College of Natural and Health Sciences
Location: Ross Hall 1210
Telephone: 970-351-3082
Email: nhsadvising@unco.edu
Website: www.unco.edu/nhs/earth-atmospheric-sciences/
Program Duration: 4 years
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into MyUNC; under Student Quick Links, click on Student Profile. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of four parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits
- University-Wide Credits
*For Educator licensure majors, PTEP coursework counts towards the minimum of nine upper-division UNC credits (300-400).
Program Description:
The Secondary Education concentration offers you the opportunity to combine teaching with your passion for the natural world. The course work and experiences in the concentration are designed to provide you with a broad background of the four earth science disciplines (astronomy, geology, meteorology and oceanography) and supporting sciences, including biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. Within the last year of the program, pre-service teachers are provided opportunities to apply the knowledge learned within the coursework and apply it to practices within the classroom. Graduates of this program are prepared to teach earth science in grades 6-12.
Program Requirements:
Content courses are taught in science disciplines in the College of Natural and Health Sciences and the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences provides the required courses in the Secondary Professional Teacher Education Program (STEP).
You must pass the PRAXIS exam in order to obtain your teaching certificate. Graduates of this program are prepared to teach earth science in grades 6-12 and will have satisfied all the requirements to receive Secondary Science/Earth Science Licensure from the Colorado Department of Education.
Every UNC student must meet the requirements in order to graduate with a bachelor’s degree: earn a minimum of 120 semester credit hours; possess a minimum of a 2.50 cumulative grade point average; have at least 31 credit hours in courses designated as Liberal Arts Curriculum; meet all degree requirements in the student’s major field of study. Each major and/or concentration may have additional requirements necessary for graduation. Students must consult with their major advisor to receive information on any additional graduation requirements.
PTEP Program Requirements:
Teacher candidates who complete an approved content degree and the UNC professional teacher education program, as well as pass the appropriate Colorado Department of Education designated PRAXIS exam (if applicable), will be eligible for recommendation from UNC for a Colorado Department of Education teaching license.
Teacher Candidates seeking licensure in this licensure program must complete the following program requirements:
- Maintain program GPA requirement
- Completion of Application for Initial Admission to PTEP - referred to as Checkpoint #1 (This checkpoint requires an out-of-pocket payment - to the chosen approved vendor - to obtain a fingerprint background check, which is required by the Colorado Department of Education.)
- Enrollment in this teacher licensure program results in a one-time program fee (Teacher Preparation Program Fee) assessed the semester of the first field experience course.
- Completion of Full Admission to PTEP - referred to as Checkpoint #2
- Completion of Application for Student Teaching - referred to as Checkpoint #3
- Completion of content specific PRAXIS test the semester prior to Student Teaching (if applicable)
- Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the Associate Dean in charge of Educator Preparation.
- All PTEP courses, practicum field experiences, and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.
- A teacher candidate may be removed from the UNC teacher licensure pathway if they fail to meet professional, academic, or dispositional standards set by the program. In such cases, the student may continue in a different degree program and graduate; however, they will not receive a recommendation for licensure.
- Supervision of Student Teaching outside of UNC Faculty will be considered for approval.
- Teacher Candidates will not be placed in a school where they have a close relative attending and/or working. If teacher candidates need an exception to this, they will need approval from the Associate Dean in charge of Educator Preparation.
- Teacher Candidates placed in a middle or high school they once attended must notify their program coordinator and the Field Placement Officer immediately for a possible change in placement.
- Teacher education and educator preparation licensure programs do not accept Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) or field based courses that are more than ten years old. PLEASE NOTE: Teacher Candidates have the right to petition this policy at the discretion of the program coordinator.
Teacher Candidates work with the content advisor and/or Program Coordinator to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout the licensure program.