester, which is the traditional student teaching semester. These internships reflect contemporary school practices, innovative uses of technology and methods of teaching diverse students. All sites are collaborative partnerships between the school district and UNT, with a goal of school improvement through effective preparation of teachers under the guidance of experienced mentors.

Preparing for UNT

If you are a high school student, we suggest you prepare for college by becoming computer proficient and taking:

• English … 4 years
• Math … 4 years
• Social science - economics, geography, government, history … 4 years
• Science … 3 years
• Foreign language … 3 years
• Fine arts … 1 year

You will need to take courses in most of these subjects under the university core curriculum required of all undergraduates, in addition to your major courses. Talk with your high school counselor about preparing for college, including the entrance exams (SAT Reasoning Test or ACT) that you should take during your junior year.

As a benefit for transfer students, UNT participates in the Texas Common Course Numbering System. This system makes it easier to transfer credits for general academic courses from one Texas institution to another.

If you're attending a Texas community college, you should consult the UNT Transfer Guide, the UNT Undergraduate Catalog and an academic counselor/advisor to discuss your degree plan. Proper planning will help you receive the maximum amount of transfer credits.

You are encouraged to seek advising and develop a degree plan early with help from the College of Education's Student Advising Office. Before admission to the Teacher Education Program, you must have at least a 2.75 GPA and passing scores on the TASP/THEA (minimum of 240 on the reading test) or comparable scores on the TAAS, TAKS, ACT or SAT. By the second semester of the sophomore year, you should apply for admission to teacher education in the student advising office. Transfer students should bring copies of transcripts from all colleges or universities attended. Transfer information is at www.coe.unt.edu/sao or the student advising office, Matthews Hall, Room 105.

Charting your path with academic advising

Upon completion of all program requirements, you will sit for the state certification examinations. UNT must approve you for taking these state tests. When you have passing scores on all required state tests and have met all program requirements, UNT recommends you for certification. The TExES and certification procedures are under the auspices of the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). You can access the SBEC web site at www.sbec.state.tx.us for information about certification and the test standards and frameworks. More information about testing and test dates is available at www.coe.unt.edu/texes.

UNT also offers teacher certification programs if you already have a bachelor's degree. For more information, visit www.coe.unt.edu/tea.

Curious about courses and other features of this major?
See the current catalog.