Program Overview
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Contact: English Department
Location: Ross 1284
Email: HSS@unco.edu
Website: www.unco.edu/hss/english
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned English Education advisor each semester prior to registering. Assigned advisor is available through the English Department Office.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of five parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- English Education Credits
- Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits
- University-Wide Elective Credits
*For Educator licensure majors, PTEP coursework counts towards the minimum of nine upper-division UNC credits (300-400).
Program Description:
The English Education (EED) Major prepares its graduates to serve as secondary English/Language Arts teachers (grades 7-12). Students can choose from three concentration areas: EED: Language and Literature Concentration; EED: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education Concentration, or EED: Special Education Concentration. The program participates in the UNC/partner school program and supervises student teachers during their field experiences.
Program Admission Requirements:
Students must apply to and be admitted to the English Education program. In order to be considered for admission, students must have met the following requirements:
- Overall GPA of 3.00
- GPA in the Major of 3.00 with no grade lower than a "C" ("C-" is not acceptable)
- Completion of at least six (6) credits in ENG courses applicable to the major, including ENG 195. (Students whose six credits include courses in which they are currently enrolled must include a completed "Student Status" form with their application materials.)
The EED application packet includes the following items:
- An essay that will be used as a writing sample
- Recommendation Forms from two UNC faculty
- A copy of Degree Works that reflects student's GPA and completion of and/or enrollment in the required classes
- Progress report for any ENG courses in progress during the application period
Complete admissions information and required documents are available on the English Department Page at www.unco.edu/hss/english.
Program Recommendations
A minor is strongly recommended. Please consult with your program advisor.
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.
If you are seeking licensure in your program area, the following items are required to complete your program.
- Completion of Application for Initial Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #1 (Enrollment in this checkpoint will result in a one-time program fee, assessed to student accounts to pay for assessment software. This checkpoint will also require 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.)
- Completion of Full Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #2
- Completion of Application for Student Teaching – referred to as Checkpoint #3
- Successful completion of the degree in the subject licensure area is necessary to qualify for Licensure in Colorado for K-12 or Secondary Endorsements.
- Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the STE Director.
- All PTEP Field Experiences and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.
- Student Teaching outside the supervision of UNC Faculty may or may not be approved.
- Teacher Candidates will not be placed in a school where they were once students or where they have a close relative attending and/or working.
- 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.
Please work with your content advisor to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout your program.
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the required major credits.
Completing LAC coursework outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
ENG 225 is strongly recommended and is the only intermediate writing course that will count for both LAC and EED program requirements.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
ENG 205 or ENG 262 and ENG 206, ENG 207, or ENG 236 and FILM 120 are recommended to fulfill Arts & Humanities requirements and will double count for the EED program requirements. ENG 207 and ENG 236 fulfill U.S. Multicultural Studies and ENG 205, ENG 206, and ENG 262 fulfill International Studies.
MAS 100 or PSY 247 are recommended to fulfill Social & Behavioral Sciences and will double count for the EED requirements.
ECLD 260 is recommended to fulfill Social & Behavioral Sciences and U.S. Multicultural Studies requirements and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. English Major Requirements — 57 credits
Required Courses — 18 credits
| ENG 195 | Introduction to the Discipline of English | 3 |
| ENG 216 | Grammar and Style | 3 |
| ENG 225 | Research Writing for Contemporary CultureLAW2 | 3 |
| ENG 295 | Approaches to Literary and Cultural Analysis | 3 |
| ENG 310 | Literature and the Nation | 3 |
| ENG 345 | Literary Theory and Criticism | 3 |
Note: Only ENG 225 will meet EED program requirements.
Category A — 9 credits
Choose three 200-level courses from ENG/ FILM/ HUM. (Students may also use FILM 120 and AFS 205.)
Category B — 12 credits
Choose four 300 or 400-level courses from ENG/ FILM/ HUM.
English Education — 18 credits
| EED 308 | Foundations of Teaching English Language Arts: Learners and the Learning Environment | 3 |
| EED 318 | Pedagogy and Practices in Social Emotional Learning | 3 |
| EED 402 | Methods of Teaching English Language Arts II: Enacting Pedagogy | 3 |
| EED 441 | Methods of Teaching English Language Arts I: Literacy Pedagogies | 3 |
| ECLD 260 | Language Acquisition in Multilingual SocietiesLAB3LAMS | 3 |
| EDSE 325 | Behavioral Dimensions of Students with Exceptionalities I | 3 |
ECLD 260 and ECLD 341 fulfills the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) requirements in culturally and linguistically diverse education.
3. Required PTEP — 33 credits
Students are encouraged to review the policies and procedures for PTEP that are described on the School of Teacher website at https://www.unco.edu/cebs/teacher-education/undergraduate-programs/secondary-education/current-students/.
Phase I — 5 credits taken concurrently
| EDF 290 | Foundations of Education | 3 |
| STEP 161 | Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching I | 2 |
Phase II — 8 credits taken concurrently
| EDSE 360 | Adaptation, Modification, and Integration of Curriculum for the Secondary Exceptional Learner | 3 |
| | |
| PSY 247 | Adolescent Learning and MotivationLAB3 | 3 |
| or | |
| PSY 349 | Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers | 3 |
| | |
| STEP 262 | Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching II | 2 |
Note: PSY 247 can substitute for PSY 349 only if taken during Phase II of PTEP.
Phase III — 8 credits taken concurrently
| ECLD 341 | Content-Based Literacies for Equitable Access to PK-12 Instruction | 3 |
| ET 449 | Integrating Technologies into Secondary Education Pedagogy | 3 |
| STEP 363 | Clinical Experience: Secondary | 2 |
ECLD 341 may be taken outside of Phase III with EED advisor approval.
Phase IV — 12 credits
4. University-Wide Credits — 5 credits*
*Note: Students must apply at least some of the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum requirements and the major requirements to complete this degree program in 120 credit hours. Students who apply all of the recommended courses to the LAC will have up to 5 credits of university-wide electives to apply to this degree depending on the number of credits applied to both the LAC and the major. See your advisor for details.
Program Notes:
- Admission to the English B.A., Secondary Teaching Program is by application. See Program Admission requirements above.
- Provisional admission to PTEP (Phases I and II) is by application to the School of Teacher Education. See Program Admission requirements above.
- Full Admission to PTEP (Phases III and IV) requires completion of at least 30 hours in the EED major with a grade point average overall and in the major of 3.0 (with no grade in the major lower than a C (C- is not acceptable). Majors receiving a grade of "C-" or lower must retake the course -- or an equivalent approved by the academic advisor -- and receive a grade of "C" or better to have the course counted toward the major.
- Admission to PTEP Phase IV/Student Teaching requires completion of all required courses (LAC, ENG, EED, and concentration area, if applicable), with a grade point average overall and in the major of 3.0 with no grade in the major lower than a C (C- is not acceptable). In addition, teacher candidates must earn a grade of B or better in all EED courses.
- Students must receive a grade of "B" or better ("B-" is not acceptable) in all required EED courses. The Colorado Department of Higher Education and this program require the completion of a yearly assessment of teacher candidate progress, including teacher candidate dispositions.