Elementary Teacher Education Major
Program Requirements
- Total units required: 48
Required Courses
This major prepares students to teach grades 1 through 6 and may be completed within a four-year undergraduate degree. In addition to the Teacher Education major, students must declare a major or minor in a closely related field of study.
- Students are required to complete the following education courses prior to the professional year:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Educ 313B | Education, Childhood, Adolescence, and Society | 3 |
| Educ 314 | Sociolinguistics, Literacies, Schools, and Communities | 3 |
| Educ 4052 | Educational Psychology: A Focus on Teaching and Learning | 3 |
| Educ 4053 | Early Field Experience | 1 |
| Educ 408 | Education and Psychology of Exceptional Children | 3 |
| Educ 466 | Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers | 3 |
| Educ 4681 | Teaching Reading in the Elementary School | 3 |
| Total Units | 19 | |
- Students must enroll in the methods block during the spring of their junior year:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Educ 4731 | Elementary School Mathematics | 3 |
| Educ 4741 | Elementary Science: Content, Curriculum, and Instruction | 2 |
| Educ 470 | Language, Learning, and Instruction | 3 |
| Educ 4751 | Elementary Social Studies: Content, Curriculum, and Instruction | 2 |
| Educ 4771 | Arts and Aesthetics: A Means of Communication | 3 |
| Educ 4841 | Elementary Methods Field Experience | 2 |
| Total Units | 15 | |
- Students must enroll in the elementary school teaching block during the fall of their senior year:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Educ 4831 | The Teaching-Learning Process in the Elementary School | 3 |
| Educ 4911 | Student Teaching in the Elementary School | 8 |
| Educ 525 | Diagnosis and Correction of Reading Disabilities | 3 |
Additional Requirements for Teacher Education Majors
- Students interested in a major in Elementary, Middle School, or Secondary Teacher Education should seek admission to the teacher preparation program early in their sophomore year by contacting the Director of Teacher Education. To be eligible for admission students must:
- Achieve a passing score on an entrance exam mandated by the State of Missouri OR prove adequate content knowledge through ACT or SAT scores
- Hold a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the content area
- Upon completion of the program, a satisfactory records check, and the recommendation of the Washington University Department of Education, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will issue a teaching certificate if the student has met the following criteria:
- Achieved a passing score on the required Missouri certification exam(s)
- Maintained a minimum content area GPA of 3.0
- Earned a grade of B or higher in required fieldwork or Education course work
Additional Information
Honors Program
Honors in the Department of Education involves both the demonstration of acquired knowledge and a report on an original research project. Students in either major in the department — Educational Studies or Teacher Education — may pursue honors. The appropriateness of honors work in education for a given student is determined by reference to both GPA and faculty recommendation. Students may be eligible for either the College of Arts & Sciences' Latin Honors Program or departmental honors from the Department of Education. Students interested in Latin Honors work should speak with either the Director of Educational Studies or Director of Teacher Education about eligibility and requirements as early as sophomore year or, ideally, during the junior year.
Transfer Credit
- All courses for the major in Educational Studies or the majors in Teacher Education should be taken after the student has declared the major as a student at Washington University. Exceptions, up to 6 transfer credits, may be granted on an individual basis.
Study Abroad
Educational Studies Majors and Minors
- Courses taken abroad for the Educational Studies major or minor must be equivalent to 300-level or 400-level courses at Washington University.
- Students may transfer up to 6 credits earned abroad with the approval of the Department of Education Study Abroad Advisor.
- Courses taken abroad do not necessarily serve as substitutes for specific Educational Studies courses. Rather, courses are reviewed holistically to determine if they address the Individual Processes of Education and/or Social Context of Education (two areas of study for the Educational Studies major and minor). Any study abroad course determined to address the Individual Processes of Education and/or Social Context of Education can also count for an elective.
- Study Abroad courses cannot count for a discipline-based requirement.
Teacher Education Majors
- Teacher Education students have found studying abroad to be very helpful to their educational experiences and may do so during their sophomore or junior year. To ensure that students are in residence at Washington University during their professional year (senior fall and spring for secondary candidates and junior spring and senior fall for elementary candidates) when they must take coursework required by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, it is very important to plan the study abroad semester in consultation with the Director of Teacher Education. As a result, many Teacher Education students consider taking courses for their other major or minor during study abroad so that certification coursework is completed while on campus.
- Teacher Education students who are interested in studying abroad may transfer up to 6 credits of education foundations coursework from one of the preapproved sites listed below.
Preapproved Study Abroad Sites
There are six preapproved sites for semester-long study abroad in Educational Studies and Teacher Education:
- Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) Copenhagen — Child Development and Diversity Program in Copenhagen, Denmark
- IES Abroad Amsterdam Semester Program in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Trinity College Dublin with IES Abroad in Dublin, Ireland
- University of Auckland with IES Abroad in Auckland, New Zealand
- WU in Chile at Pontifcia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC) (Note: This program has a Spanish language prerequisite.)
- University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia
There are also two pre-approved sites for summer study abroad in Educational Studies and Teacher Education:
- Summer in Scandinavia Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) Program in Copenhagen, Denmark, or Stockholm, Sweden
- The School for International Training (SIT) Study Abroad Africa: Education and Social Change in Durban, South Africa
Title II
Section 207 of Title II of the Higher Education Act mandates that Washington University's Teacher Education programs (or the Department of Education) make public specific Teacher Education performance data on the Department of Education website.
Contact Info
| Contact: | Alyssa McDonald |
| Phone: | 314-935-6791 |
| Email: | alyssa.mcdonald@wustl.edu |
| Website: | http://education.wustl.edu |