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 the Texas teaching certification in Early Childhood through 6th Grade. 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 to 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 or Teaching Residency 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 January 2026) application requirements include:
- 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 the 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. If courses are repeated at the same institution, only the highest grade earned will be included in the GPA calculation (in accordance 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 grade below the required standard is earned, the course must be repeated.
- A copy of a current degree plan (from Degree Works) will be provided by the applicant for review by the DSE Certification Officer.
- Verification of basic skill proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics. This requirement may be met with coursework or test scores. Options are available from the Teacher Education Program.
- 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.
- A signed DSE Texas Educator's Code of Ethics Statement of Affirmation form must be submitted with the application packet, acknowledging that the applicant is informed of and consents to the professional expectations for Texas educators.
- Applicants will participate in a group interview to assess effective and professional oral communication skills.
- 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 included as part of the application 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 if a requirement is missing but work is in progress. The Dreeben School of Education Office will not make any announcements regarding the status of any applicant until those letters are sent.
Bachelor of Arts in Education—Elementary Degree Plan
The Bachelor of Arts in Education—Elementary degree program requires 121 credit hours to complete.
Total hours in UIW Core Curriculum: 43
Total hours in the Education—Elementary Major: 51
Total hours in Professional Development coursework: 27
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 |
| 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 |
Students in Education-Elementary take EDUC 3385: Culturally Responsive Teaching as their Social Science requirement.
Education-Elementary Major 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 |
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 |
Special Education Sequence
| EDUC 3343 | Teaching Students with Learning Differences | 3 |
| EDUC 3346 | Teaching Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 9 |
Total Credit Hours: 130