Degrees and Programs
General Requirements
- All College of Education students seeking teacher certification must complete the entire Professional Development Sequence of coursework in residence. Residence credit includes only courses taken at the University; it does not include credit by examination, courses taken by extension or correspondence, or courses taken at another institution.
- Students seeking teacher certification must adhere to current state requirements, even if they differ from the degree requirements described in this catalog.
- Except as otherwise indicated, credit by examination is treated like any other earned credit in meeting degree requirements.
- With the exception of credit earned by examination, each course counted toward the degree or toward certification requirements must be taken on the letter-grade basis, unless the course is offered only on the pass/fail basis.
- To graduate, all students must have a University grade point average of at least 2.00.
Applicability of Certain Courses
Physical Activity Courses
Physical activity (PED) courses are offered by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. Up to three semester hours of physical activity coursework may be counted as electives toward any College of Education degree. All physical activity courses are counted among courses for which the student is enrolled, and the grades are included in the grade point average.
ROTC Courses
A maximum of 12 semester hours of credit in air force science, military science, or naval science may be used as free electives in any degree plan of the College of Education.
Concurrent Enrollment and University Extension Courses
In the semester they plan to graduate, students may not take any course to be counted toward the degree at another institution or through University Extension; students who plan to graduate at the end of the summer session may request approval to take transfer work only in the first summer term.
Teacher Certification
Middle Grades, Secondary, and All-Level Teacher Certification
All middle grades (grades four through eight), secondary (grades eight through twelve), and all-level (prekindergarten through grade twelve) teacher certification programs are based on degrees with academic majors in the student’s chosen teaching field. Certification requirements for students seeking middle grades, secondary, and all-level teacher certification include all the courses required for the student’s major in the College of Education, Fine Arts, Liberal Arts, Natural Sciences, or the Jackson School of Geosciences, as well as the preprofessional and professional education courses.
UTeach-Urban Teachers (UTUT) is a teacher preparation program for students interested in secondary teacher certification in English or social studies. UTUT offers a three-semester program for undergraduate students, beginning the summer before their senior year, for students working towards a bachelor’s degree in English, history, geography, government, economics, or other humanities disciplines. UTUT also offers a Masters of Education degree program with teacher certification for students who are interested in being certified to teach while pursuing a masters. These programs are designed to help English and social studies teacher candidates develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support teaching and learning in linguistically and culturally diverse urban settings. Program advising is housed in the College of Education. Information is available at http://www.edb.utexas.edu/education/departments/ci/utut/ and from the College of Education advising offices.
Students pursuing middle grades or secondary teacher certification in mathematics, computer science, science, or engineering must follow the curriculum prescribed by the UTeach-Natural Sciences program, a collaborative partnership between the College of Education and the College of Natural Sciences. Program advising is housed in the College of Natural Sciences.
UTeach-Liberal Arts is a teacher preparation program for undergraduate liberal arts students pursuing a degree in Arabic, Chinese, economics, English, French, history, geography, German, government, Japanese, Latin, Russian, or Spanish. Students may seek certification to teach middle or high school grades. Program advising is housed in the College of Liberal Arts. Information is available at http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/uteach/ .
Program advising for students seeking all-level certification in art, music, and theatre arts is provided in the College of Fine Arts. Information is available at http://www.utexas.edu/finearts/students .
Certification Requirements
Information about legal requirements for certification to teach is available from the teacher certification officer, George I. Sánchez Building 216, or from the Texas Education Agency. Application for the certificate should be made at the Certification Office, George I. Sánchez Building 216. State of Texas teacher certification requirements are governed by the Texas Education Agency and are subject to change. Students must adhere to current certification requirements, even if they differ from those listed in a University catalog.
In accordance with state law, the commissioner of education may suspend or revoke a teaching certificate or refuse to issue a teaching certificate for a person who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor for a crime that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the teaching profession.
Students who have completed all necessary academic requirements for certification must also achieve a passing level of performance on the required state certification examinations. In addition, students seeking bilingual education certification or certification to teach French or Spanish in elementary or secondary school must earn a passing score at the advanced level on the appropriate language test.
Minimum Scholastic Requirements
In addition to meeting the minimum coursework and scholastic requirements for the degree, students seeking middle grades, secondary, and all-level certification must meet other requirements to take the prescribed work in professional development. Admission to the Professional Development Sequence is restricted; information about admission requirements is available in the Office of the Dean, George I. Sánchez Building 216.
Teaching Fields
All candidates for middle grades, secondary, and all-level teaching certificates must earn a degree in their primary teaching field by meeting all of the requirements for the appropriate major. While completing these requirements, the certification student must take a core set of courses in the major that fulfill certification requirements. This certification core includes at least 24 semester hours in a single teaching field or 48 semester hours in a composite teaching field, and incorporates the state-specified essential knowledge and skills needed for successful teaching in the field. Often, the student’s major department requires more than these 24 semester hours, but the certification core in the major field must be taken.
Students seeking middle grades certification may choose from the following teaching fields: English language arts and reading, social studies, mathematics, and science. Students seeking secondary certification may choose from the following teaching fields: science, social studies, computer science, English language arts and reading, history, and mathematics. Students seeking all-level teacher certification may choose from the following teaching fields: art, physical education, languages other than English (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Russian, or Spanish), music, special education, and theatre arts.