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Degrees

General Requirements

1. As a prerequisite to student teaching, students seeking a secondary school teaching certificate must complete in residence at least six semester hours of upper-division coursework in each of two areas of specialization, or at least nine semester hours of upper-division coursework in a composite specialization. Student teaching must also be completed in residence. Those seeking elementary school certification must complete in residence at least twelve semester hours in the professional development sequence, including student teaching. Residence credit includes only courses taken at the University; it does not include credit by examination or courses taken by extension or correspondence.

2. Courses numbered in two departments, one of which is in the College of Education, may not be used to satisfy noneducation elective requirements for degree purposes.

3. Each degree program is arranged in the sequence best calculated to ensure orderly progress of the student's college work. Any student who registers for twelve semester hours or more in a long-session semester must include at least nine semester hours of coursework listed as basic education requirements for the degree being sought until each of these requirements has been fulfilled. At the dean's discretion, adjustments may be made when exceptional circumstances exist, or when a student has gained credit through examination, or when the student is enrolling for fewer than twelve semester hours of credit in a long-session semester.

4. Except as otherwise indicated, credit by examination is treated as any other earned credit in meeting degree requirements.

5. With the exception of credit earned by examination, each course counted toward the degree or toward certification requirements must be taken on the letter-grade basis, unless the course is offered only on the pass/fail basis. Credit earned by examination on the pass/fail basis may be counted toward degree and certification requirements.

6. The list of courses required for an area of specialization is informational. Each list as a whole defines the nature and distribution of the specialization; advisers, with the dean's approval, may substitute other courses serving equivalent purposes. Since course offerings are subject to change, the courses listed under an area of specialization may change with each issue of the catalog, but the total number of semester hours and the number of upper-division semester hours required for each specialization can be changed only by action of the General Faculty.

7. Courses used to fulfill basic education requirements may also be used in establishing an area of specialization, but the total number of semester hours required for the degree is unchanged. A single course may not be used to meet more than two separate degree requirements.

8. Each student in a teacher certification program must be tested for tuberculosis before beginning public school fieldwork and must demonstrate speech adequacy before being certified. Speech adequacy is assessed in the required professional education courses Curriculum and Instruction 331C and 332S. Students who demonstrate poor speaking skill in one of these courses must complete a performance course such as Speech 305 or Theatre and Dance 303.

9. To graduate, all students must have a University grade point average of at least 2.00. In addition, a secondary school certification student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.25 in courses applicable to the areas of specialization to qualify for teacher certification. To be considered for enrollment in student teaching, secondary school certification students must present a University grade point average of at least 2.50 and a grade point average of at least 2.50 in each area of specialization. Elementary school certification students must also present a University grade point average of at least 2.50 to enroll in student teaching. Each applicant for elementary or secondary certification is considered individually if he or she has a University grade point average between 2.50 and 3.00. Applicants with a University grade point average of 3.00 or higher are eligible for priority selection.

10. All University students seeking teacher certification, including those who have already earned degrees, must pass either the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) examination or an acceptable substitute examination before they begin professional development sequence coursework in education.

Applicability of Certain Courses

Physical Activity Courses

Physical activity (PED) courses are offered by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. While physical instruction is not a degree requirement in the College of Education, students are encouraged to take physical activity courses, particularly in activities that can be pursued throughout a lifetime. Three semester hours of physical activity coursework may be counted as electives toward any College of Education degree. All physical activity courses are counted among courses for which the student is enrolled, and the grades are included in the grade point average.

ROTC Courses

A maximum of nine semester hours of credit in air force science, military science, or naval science may be used as free electives in any degree plan of the College of Education.

Correspondence and Extension Courses

Credit that a University student in residence earns simultaneously by correspondence or extension from the University or elsewhere or in residence at another school will not be counted toward a degree in the College of Education unless specifically approved in advance by the dean. No more than 30 percent of the semester hours required for any degree offered in the College of Education may be taken by correspondence.

Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development

A total of at least 130 semester hours of credit, forty-two of which must be upper-division, is required for the degree.

The curriculum for the degree has three components: (a) the basic education requirements, sixty-one semester hours of coursework in arts and sciences; (b) a major course of study, with the number of specified hours varying with the major chosen; and (c) electives. Each major consists of areas of specialization in subject fields used in public schools or in educational or community service organizations, a professional development sequence of courses, and field experiences. Students may major in applied learning and development, which can lead to elementary certification with the opportunity for a specialization in reading or added certification in bilingual education; or in youth and community studies, which does not lead to teacher certification.

