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:
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A current transcript (dated within three months of the TEP application) from each college or university attended verifying that:
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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).
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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).
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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.
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A copy of a current degree plan reviewed by the DSE Certification Officer.
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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.
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Verification that EDUC 2305 Foundations of Education has been successfully completed or is in progress.
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Submission of two separate written faculty recommendations. Forms are provided in application packet. Whenever possible, a minimum of one recommendation should be completed by a faculty member from the applicant's major.
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.
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Applicants will participate in a group interview to assess effective and professional oral communication skills.
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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 1311 | Composition I | 3 |
| ENGL 1312 | Composition II | 3 |
| ENGL 2310 | World Literature Studies | 3 |
| ENGL 3321 | Approaching Fiction | 3 |
| PHIL 1381 | Introduction 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 1321 | The United States to 1865 | 3 |
| POLS 1315 | American Politics | 3 |
| BIOL 1401 | Diversity of Life and Laboratory | 4 |
| MATH | MATH 1304 or higher-level MATH course | 3 |
| DWHP 1200 | Dimensions of Wellness | 2 |
| PEHP 11XX | Physical Education Activity Course (1 hour) | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 43 |
Pre-Professional Coursework
Literacy Minor
| EDRD 3307 | Essentials of Literacy Instruction | 3 |
| EDRD 3327 | Developing the Fluent Reader | 3 |
| EDRD 3337 | Developing the Strategic Reader | 3 |
| EDRD 3347 | Differentiating Literacy Instruction | 3 |
| EDRD 3385 | Writing in Literacy-Rich Environments | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Special Education Sequence
| EDUC 2315 | Survey of Students in Diverse and Inclusive Settings | 3 |
| EDUC 3343 | Teaching Students with Learning Differences | 3 |
| EDUC 3346 | Teaching 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 3340 | Instructional Technology | 3 |
| EDUC 3368 | Social Emotional Learning and Classroom Management | 3 |
| EDUC 3375 | Teaching Children in the Primary Grades | 3 |
| EDUC 3377 | Teaching Children in the Intermediate Grades | 3 |
| EDUC 3379 | Instruction and Assessment | 3 |
| EDUC 3385 | Culturally Responsive Teaching | 3 |
| EDUC 4305 | Clinical Teaching Seminar | 3 |
| EDUC 4905 | Clinical Teaching | 9 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 30 |
Total Credit Hours: 130