2012-2013

Elementary Education, Bachelor of Science in Education

Department of Teaching and Learning

College of Education

“Good teaching is more a giving of the right questions than a giving of the right answers,” said Josef Albers, designer and educator. This degree provides future teachers with the tools to stimulate their students to learn and to question. The plan includes grounding in teaching methods and best practices, as well as an understanding of issues and challenges faced by today’s and tomorrow’s schools. 

This program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

  • To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the liberal studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.

    • All of Northern Arizona University's diversity, liberal studies, junior-level writing, and capstone requirements.
    • All requirements for your specific academic plan(s).
    • At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work.
    • At least 30 units of coursework taken through Northern Arizona University, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300-level or above). This requirement is not met by credit-by-exam, retro-credits, transfer coursework, etc.
    • A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on all work attempted at Northern Arizona University.

    The full policy can be viewed here.

In addition to University Requirements:

  • At least 60 units of major requirements
  • At least 12 units of concentration requirements
  • Be aware that you may not use courses with an ECI prefix to satisfy liberal studies requirements. Contact your department for information about liberal studies courses that are specific to this major.
  • Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units

Candidates in this program are required to demonstrate content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills, and professional knowledge to be eligible to enter student teaching or internship placements. Content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge or skills are demonstrated through candidate performance on key assessments embedded in the following course(s):

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 120
Major GPA 2.5
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 155
Additional Admission Requirements Required
Fieldwork Experience/Internship Required
Student Teaching/Supervised Teaching Required
Progression Plan Link Not Available

Additional Admission Requirements

  • Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

  • If you are completing an undergraduate or post-degree program in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or Special Education, you must meet the following admission requirements:
    • 45 units of coursework
    • EDF 200, MAT 150, and MAT 155 with grades of "C" or better
    • Two lab science courses with grades of "C" or better
    • The English foundations requirement (ENG 105 or equivalent) with a minimum GPA of 3.0.  (If your English GPA is below 3.0, you may take an approved writing course to achieve the 3.0 GPA.)
    • One of the following GPA requirements
      • A cumulative 2.5 GPA in Liberal Studies courses
      • A cumulative 2.5 GPA in all courses
    • Recommendation Form (included in application packet) completed by someone who has directly observed your work with children or adolescents within the ages of pre-school through high school. Such work experience can be either voluntary or paid, but must have occurred in a structured setting for a minimum of 15 hours. Examples of acceptable experiences may include work as a camp counselor, swimming instructor, Sunday-school teacher, volunteer in a classroom, or other similar settings
    • Attendance at a teacher orientation for Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or Special Education
    • Completion of Teacher Candidate Dispositions Statement
    • A copy of your State-approved Identity-Verified Print (IVP) fingerprint clearance card.
Major Requirements
    • History/Social Studies (12 units)
      • Select any coursework with the following prefixes:  HIS, POS, ANT, GSP
      Humanities (12 units)
      • Select any coursework with the following prefixes:  ENG, HUM TH, MUS ART
      Language/Cultural Diversity (12 units)
      • Select any coursework with the following prefixes:  BME, FRE, GER, SPA, ASL, Navajo Culture and Navajo Language (taken from Dine College
      Science (12 units)
      • Select any coursework with the following prefixes:  GLG, GSP, BIO, ENV, AST, PHS, PHY, CHM, FOR
      Math - Select one of the following options (13-16 units)

  • You may choose to complete the Early Childhood Education Certificate program instead of a concentration area.  The Early Childhood Certificate leads to the Early Childhood Endorsement through the Arizona Department of Education.  This certificate requires 25 units of coursework and specific student teaching requirements.

Teacher Preparation
  • In all of our teacher education programs, you are required to complete a student teaching or internship experience. In addition, a minimum number of units of practicum is required, which involves supervised field experience with a practicing teacher.

    Before being accepted to student teaching, the following criteria must be met:
    • Admission to the teacher education program
    • NAU GPA must be at least 2.5, with a GPA of 2.5 in all teacher preparation courses, with no grade lower than a "C."
    • All education courses and departmental requirements must be successfully completed prior to student teaching.
    • All concentration courses must be completed with no grade lower than a "C." (B.S.Ed. in Elementary and Early Childhood education students only)
    • All education coursework, with the exception of EDF 200, must be completed within the six years prior to student teaching.
    • All candidates must demonstrate social and emotional maturity consistent with professional standards of classroom instruction as well as adequate physical health for teaching.
  • AEPA Requirements

    In order to obtain an AZ teaching certificate, you will need to pass the following exams:
    • AEPA Subject Knowledge Exam
    • AEPA Professional Knowledge Exam

  •           or

    • NES Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Elementary Exam

  • Plan Options
    • School-Based Programs
      You complete your professional courses, which encompass all required major courses and several electives, over two terms. You spend several hours most days working with children in public-school classrooms under the supervision of cooperating teachers and NAU faculty members.

      Cohort Programs
      You complete your professional courses over three terms, taking 9 units of education coursework on campus, each term. You also usually take 6 units of liberal studies, educational foundations, concentration courses, or electives each term. In addition, you work with children in public-school classrooms each term under the supervision of cooperating teachers and NAU faculty members.

      Traditional Plan
      The professional courses on campus are offered in a flexible scheduling format within a recommended sequence. You can complete this plan in two terms, during which you complete at least 45 units of work with children in public-school classrooms.
General Electives

  • Additional coursework is required if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.

    You may take these remaining courses from any of the academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.

    We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.

  • Please note that you may take as an elective POS 220 (or POS 110 and POS 241), which satisfies the state and federal constitution requirement for Arizona certification, or you may meet the requirement by demonstrating proficiency on a special exam.
Additional Information
  • Please be aware that, for the B.S.Ed. degree, you must have the following:
    • A grade of "B" or better for the English foundation requirement (ENG 105 or equivalent) (If you don’t receive a 3.0, you may complete an additional ENG writing course, at the 200-level or above, with at least a "B," to meet this requirement.)
    • A grade of "C" or better for the mathematics foundation requirement
    • A grade point average of at least 2.5 in all of your Northern Arizona University coursework in order to student teach. This requirement applies to all B.S.Ed. majors at Northern Arizona University.

  • Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.