This plan prepares you for a secondary education certificate, with a PK-12 endorsement in Art.
This program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Do you have a flair for the creative and the desire to teach others to unleash their inner artists? No job is more challenging, rewarding, or important than teaching small children. As an art educator, you'll help shape the character and future of every child in your classroom.
This program prepares you to teach art education in PK-12 programs. You'll learn the theory and practice of art criticism, history, aesthetics, and studio. You'll also graduate with a degree in education, with skills in elementary and secondary student development and learning, classroom management, and an expertise in teaching children about creating art.
Note: In addition to being admitted to the university, you must also meet the additional admission requirements and apply for admission to the Professional Education Programs.
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.
The full policy can be viewed here.
In addition to University Requirements:
Candidates in this program are required to demonstrate content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills, professional knowledge, and professional dispositions to be eligible to enter student teaching or internship placements.
Content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge or skills, and professional dispositions 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 | 3.0 |
| Highest Mathematics Required | MAT 114 |
| Additional Admission Requirements | Required |
| Fieldwork Experience/Internship | Required |
| Student Teaching/Supervised Teaching | Required |
| University Honors Program | Optional |
| AZ Transfer Students complete AGEC-A | Recommended |
| Progression Plan Link | View Progression Plan |
| Licensure | This program may lead to licensure. |
Purpose Statement
As an art education major, you will understand the requirements for teaching art in public and private schools and explore avenues for your own personal artistic growth. At NAU, students achieve a balance between being an expert in their subject and being a great teacher. Courses in studio art will allow you to explore a variety of areas in the studio arts, including drawing, ceramics, painting, print making, sculpture, and new media. Art education courses will prepare students to teach in PK-12 by learning about content pedagogy, student development, diverse learners, instructional strategies, classroom management, research, communication and technology.
The faculty of the School of Art are innovative artists, designers, scholars and educators who engage students in and out of the classroom. Our students are encouraged to participate in independent research projects with faculty, study abroad programs, internships, and student clubs and learning communities. Participation in these experiences provide our students with a depth of knowledge that benefit their own students later.
Student Learning Outcomes
Degree Program Student Learning Outcomes for the Bachelor of Science in Education, Art Education encompass knowledge, skills, and dispositions that upon graduation lead to highly qualified art-teacher status. Students are expected to exhibit strong evidence of achieving a level of proficiency necessary for graduation, certification in secondary education, endorsement in K-12 art, and participate effectively in a competitive art-teaching market.
Outcomes align with Standards from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium
Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.
This major requires 88 units distributed as follows:
Content Major Courses
To be prepared to teach art in grades PK-12, take the following 88 units. A minimum NAU cumulative GPA of 2.5 is required and a minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for all ARE, ARH, and ART coursework. For all major requirements, a passing grade is required and a Grade of "C" or better is required for courses evaluated on an A-F scale.
Content Major Courses:
Teacher education programs require a student teaching or internship experience. A minimum number of practicum units are also required, which involves supervised field experience with a practicing teacher. These required experiences are embedded in the major requirements courses.
Before being accepted to student teaching, the following criteria must be met:
Arizona Teacher Certification
In order to obtain an Arizona teaching certificate you must pass the National Evaluation Series Secondary Assessment Professional Knowledge Exam.
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.
You must have completed all of the coursework used to fulfill these requirements within the last 10 years.
Be aware that Arizona state teacher certification requirements leading to an Institutional Recommendation may change at any time, and may impact program of study requirements.
Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also take. For prerequisite information, see course information contained in the catalog or your advisor.