Secondary Education for BA, BS (Secondary Teacher Certification) Minor

UNT is authorized to recommend secondary and all-level teacher certification for students who have completed a baccalaureate degree in the following content areas:

Secondary Content Areas: chemistry; dance; English language arts and reading; family and consumer sciences; history; hospitality, nutrition and food sciences; human development and family studies; journalism; life science; mathematics; physical sciences; physics/mathematics; science; social studies; and speech.
All-Level Content Areas: art, French, German, music, physical education, Spanish and theatre.

Although teacher certification programs share many commonalities, each certificate has unique requirements. What applies to one certificate or grade level is not necessarily applicable to another. Also, additions, deletions and revisions to existing teacher standards, content areas and certificate levels continue to be made by the State Board for Educator Certification. Many certificates previously available have been or are scheduled to be replaced or deleted. Although overlap provisions exist for some certificates, they are not broadly applicable to all content areas. Special conditions apply to students pursuing certification within the student services content area, vocational education, or educational administration; to those who already are licensed to teach in Texas; and to teachers seeking transfer of their certification from another state or country. Therefore, it is impractical to list requirements for individual content areas in this catalog.

Students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Student Advising Office, Matthews Hall, Room 105, or check online at www.coe.unt.edu/sao for the current information regarding specific certificate requirements and any pending changes. The SAO sees students by appointment only, except during the regular registration period each term/semester when they accept drop-in visitors. Appointment times fill quickly and students are encouraged to schedule at least two weeks in advance to ensure availability of an advisor.

Degree Requirements

Hours Required and General/College Requirements:

A minimum of 120 semester hours, of which 42 hours must be advanced, and fulfillment of degree requirements for the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree as specified in the “General University Requirements ” in the Academics section of this catalog and the College of Education requirements. Students seeking teacher certification in secondary or all-level education must also meet all requirements of the college responsible for awarding the degree program for their selected major.

Major Requirements:

See individual degree audit.

Other Course Requirements:

See individual degree audit.

Minor Requirements:

Pedagogy (12 hours):

Reading/English/Language Arts (3 hours):

EDSE 4060 - Content Area Reading in Secondary Schools

Internship (Student Teaching) (6 hours):

See “Student Teaching ” in the College of Education general information section of this catalog.

Electives:

See individual degree audit.

Other Requirements:

Admission to Teacher Education: Prior to enrolling in the first education course, students must have:
- Completed a minimum of 60 semester hours, including the University Core Curriculum. (See “General University Requirements” in the Academics section of this catalog.) Programs in teacher education require specific courses contained in parts of the University Core Curriculum to satisfy particular degree requirements. Students should consult program advisors for best choices in the core;
- A 2.75 UNT GPA;
- A 2.75 overall GPA (includes all courses transferred to UNT, plus all courses taken at UNT);
- Passed the THEA test (with scores of 240 reading, 230 math and 220 writing; contact the Student Advising Office in Matthews Hall, Room 105, for further information on the THEA requirement); and
- Formally applied and been admitted to Teacher Education through the College of Education Student Advising Office in Matthews Hall, Room 105. For specific admission requirements for each area, see “Admission to Teacher Education” in the following areas in this catalog: Elementary Education and Secondary Education and Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation.
Eligibility for Teacher Certification and Endorsements: Teacher certification is a function of the State Board for Educator Certification. Completion of the bachelor’s degree and the required education courses does not necessarily result in certification by the agency. In order to receive recommendation for teacher certification through the University of North Texas, students must have:
- Successfully completed an approved teacher education program for the preparation of early childhood, middle grades, secondary or all-level teachers;
- Successfully completed student teaching, including attendance at appropriate seminars;
- Passed the Secondary Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) and content area sections of the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES), as applicable. Additional certifications may require satisfactory scores on portions related to those areas.

Access to Texas teacher licensure testing (TExES bar codes) is available only to those students who have successfully completed an initial teacher certification program or who are passing their final education courses and have passed the departmental competency exams. Some content areas also require that the competency exam be passed as part of the requirements for a passing grade in specific courses. (Students should consult the Courses of Instruction section of this catalog for identification of those courses.)

The TExES is offered at least once each long term/semester and once in the summer. Contact the TExES Advising Office in Matthews Hall, Room 103, for further information (940-369-8601).