Penn State College of Education Department of Curriculum & Instruction Graduate Degree Info

Programs

Qualifying Science
Major with Teacher Certification

Thank you for your interest in science teacher education at Penn State. The following documents describe our programs for science certification. There are options for students majoring in scientific disciplines as well as Secondary Education (SECED), and the requirements can be completed while pursuing a master's degree in Curriculum & Instruction or a scientific field. The subject-matter requirements for SECED majors were changed in 2003-04 to provide greater flexibility and depth.

The following common certification requirements were proposed to the Pennsylvania Department of Education in March, 2002, and have been approved for all degrees and options:

Degree-Specific Notes

If you are seeking certification as an undergraduate SECED major (in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction), complete the course requirements described on the yellow curriculum checksheet that you received when you were admitted to the SECED major (and in PSU's Degree Audit system). If you completed the Entrance to Major process before 2004 and are having difficulty scheduling all of your degree program requirements (for Biology, Chemistry, Earth & Space Science, or Physics) in four years, you may petition to substitute courses from the most recent checksheet . However, please review the Option 2 requirements carefully; in general, we will expect a more detailed rationale in your petition than a single-course substitution. The new requirements offer greater flexibility, but they also require more upper-level studies. Please do not petition to simply drop a course because it is not listed in the new program requirements. Petition forms are available from Jeanette Miller in 163 Chambers.

If you plan to seek certification as an undergrad SECED major but have not yet been through "Entrance to Major" (e.g., because you are a first-year undergraduate) significant changes in the undergraduate SECED science options were made in 2003-04 . Please note that there are requirements for the major that are not listed in the above pdf files (such as the General Education requirements common to all undergraduate majors). Checksheets for students who went through the most recent Entrance to Major are available at this link . In your freshman and sophomore years, we strongly encourage you to complete as much science coursework as possible; in particular, do not postpone required science courses that are only offered once a year. We also encourage you to refer to the above links to "4-Year Programs of Study." The Entrance to Major process is described online at http://www.ed.psu.edu/edservices/certification/enroll_ctrl.html ). See also the Notes on Entrance to Major, below.

If you plan to seek certification while majoring in a "Qualifying Scientific Discipline" (these majors are listed in the pdf files above), you must complete the Education Requirements and the Option 1 requirements listed therein. Please note that you will need a minimum GPA of 3.0, pass certain State-required PRAXIS exams, be in at least 4th semester status, and be formally admitted. Please note that C I 295, PSYCH 2, EDPSY 14, and EDTHP 115 are no longer required courses for students seeking certification through this option. Please contact the program if you have questions. We do not recommend postponing completion of your bachelor's degree in a science major in order to finish certification requirements. Instead, finish your degree and complete certification requirements as a graduate student. See also Notes on Admission to Non-Major SCIED Options below.

If you would like to become certified in science and have already completed a bachelor's degree, but do not have a master's degree , then we strongly suggest that you pursue certification as part of a relevant master's degree. The most common option is to complete an M.S. or M.Ed. in Science Education (part of the graduate program in Curriculum & Instruction), but you may also complete certification requirements while pursuing a master's degree in another scientific field (with the consent of your graduate committee in that field and the permission of the Science Education program). If you do not have a master's degree, we no longer recommend pursuing certification as a "post-baccalaureate certification-only" student. The need for this option has been removed through significant changes in our program requirements. More information on graduate studies in Science Education is available here.

If you would like to become certified in science and have already completed a master's or doctoral degree in a relevant field , you do not need to complete another master's degree. You may complete the certification program requirements as a non-degree student. For more information on this option, please consult a faculty member or Cathy Hipple in 228 Chambers Building (cyh3@psu.edu, 814-863-1497). Also, note that you must complete a non-degree admissions review and be formally admitted to the program; Cathy can help with that process.

The need for new science teachers has never been greater, and if you are interested in teaching, we hope we have an option that matches your needs and ambitions. Thank you for your patience as our program evolves!

Notes on Entrance to Major (science certification options in the SECED major)

Entrance to Major is the process through which undergraduates are formally admitted to the Secondary Education major (College of Education). See the helpful folks in 228 Chambers for the paperwork to do this. The enrollment control process is completed each Spring.

Notes on Admission to Non-Major SCIED Options (for students majoring in science disciplines or pursuing their studies at the graduate level)

If you plan to complete an undergraduate degree before taking SCIED 412, CI 412W, and CI 495C (these courses are taken concurrently; SCIED 411 is a prerequisite), your admission to the certification program will be done through the Curriculum & Instruction graduate admissions process. You will not need to go through the College of Education's Entrance to Major process, and you may have greater flexibility for completing certification requirements.

If you intend to complete certification requirements as an undergraduate science major, you must be formally admitted to the SCIED certification program prior to taking SCIED 412, CI 412W, and CI 495C (again, please note that SCIED 411 is a prerequisite). You will not need to go through the College of Education's Entrance to Major, but you do need to be formally admitted (that is, submit a written Application for Admission to the SCIED Program, for Students Majoring in Science Disciplines ) and receive a written acceptance). For more information, please consult an advisor in 228 Chambers Building.

Revised: September 11, 2004.