Basic Education Requirements

The basic education requirements below apply to both majors leading to the Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development.

Area A: English, Writing, Foreign Language

1. English: English 306, 316K, and three semester hours in another English course. In addition, three semester hours of literature for children is required; Library and Information Science 322T is acceptable.

2. Writing: In addition to English 306 and 316K, the student must complete six semester hours in courses certified as having a substantial writing component. These courses are identified in the Course Schedule. Three of these six semester hours, either in English or in another subject, must be at the upper-division level.

3. Foreign language: All beginning students entering the College of Education must have completed two years in a single foreign language in high school. In addition, students must demonstrate proficiency in a single foreign language equivalent to that shown by completion of the second college semester in the language; proficiency is usually shown by earning credit for language courses 506 and 507 or the equivalent. Students who enter the University with fewer than two high school units in a single foreign language must take the two college semesters in a language without degree credit to remove their language deficiency. Prospective Texas teachers are strongly encouraged to take Spanish to fulfill the language requirement.

   Although the foreign language requirement is the attainment of a certain proficiency, rather than the completion of a specified number of hours, the courses taken to gain this proficiency are not electives and may not be taken on the pass/fail basis. Any part of the requirement may be fulfilled by credit by examination.

   To achieve proficiency as rapidly as possible, qualified students are urged to take the intensive foreign language study program. Information about this program is available from the appropriate language department. Courses used to fulfill the foreign language requirement must be language courses; literature-in-translation courses, for example, may not be counted.

   College of Education students may substitute nine semester hours in specific multicultural courses for the foreign language requirement. This program is open only to students who have completed two years of a single foreign language in high school. Acceptable substitute courses are

   1. Applied Learning and Development 327.

   2. Three semester hours chosen from Applied Learning and Development 323, 324, 325, Anthropology 307, 325M, Curriculum and Instruction 371 (Topic 13: Applied Linguistics and Methods in English as a Second Language), and Linguistics 306.
   3. Three semester hours chosen from African and African American Studies 301, Anthropology 302, Mexican American Studies 310, 318, Sociology 309, 344, 347K, and other multicultural courses approved in the student dean's office, George I. Sánchez Building 216.

   Applied Learning and Development 324 and 325 may not be counted toward both the foreign language substitution and the prescribed work in applied learning and development.

Area B: Social Sciences

1. History 315K and 315L, or six semester hours in other United States history courses that fulfill the legislative requirement described in chapter 1.
2. Government 310L and 312L.
3. Geography 305.
4. Psychology 301.

Area C: Mathematics and Natural Sciences

1. Three semester hours chosen from Mathematics 303D, 305G, and 316. Coursework in calculus may be substituted for all or part of this three-semester-hour requirement.
2. Three semester hours in computer applications chosen from computer sciences, management information systems, and courses in computer literacy.
3. Six semester hours in one of the following: astronomy, biological sciences, chemistry, geological sciences, physical science, and physics.
4. Three additional semester hours in mathematics, computer applications, astronomy, biological sciences, chemistry, geological sciences, physical science, physics, experimental psychology, physical anthropology, physical geography, or history of science and philosophy of science.

At least one laboratory course must be taken as part of the science requirement.

Area D: General Culture

1. Three semester hours in art (including art history, design, studio art, visual art studies), music (including music, instruments, ensemble), or theatre and dance.
2. Three semester hours in architecture, courses offered by the College of Fine Arts, classics (including classical civilization, Greek, Latin), or philosophy (excluding courses in logic).
3. Documented evidence of proficiency in oral communication. For elementary certification students, proficiency is assessed in Curriculum and Instruction 331C. Students who lack speech proficiency must take three semester hours chosen from Speech 305, 319, Theatre and Dance 303, 303C, 326, 326C, and 326D.

It is recommended that teacher certification students meet requirements 1 and 2 with six semester hours chosen from Music 313, 354, Theatre and Dance 326, 326C, 326D, Visual Art Studies 221C, 121D, 222C, and 122D, since these courses cover the essential elements of knowledge in the fine arts needed by an elementary school teacher.

Major Requirements

Applied Learning and Development

Students who have completed a teaching certification major in applied learning and development may be entitled to teach grades one through eight after meeting additional state requirements. By following certain options within this program, students may also become qualified for a reading specialization or certification in bilingual education.

