2012-2013

Secondary Education - Career and Technical, Bachelor of Science in Education

Department of Educational Specialties

College of Education

If you wish to teach in the secondary schools, you may wish to consider this extended degree. This degree prepares you for a secondary education certificate in Business, Family and Consumer Science, or Industrial Technology. Upon successful completion of the program (including student teaching) you will receive an Institutional Recommendation (IR) for secondary certification. If your career goals do not require secondary certification, you may wish to consider our B.S.Ed. CTE Occupational Education emphasis.

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

  • Available Emphasis Areas:
  • Business Education - Emphasis (ending Summer 2013)
  • Family and Consumer Science Education - Emphasis (ending Summer 2013)
  • Industrial Technology Education - Emphasis (ending Summer 2013)
This plan will not be available to new students after Summer 2013

  • 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 54 units of major requirements
  • At least 34 units of teacher preparation requirements
  • Be aware that you may not use courses with a CTE 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

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 114
Additional Admission Requirements Required
Emphasis, Minor, or Certificate Required Required
Fieldwork Experience/Internship Optional
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 program in secondary education, you must meet the following admission requirements:

    • 30 units of coursework
    • EDF 200 with a grade of "C" or better
    • MAT 110, MAT 114 or MAT 155 with a grade of "C" or better
    • Complete at least 3 units of concentration major coursework
    • A minimum GPA of 2.5 in all content major coursework
    • 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 grade point average requirements:

      • A cumulative 2.5 GPA in Liberal Studies courses
      • A cumulative 2.5 GPA in all courses
    • A declared major
    • Attendance at a teacher-education orientation for Secondary Education
    • A copy of your State-approved Identity-Verified Print (IVP) fingerprint clearance card, obtainable through the Arizona Department of Public Safety (602-223-2279)
Major Requirements
  • Take the following 54 units with a minimum GPA of 2.5:

    Common Courses (Online Delivery Only) (24 units)
    Emphasis Requirements (Select One):
    • You may also complete, as part of the 30 units:
      • Minor in Merchandising (Includes the four MER classes listed above) (21 units)
      • Minor in Nutritional Sciences (includes NTS 256 listed above) (18 units)
      • Certificate in International Tourism Management (15 units)
      • Certificate in Restaurant Management (Includes HA 240 and HA 243, listed above) (17 units)
      • And/or transfer credit in an approved family and consumer science occupation area
      Industrial Technology Education Emphasis (30 units)

      For this emphasis, you use 30 units of transfer credit from a community college. Either you complete 30 units of content area courses transferred in an approved industrial technology occupation area or you successfully pass the written and performance sections of a National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Job Ready exam for 30 units. Passing the exam will meet the NOCTI milestone (see below).
Teacher Preparation
  • You must complete 34 units of professional courses offered by the College of Education to qualify for secondary certification in Arizona and most other states.

    Please note that these 34 units include ECI 495C, Supervised Teaching: Secondary. To register for the CTE section of student teaching, you will need to meet the NOCTI milestone. You will need to take and pass the written portion of a National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Job Ready exam in an appropriate content area approved by your advisor.  

    In addition, content area professional knowledge courses contain key assessments that must be passed at a certain level. If you score below the specified level on a key assessment, you will need to contact the instructor and complete remedial work prior to being allowed to begin your student teaching assignment.

  • 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
  • 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.
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.

  • Career and Technical State Teaching Certification
    Completion of this degree qualifies the student for secondary education certification. To become career-and-technical-education certified in Arizona you will need to have 240 clock hours of verified work experience in an Arizona Department of Education approved occupation area. Students are encouraged to take CTE 408 (Fieldwork Experience) to meet this work-experience requirement.

  • 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.