2025-2026

Secondary Education - English, Bachelor of Science in Education

Department of English

College of Arts and Letters

This degree prepares students to teach a field rich in nuance, literary tradition, and global value. Students will build on their love of English to excite secondary students about expressing themselves effectively and creatively in one of the world's great languages.

This program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)

This program is nationally recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

  • 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 general studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.

    • All of Northern Arizona University's general 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:

  • 72 units of major requirements which includes 24 units of Teacher Preparation Coursework and 8 units of language requirements or proficiency-through-a-second-semester language course.

  • Up to 9 units of major prefix courses may be used to satisfy General Studies Requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy major 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, professional dispositions are demonstrated through candidate performance on key assessments embedded in the following course(s):

  • 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 3.0
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 114
Additional Admission Requirements Required
Foreign Language Required
Student Teaching/Supervised Teaching Required
University Honors Program Optional
AZ Transfer Students complete AGEC-A Recommended
Progression Plan Link Not Available
Licensure

This program may lead to licensure.

Purpose Statement

The Bachelor of Science in Education, English prepares future teachers to be well versed in their subject area to give students the best education possible. The English and education major at NAU lets students achieve the ideal balance between being an expert in their subject and being a great teacher. NAU's English education major will equip you with an in-depth study of language, literature, linguistics, and writing. As a foundation for their work in education, students are trained to write well, logically organize ideas, analyze complex information, research, and critically read and observe. Our English Secondary Education students also develop competency in lesson design, classroom management, instructional delivery, and research-based methods for teaching writing, literature, prose, grammar, and vocabulary. As students integrate their knowledge of the English discipline with teaching theories and techniques, strong emphasis is placed on gaining extensive field experience. Faculty connect these field experiences to coursework, combining theory and practice, modeling effective instruction, providing relevant context, and building confidence to address the variety of situations future teachers will encounter. Upon completion of this degree, students are prepared to become certified English teachers in the state of Arizona or engage in careers in related fields such as publishing, curriculum development, and educational research.

Student Learning Outcomes

Outcomes align with Standards from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium.

  • The Learner and Learning
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge of learners and learning to foster inclusive learning environments that support coherent, relevant, standards-aligned, differentiated, and antiracist/antibias instruction to engage grade 7-12 learners in ELA.
    • Gather and interpret comprehensive data on learners' differences, identities, and funds of knowledge to foster inclusive learning environments that actively engage all learners in ELA.
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge of how the constructs of adolescence/adolescents and learners' identities affect learning experiences to foster coherent, relevant, inclusive, and antiracist/antibias instruction that critically engages all learners in ELA.
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge of learning processes that involve individually, collaboratively, and critically accessing, consuming, curating, and creating texts (e.g., print, digital, media).
  • Content
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge and theoretical perspectives, including antiracist/antibias ELA, pertaining to texts, composition, language, and languaging.
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge and theoretical perspectives about a variety of literary and informational texts—e.g., young adult, classic, contemporary, and media—that represent a range of world literatures, historical traditions, genres, cultures, and lived experiences.
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge and theoretical perspectives of the relationships among form, audience, context, and purpose by composing and critically curating a range of texts (e.g., print, digital, and media).
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge and theoretical perspectives of language and languaging, including language acquisition, conventions, dialect, grammar systems, and the impact of languages on society as they relate to various rhetorical situations (e.g., journalism, social media, popular culture) and audiences.
  • Instructional Practice: Planning
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge of theories, research, and ELA to plan coherent, relevant, standards-aligned, differentiated, antiracist/antibias instruction and assessment.
    • Use a variety of resources and technologies to plan coherent, relevant, standards-aligned, antiracist/antibias, and differentiated instruction that incorporates theories, research, and knowledge of ELA to support and engage all learners in meeting learning goals.
    • Identify and/or design formative and summative assessments that reflect ELA research, align with intended learning outcomes, and engage learners in monitoring their progress toward established goals.
  • Instructional Practice: Implementing
    • Implement planned coherent, relevant, standards-aligned, differentiated, and antiracist/antibias ELA instruction and assessment to motivate and engage all learners.
    • Implement coherent, relevant, standards-aligned, differentiated, and antiracist/antibias instruction that uses a variety of resources and technologies and incorporates theories, research, and knowledge of ELA to support and engage all learners in meeting learning goals.
    • Implement formative and summative assessments that reflect ELA research, align with intended learning outcomes, engage learners in monitoring their progress toward established goals, and guide the next steps of ELA instruction.
    • Communicate with learners about their performance in ELA in multiple ways that actively involve them in their learning (e.g., learning management systems, digital communication tools, conferencing, and written feedback).
  • Professional Responsibility
    • Reflect on their ELA practice, use knowledge and theoretical perspectives to collaborate with educational community members, and demonstrate readiness for leadership, professional learning, and advocacy.
    • Reflect on their identities and experiences and how they frame their practices and impact their teaching of ELA.
    • Use feedback and evidence from a range of sources to reflect upon and inform their practice.
    • Apply and demonstrate knowledge in collaboration with learners, families, colleagues, and ELA-related learning communities.
    • Demonstrate readiness for leadership, professional learning, and advocacy for learners, themselves, and ELA.

Additional Admission Requirements

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

    • Be a declared Secondary Education major in this program.
    • Complete EDF 200 with a Grade of 'C' or better.
    • Complete the Program's Mathematic Foundations requirement with a grade of "C" or better.
    • Complete 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).
    • A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
    • Complete and submit your IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card; Youth Suicide Prevention Training; Professional Dispositions Modules; Equity Survey; and a Professional Responsibility Statement. Your State-approved Identity-Verified Print (IVP) fingerprint clearance card is obtainable through the Arizona Department of Public Safety (602-223-2279).
Major Requirements

  • This major requires 80 units distributed as follows:

    • English Education Content Coursework: 48 units
    • Teacher Preparation Coursework: 24 units
    • Foreign Language Requirement: 8 units


    Take the following 80 units:

    • A minimum NAU cumulative GPA of 2.5 is required.
    • A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for all ENG coursework.
    • A grade of "C" or better or a grade of P for pass/fail coursework is required for all major requirements.
    • To be cleared for student teaching, a GPA of 2.5 is required in major requirements.
Teacher Preparation

  • 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:

    • Admission to the Professional Education Programs (PEP)
    • GPA and course grade requirements for degree program as stated in Additional Admission and Major Requirements
    • Complete all plan requirements
    • Take the Arizona Education English Subject Knowledge Exam
    • All ENG coursework must be completed within the six years prior to student teaching
    • Successful completion of required state and university training modules
    • All candidates must demonstrate professional and ethical standards of practice as described in the Model Code of Ethics for Educators and adhere to NAU's and PEP's Student Code of Conduct
    • All outstanding PEP Alerts must be resolved per improvement plan
    • Attend mandatory Student Teaching Orientation

  • Arizona Teacher Certification

    You must pass the National Evaluation Series Secondary Assessment Professional Knowledge Exam to obtain an Arizona teaching certificate.

Foreign Language Requirement

  • You must demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English that is equivalent to two terms of university coursework in the same language. You may satisfy this requirement by taking language courses or through credit by exam. (8 units)

  • Students enrolled in this plan may not enroll in or pursue the following due to the number of overlapping units:

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 General Studies Requirements.

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

Additional Information

  • Arizona state teacher certification requirements leading to an Institutional Recommendation may change at any time and may impact program of study requirements.

  • Some courses may have prerequisites. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.