COLLEGE OF EDUCATION - Certification

Early Childhood - Grade 4 Certificate
Choose one certificate area:
1. Generalist
2. Bilingual Generalist

Grades 4 - 8 Certificate
Choose one certificate area:
1. English Language Arts and Reading
2. Mathematics
3. Science
4. Social Studies

Grades 8 - 12 Certificate
Choose one certificate area:
1. Computer Science
2. English Language Arts and Reading
3. History
4. Life Sciences
5. Mathematics
6. Physical Science
7. Social Studies
8. Speech

Early Childhood - Grade 12 Certificate
Choose one certificate area:
1. Art
2. Music
3. Physical Education
4. Spanish
5. Special Education
6. Theatre

Career and Technology Education Certificate (Grades 8 - 12)
Choose one certificate area:
1. Health Science Technology Education
2. Trade and Industrial Education

This program for achieving initial teacher certification is designed primarily for the undergraduate student who wishes to complete this objective within the bachelors degree. The degree will include the professional development courses required to prepare the student for the Texas teaching certificate and the major which will provide the necessary competencies in the certificate area selected (teaching field). It will include two semesters of field experience. For the first semester of the field experience, the student is at the school site two full days a week. The second semester the individual is in the student teaching field experience while at the school site five full days a week. Student teaching is restricted to assignment in the grade level and teaching area within the approved program and the individual will enroll either in the fall or spring semesters. Specific information regarding this program in the undergraduate catalog click here.

CORRESPONDING DEGREES/MAJORS

Certification Area

Degree

Undergraduate Major

Early Childhood-Grade 4

Generalist

B.S.I.S

Interdisciplinary Studies

Bilingual Generalist

B.S.I.S

Interdisciplinary Studies

Grades 4-8

English Language Arts and Reading

Mathematics

Science

Social Studies

B.A.

B.S.I.S

B.S.

B.A.

English

Interdisciplinary Studies

Environmental Science

History

Grades 8-12

Computer Science

English Language Arts and Reading

History

Life Science

Mathematics

Physical Science

Social Studies

Speech

B.S.

B.A.

B.S.

B.A.

Computer Science

English

History

Biology

Mathematics

Chemistry

History

Communication

Early Childhood-Grade 12

Art

Music

Physical Education

Spanish

Special Education

Theatre

B.A.

B.M.

B.S.

B.A.

B.S.I.S.

B.A.

Art

Music

Kinesiology

Spanish

Interdisciplinary Studies

Theatre

This program for achieving initial certification is designed for the student already holding a minimum bachelors degree who wishes to complete the objective in the evening, graduate program. This will allow the individual to also pursue as an optional feature the Master of Science degree either in Elementary Education or Secondary Education depending on the grade level certificate and teaching area. The program is tailored for an adult, working audience. The graduate courses taken for the certificate (24 semester hours for the elementary level, 21 semester hours for the secondary level) can be applied to the above noted masters degrees. Additionally, the student may complete the field experience in an alternative method other than student teaching called the internship. The internship is paid employment with a school district within the surrounding 50-mile area as a teacher of record for one school year. Further information and details can be acquired by contacting the University Certification Officer and online in the College of Education section of the graduate catalog at www.tamucc.edu.

CORRESPONDING DEGREES/MAJORS

Certification Area

Degree

Graduate Major

Early Childhood Grade-4

Generalist

Bilingual Generalist

M.S.

Elementary Education

Grades 4-8

English Language Arts and Reading

Mathematics

Science

Social Studies

M.S.

Elementary Education

Grades 8-12

Computer Science

English Language Arts and Reading

History

Life Science

Mathematics

Physical Science

Social Studies

Speech

M.S.

Secondary Education

Early Childhood-Grade 12

Art

Music

Physical Education

Spanish

Special Education

Theatre

M.S.

Secondary Education

Elementary Education

Secondary Education

Requirements for seeking initial teacher certification are represented by two basic categories, the content area (teaching field) and the professional education area. For those students who are pursuing this objective within the bachelors degree, one must also meet all other degree requirements such as the core courses as well as other prescribed areas.

Content Area:
The courses prescribed within this block of course work are determined by the program area faculty in the college of which the discipline is housed. For instance, those content area/teaching field courses called for if one should select history are noted in the College of Liberal Arts section of the undergraduate catalog. The following list of content areas and respective colleges responsible for defining the required courses can be used to determine what section of the University undergraduate catalog they may be found for review. These may be viewed online at www.tamucc.edu and select on the undergraduate catalog section for the respective college noted below.

College of Education
Generalist, EC-4
Bilingual Generalist, EC-4
Mathematics, 4-8
Physical Education, EC-12
Special Education, EC-12
Health Science Technology Ed., 8-12
Trade and Industrial Ed., 8-12

College of Liberal Arts
English Language Arts and Reading, 4-8
Social Studies, 4-8
English Language Arts and Reading, 8-12
History, 8-12
Social Studies, 8-12
Speech, 8-12
Art, EC-12
Music, EC-12
Spanish, EC-12
Theatre, EC-12

College of Science and Technology
Science, 4-8
Computer Science, 8-12
Life Science, 8-12
Mathematics, 8-12
Physical Science, 8-12

Professional Development:
The courses prescribed within this block of course work are defined by the College of Education and represent the training required of the student in becoming an educator. The specific courses are noted in the catalog according to which type instruction the individual is pursuing and may be viewed online at www.tamucc.edu.

Undergraduate, Field-Based Instruction
Review the College of Education section of the undergraduate catalog
Post-Baccalaureate/Graduate Instruction (Masters and Certification)
Review the College of Education section of the graduate catalog.

There are several test requirements within initial teacher certification preparation to validate the student's abilities and competencies for the educator profession. The following exams are required within the program.

Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA):
The State of Texas requires that all individuals entering into a teacher preparation program demonstrate their critical thinking and analytical skills before admittance into the professional education component of the program. The exam in use by most teacher preparation programs, including the University, is the THEA (formerly known as the TASP-Texas Academic Skills Program). The test is comprised of three areas with a minimum passing score required in each. The three areas and minimum scores are reading-260, mathematics-230, and writing-220. High scores on the ACT, SAT, GRE or previous completion of a masters level degree are exemptions to the exam requirement. See the University Certification Officer for the minimum scores needed for exemption.

Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES):
These state-licensing exams, formerly known as ExCET, are required by the State of Texas in order to measure the educator's competency in the content area/teaching field and the professional education /pedagogy. All teacher certification programs require taking and passing these two exams before the teaching certificate is issued by the State. For detailed information log on to texes.tamucc.edu.

Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT)
If the student is seeking teacher certification in the content area of Spanish or bilingual generalist, the State of Texas also requires in addition to the two assigned TExES exams, demonstration of the oral and written proficiency in Spanish. Log on to www.texes.ets.org for more details.