For the major in applied learning and development, students must complete the following prescribed work in areas of specialization, in applied learning and development, and in professional development in addition to the basic education requirements and electives.

1. Prescribed work in areas of specialization

   1. An academic specialization in one field of at least eighteen semester hours, nine of which must be upper-division, chosen from those listed under the heading "Elementary Academic Specializations" in this chapter.

   2. A curricular specialization consisting of Curriculum and Instruction 670E (Topic 19: Reading/Language Arts), Kinesiology 314 and 333, and Mathematics 316K and 316L.

2. Prescribed work in applied learning and development

   1. Three semester hours in human development chosen from Child Development 313, Educational Psychology 332, 363M (Topic 3: Adolescent Development), Psychology 304, 309, 333D, 339, and other approved courses.

   2. Three semester hours in cognition and learning chosen from Applied Learning and Development 320, 321, Psychology 333N, 355, and other approved courses.

   3. Three semester hours concerning individual differences in development and learning chosen from Applied Learning and Development 322,[1] Psychology 345, and other approved courses.

   4. Three semester hours in the development and learning of language chosen from Applied Learning and Development 324,[2] 325,[3] English 323L, 360K, 364M, Linguistics 323L, 360K, 364M, Psychology 333P, 337, 338K,[2] and other approved courses.

   5. Applied Learning and Development 327 or other approved courses.

   6. Applied Learning and Development 328.

3. Prescribed work in professional development. Admission to the professional development sequence is restricted to those who have met the requirements given in this chapter. The professional development courses are

   1. Methods courses: Curriculum and Instruction 370E (Topic 5: Mathematics), 370E (Topic 3: Science), and 370E (Topic 4: Social Studies).

   2. Curriculum and Instruction 331C (Topic 1: School Organization and Classroom Management in Elementary Schools).

   3. Curriculum and Instruction 667E or, for those with a student teaching emphasis in special education, Special Education 667.

   Students seeking bilingual education certification or an elementary reading specialization must take a special sequence of these student teaching courses with an appropriate emphasis. The bilingual sequence emphasizes the multicultural aspects of education; the reading specialization emphasizes the differentiation of reading instruction in accordance with learner needs.

Youth and Community Studies

Completion of a major in youth and community studies does not entitle the student to receive a teaching certificate. For this major the student must complete basic education requirements, prescribed work in areas of specialization, prescribed work in professional development, and electives.

1. Basic education requirements: At least sixty-one semester hours of coursework as described above, with the following modifications:
   1. A fourth course in English may be counted toward the Area A English requirement in place of the children's literature course.
   2. A course in economics or anthropology may be counted toward the Area B requirement in place of Geography 305. Students in the sport management program must substitute a course in economics for Geography 305.
   3. A course in sociology may be counted toward the Area B requirement in place of Psychology 301.
   4. Students in the sport management program must substitute Speech 305 or 319 for art, music, or theatre and dance in fulfilling the Area D requirement.
2. Prescribed work in areas of specialization: At least thirty-six semester hours, at least eighteen of which are upper-division, in a program designed to prepare students to work in educational or other service settings. Each program should be centered on a specific occupational goal. Programs must be approved by both the dean and the appropriate department chairman in the College of Education.
3. Prescribed work in professional development: Eighteen semester hours of upper-division coursework in education approved by the appropriate department chairman and the dean. Registration in the professional development sequence is restricted to those who have received approval for this major from the dean. Before beginning the professional development sequence, students must have a University grade point average of at least 2.00 and must have passed each section of the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) examination.

Sport Management

A program in sport management has been approved under the major in youth and community studies. The program includes twenty-seven semester hours of coursework in sport law, sport sociology, sport management, sport ethics, structure and organization of sport programs, and sport finance. Other requirements include eighteen semester hours, nine of which must be upper-division, in an approved minor; three semester hours of fieldwork; and six semester hours in a professional development internship. Further information about this program, including specific course requirements, is available in the Office of the Dean, George I. Sánchez Building 216.

Electives

Students usually include at least three semester hours of free elective coursework in their program. Additional electives may be needed to provide the total of 130 semester hours required for the Bachelor of Science in Applied Learning and Development.

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Undergraduate catalog

Contents  |  Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2  |  Chapter 3  |  Chapter 4
Chapter 5  |  Chapter 6  |  Chapter 7  |  Chapter 8  |  Chapter 9
Chapter 10  |  Chapter 11  |  Chapter 12  |  Chapter 13
Texas Common Course Numbering System (Appendix A)
Appendix B

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