Social Sciences: Teacher Education Specialization, A.S.

CIP Code: 45.0101

NOVA Code: 8822

Offered through AL, AN, LO, MA, NOL, WO

Purpose: This curriculum prepares students to transfer to a four-year college or university teacher preparation program. It is specifically designed for students who plan to seek endorsement and licensure as teachers in PK-3, PK-6, middle school, or special education.

This degree program is designed to help students earn all of the required endorsement course hours for a teaching license in elementary education for the state of Virginia. In addition, this degree program includes many of the required endorsement courses for licensure in middle school (any subject) and high school history and social sciences. Some of these universities will guarantee admission to graduates of this program who have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5, earn at least a “C” in all English courses. Students are strongly encouraged to take the VCLA exam shortly after completing their 200-level English course. Students may want to take the Praxis CORE math exam after completing 9-12 hours of mathematics. The student, working directly with a NOVA Teacher Education Specialization advisor/counselor, should complete a transfer letter of agreement.

Two Years

1st Semester

ENG 111 - College Composition I (3 CR.)
EDU 207 - Human Growth and Development (3 CR.) OR
PSY 230 - Developmental Psychology (3 CR.)
MTH 154 - Quantitative Reasoning (3 CR.) ¹ OR
MTH 161 - PreCalculus I (3 CR.) OR Higher
___ ___ - Physical or Life Science Elective w/Lab (4 CR.) ²
SDV 101 - Orientation to Teaching (1 CR.) OR
SDV 100 - College Success Skills (1 CR.)

Total 14 credits

2nd Semester

ENG 112 - College Composition II (3 CR.)
HIS 121 - United States History I (3 CR.)
EDU 280 - Technology Standards for Teachers (3 CR.) OR ³
ITE 115 - Intro. to Computer Applications and Concepts (3 CR.) OR
ITE 119 - Information Literacy (3 CR.)
MTH 245 - Statistics I (3 CR.) ¹ or higher
___ ___ - Physical or Life Science Elective w/Lab (4 CR.) ²

Total 16 credits

3rd Semester

CST ___ - Elective (3 CR.) ⁴
EDU 200 - Introduction to Teaching as a Profession (3 CR.)
ENG 2__ - Literature Elective (3 CR.) ⁵
GEO 210 - People and the Land: An Introduction to Cultural Geography (3 CR.) OR
GEO 220 - World Regional Geography (3 CR.)
HIS 122 - United States History II (3 CR.)

Total 15 credits

4th Semester

EDU 254 - Teaching Basic Academic Skills to Exceptional Children (3 CR.)
HIS 101 - History of Western Civilization I (3 CR.) OR
HIS 102 - History of Western Civilization II (3 CR.)
___ ___ - Humanities/Fine Arts Elective (3 CR.) ⁶
___ ___ - Open Elective (3 CR.) ⁷
PLS 135 - U.S. Government and Politics (3 CR.) OR
PLS 136 - State and Local Government and Politics (3 CR.)

Total 15 credits

Total credits for the A.S. Degree in Social Sciences with a Specialization in Teacher Education: 60 credits

1 MTH 154 or MTH 161 are preferred to meet the algebra requirement for elementary licensure in Virginia. Students should make choices after consulting with the Teacher Education Specialization academic advisor/counselor on the specific requirements at the four-year Virginia institution to which they plan to transfer. Credit will not be awarded for both MTH 261 and MTH 263 . Credit will not be awarded for both MTH 262 and MTH 264 .

2 Choose from BIO 101 , ENV 121 , GOL 105 , GOL 106 , CHM 101 , PHY 101 , or PHY 150 . The second science should be a different discipline than the first.

³For EDU 280 please contact the instructor for permission to register.

⁴Select from the following: CST 100 , CST 110 , CST 126 , or CST 229 .

⁵200-Level Literature Elective may be chosen from; ENG 241 , ENG 242 , ENG 243 , ENG 244 , ENG 250 , ENG 251 , or ENG 252 .

⁶The humanities/fine arts elective may be chosen from; ART 101 , ART 102 , ART 105 , MUS 121 , REL 231 , REL 232 , PHI 101 , PHI 102 , SPA 201 , SPA 202 , FRE 201 , or FRE 202 .

⁷Select the open elective based upon the requirements of the senior institution to which you plan to transfer. Please schedule a meeting with a Teacher Education Advisor. Examples of courses recommended by some institutions include world language, ENG 200 , MTH 161 , PSY 219 , EDU 270 , or EDU 280 .