Social Sciences Education Certificate

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The post-baccalaureate certificate program, offered through the College of Arts and Sciences, enables you to turn your undergraduate degree in Social Sciences into a rewarding career as a teacher on the secondary level. Social Science teachers guide their students through complex subject matter to help them understand their place in the world. Social Sciences aids students in supporting the public good by acting as informed and reasoned citizens in our culturally diverse world.

Outstanding Preparation

The sequence of course work is approved by the Illinois State Board of Education and leads to an initial high school licensure in Social Sciences. You can also obtain an endorsement for teaching in middle school. To be recommended for an Illinois State Board of Education teaching license, you must present evidence of having passed the Test of Academic Proficiency (formerly Basic Skills), Subject Matter Knowledge and Assessment of Professional Teaching examinations of the Illinois Certification Testing System. You must complete a student teaching requirement in Social Sciences and meet other requirements for certification through approved programs in the Licensure of Teachers and Other School Professionals section of the catalog.

Degree Requirements

Students must meet all university requirements for a license, and, in addition, students must complete the general education requirement for teacher licensure Initial High School License listed in the teacher education section of this catalog.

In addition, students must:

1. have a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.5 or higher;
2. earn a grade of “C” or better in all general education courses;
3. have a G.P.A. of 2.75 or higher for all general education courses, if applicable;
4. have a G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher in Social Science courses with a grade of “C” or better in each course;
5. have a G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher for EDUC-3440, EDCP-6101 and SPED-6101 with a grade of “C” or better in each course;
6. earn a grade of “B” or better in EDUC-2310, EDUC-4380, and upper level Social Sciences courses.
7. earn a grade of “B” or better in EDUC-4999 Student Teaching: Senior Capstone;
8. complete a minimum of 100 clock-hours of supervised pre-student teaching experiences;
9. provide evidence of successful completion of Illinois and U.S. Constitution examinations;
10. complete at least one three-hour course in nonwestern or third world cultures;
11. show evidence of having passed the Assessment of Professional Teaching;
12. meet any additional requirements listed in the Teacher Licensure section of this catalog; and
13. receive a positive recommendation from the Secondary Education Student Progress Committee.

Professional Education (35 Hours)

• The following courses can be taken at either the lower-division or upper-division level:

   

• EDUC - 2310 Foundations of Education (3)
• SPED - 2100 Survey of Students with Exceptionalities (3) / or
• SPED - 6101 Survey of Students with Exceptionalities (3)
• EDCP - 2101 Introduction to Educational Technology (3) / or
• EDCP - 6101 Introduction to Educational Technology (3)

•  

  The following courses must be taken at the upper-division level:

   

• EDUC - 3440 Educational Psychology II: Learning, Assessment and Classroom Management (3)
• EDUC - 4380 Methods of Teaching in Social Science I (3)
• EDUC - 4390 Methods of Teaching in Social Science II (3)
• EDUC - 6301 Secondary Microteaching 1 (1)
• EDUC - 6302 Secondary Microteaching 2 (1)
• SOSC - 4080 Social Sciences Special Topics (3)
• EDUC - 4999 Student Teaching: Senior Capstone (12)

Additional Requirements

Students may need to complete additional general education or Social Science courses if their undergraduate degree coursework did not meet the requirements of the approved Governors State University program for the endorsement in Social Science Education.

Minimum Total - 24 Hours at GSU