Hours required and general/college requirements

A minimum of 120 semester hours, of which 42 must be 3000 or 4000 level courses, and fulfillment of degree requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree as specified in the University Core Curriculum  in the Academic policies  section of this catalog and the College of Education degree requirements .

The department recommends specific courses (best choices) in some categories. Students may elect to take other courses listed under the University Core Curriculum  to fulfill these requirements; however, doing so may add hours to the degree.

Students should consult with their advisors to determine how best to meet the core requirements.

Degree requirements include the following:

Major requirements

Minor requirements

There is no minor for this degree.

Electives outside the College of Education

Students take 9 hours of electives outside the College of Education. Students should talk to their advisor about which courses work well with their areas of interest, specialization areas and/or certification path. SPAN 3080  is required as one of these “outside” courses for students seeking certification as a bilingual teacher. 

Free choice electives

Students can take between 3 and 9 hours of free electives. The following applies to the various certifications:

• Students who are seeking EC-6 with ESL certification can take 9 hours of free electives;
• Students who are seeking bilingual certification can take 6 hours of free electives;
• Students who are seeking certification as special education teachers can take 3 hours of electives.

These free electives can come from within the Department of Teacher Education & Administration, the College of Education, or any other college at UNT.

Other requirements

Admission to elementary teacher education

For admission to elementary teacher education, a student must have: 

1. Completed a minimum of 60 semester hours;  

2. 2.75 UNT GPA;  

3. 2.75 overall GPA (includes all transferred and UNT courses); 

4. Appropriate exam scores on either the ACT or SAT, or TSI Complete; (contact the Student Advising Office in Matthews Hall, Room 105, for further information on the exam requirement); and

5. Receive a score of “Accepted” on the Admissions Interview Questionnaire.  

Contact the College of Education Student Advising Office, 940-565-2736; Matthews Hall, Room 105; or https://coe.unt.edu/student-advising for details on the application process. See the College of Education’s calendar for application deadlines.  

Students seeking EC–6 teacher certification must also earn grades of C or above in all required courses on their degree audit. 

Admission to Clinical Practice 

In order to be accepted into Clinical Practice, students must,  

1. Apply to Clinical Practice during Block A but before Block B (see College of Education calendar for application deadlines). Clinical Practice Application periods are posted on the Clinical Practice Office (calendar: https://coe.unt.edu/educator-preparation-office/clinical);  

2. Have completed all TX General Core courses with no grade lower than a C;  

3. Have at least a 2.75 GPA in the academic major and for overall UNT GPA, with no grade lower than a C in the academic major;  

4. Have at least an average of 2.75 GPA in core, academic major, teaching field courses and pedagogy (education) courses;  

5. Have a grade of at least a C in all courses required for graduation;  

6. Except for Block A courses, have all required courses completed (except for those in Blocks B and C);  

7. Submit a Statement of Qualification Form prior. Forms are available here: https://coe.unt.edu/educator-preparation-office/clinical. This form must be approved by your academic advisor prior to submission; and 

8. Have completed a UNT-sponsored TExES Certification Practice Exams for all certification areas relevant to the degree plan. Practice exams are scheduled by the TExES Success Office. Information about the practice exams is located at https://coe.unt.edu/educator-preparation-office/texes.  

Contact the Educator Preparation Office, Matthews Hall, Room 119; 940-369-8411; or https://coe.unt.edu/educator-preparation-office for additional information. 

Admission to secondary or all-level teacher education 

For admission to secondary or all-level teacher education, a student must have: 

1. Junior standing (60 credit hours earned); 

2. 2.75 UNT GPA; 

3. 2.75 overall GPA (includes all transferred and UNT courses); 

4. Appropriate exam scores on either the ACT, SAT or Praxis Core: Academic Skills for Educators; (contact the Student Advising Office in Matthews Hall, Room 105, for further information on the exam requirement); 

5. A rating of “Accepted” on the online Admission Interview Questionnaire (for all students except all-level art and music); 

6. Active enrollment at UNT and an official degree audit on file in the College of Education Student Advising Office; and 

7. A completed application for admission to Teacher Education submitted to the College of Education Student Advising Office once all requirements are complete. 

Students must be admitted to teacher education before enrolling in most education classes. In addition, students must maintain a 2.75 GPA in various sub-areas of their degree audit (i.e., teaching field and education/pedagogy courses) in order to proceed with early field experience and student teaching. 

Contact the College of Education Student Advising Office, 940-565-2736; Matthews Hall, Room 105; or www.coe.unt.edu/sao for additional information. 

Eligibility for recommendation for Teacher Certification  

Teacher certification is granted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), not UNT. As an approved State of Texas Educator Preparation Program, UNT can only recommend students for certification. Completion of the bachelor’s degree and the required education courses does not necessarily result in certification by TEA. In order to be recommended 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, secondary or all-level teachers; 

• Successfully completed clinical teaching, including attendance at required seminars; and  

• Passed the TExES EC-12 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) and all required content and supplemental certification exams of the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES), as applicable.  

Access to register for Texas teacher certification exams (TExES) is only granted to students who have been formally admitted to the Teacher Education program at UNT. Teacher candidates (who have been admitted to TEd) must take UNT-sponsored TExES practice exams prior to the start of Block B courses. Practice exams are free of charge.  

The TExES Practice exams are offered four times in each long semester and twice during the summer.  

Contact the TExES Success Office In Matthews Hall 119 at 940-369-8601 or COE_TSO@unt.edu for information about registering for your practice TExES Exams, TEAL account setup and for information and study resources for your actual certification exams. 

Four-year degree plan (example)

The following four-year plan is one example of a variety of ways in which you can complete your chosen degree in four years, and will serve as a guide for you to design your pathway to degree completion. Variations will depend on whether you need to take prerequisites or have college credit from exams or dual enrollment.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4