Program Overview
College of Natural and Health Sciences
Contact: Jennifer M. Krause, Ph.D., Program Coordinator
Location: Gunter 2660
Telephone: 970.351.1755
Website: www.unco.edu/nhs/sport-exercise-science/
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
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 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 mission of the undergraduate Physical Education Teacher Education program at the University of Northern Colorado is to prepare future physical educators with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop physically literate K-12 graduates. This mission will be accomplished by providing students with classroom and field-based experiences that cultivate expertise in the areas of motor skill development, health-related fitness, program design, instructional technology, assessment, and pedagogy. Graduates will depart the program as reflective physical education professionals who are capable of promoting physical activity in diverse settings.
Program Admission Requirements:
Admission Criteria. Prior to enrollment in SES 266 students must have a minimum overall grade point average of 2.5 and completed the Application for Initial Admission to PTEP.
Transfer Applicants and Change of Major Students. First semester transfer applicants who have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours may enroll in SES 266 their first semester on campus if their overall GPA at another institution is a 2.5 or higher.
- Academic Good Standing
- A 2.5 cumulative GPA is required for transfer and change of major students to declare this program.
- A maximum of 15 hours may be transferred to the major from other institutions.
Program Requirements:
Must maintain a 2.5 overall GPA to retain full admission in both SES, K-12 and the PTEP. Provisional status will prevent the student from enrolling in upper division courses in the SES K-12 major.
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Demonstrate professional promise as a teacher to the satisfaction of the Physical Education Teacher Education Faculty. Means of evaluation may include, but are not limited to, letters of intent, review of dispositions and interviews with the SES faculty.
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Students will annually be required to complete an oath and consent form.
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Prior to student teaching, students must have successfully completed all required Sport and Exercise Science K-12 Licensure Program courses, be fully admitted to the major and PTEP programs, achieve proficient or advanced on all dispositions, hold current First Aid/CPR certification, and pass the state licensure examination.
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Meet all Physical Education and state standards at a provisional level as listed in the program handbook.
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Show continuous growth in becoming a physical education teacher. Students who wish to be licensed to teach in the State of Colorado must make application upon completion of their program.
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Students who plan to apply for K-12 Teacher Licensure in the State of Colorado must student teach at both the elementary and secondary levels.
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
- Completion of content specific PRAXIS test prior to Student Teaching
- 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 44 required major credits.
Any additional coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
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.
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
SES 220 (4) and FND 250 (3) are recommended to fulfill Natural & Physical Sciences requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 44 credits
Take all of the following courses:
| FND 250 | Principles of NutritionLAS1 | 3 |
| SES 202 | Lifetime Sports and Physical Activities | 3 |
| SES 210 | Developmentally Appropriate Elementary Activities | 3 |
| SES 220 | Anatomical KinesiologyLAS1LASL | 4 |
| SES 221 | Weight Training Techniques | 1 |
| SES 240 | Secondary Physical Education Content | 3 |
| SES 243 | Outdoor and Adventure Programming | 3 |
| SES 322 | Exercise Physiology I | 3 |
| SES 323 | Motor Learning and Development | 3 |
| SES 331 | Biomechanics | 3 |
| SES 333 | Psychology of Exercise and Physical Activity | 3 |
| | or | |
| SES 438 | Sport Psychology | 3 |
| SES 441 | Physical Education Technology | 3 |
| SES 443 | Teaching and Assessing School Health | 3 |
| SES 446 | Sociocultural Concepts of Teaching and Learning in Physical Education | 3 |
| | 3 credits of SES prefix electives | |
3. Required PTEP — 45 credits
Complete the Application for Initial Admission to PTEP the semester before SES 170.
Complete the Application for Full Admission to PTEP the semester before content methods.
Complete the Application for Student Teaching the semester before student teaching.
Take all of the following
| EDF 290 | Foundations of Education | 3 |
| PSY 347 | Educational Psychology for Elementary Teachers | 3 |
| | or | |
| PSY 349 | Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers | 3 |
| ECLD 340 | Academic Language/Literacy Development in the Content Areas at the Secondary Level | 3 |
| EDFE 444 | Supervised Student Teaching | 1-15 |
| EDSE 433 | Exceptional Students in the Regular Classroom | 2 |
SES/PTEP Methods Courses – 23 semester credits
| SES 170 | Introduction to Field Based Experience | 1 |
| SES 266 | Introduction to Physical Education as a Profession | 3 |
| SES 338 | Teaching Diverse Populations | 4 |
| SES 340 | Planning, Assessment, and Instruction in Physical Education | 4 |
| SES 342 | Physical Activity and Fitness in Schools | 3 |
| SES 440 | Developing Pedagogical Skills in Elementary Physical Education | 4 |
| SES 442 | Developing Pedagogical Skills in Secondary Physical Education | 4 |
4. University Wide Credits — 0 credits*
*Note: Students must apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum requirements and the major requirements to complete this degree program in 120 credit hours. Students may have an increased number 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.