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2016-2017 Undergraduate

Geography B.A. – Secondary Teaching Emphasis Initial license in Social Studies (Grades 7-12)

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Contact: James M. Dunn, Ph.D., Department Chair

Location: Candelaria 2200

Telephone: 970.351.2834

Fax: 970.351.2890

Website: http://www.unco.edu/geography/

Advising Information:

Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.

Assigned advisor is available through the Ursa login; ursa.unco.edu; under Student tab Academic Profile channel and is term specific. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.

The program consists of three parts:

  1. Liberal Arts Core (LAC) Credits
  2. Required Major Credits
  3. Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits

Program Description:

The Geography program participates in the preparation of teachers by offering a bachelor's degree in geography that meets all requirements for licensure for teaching social studies at the secondary level (grades 7-12). Upon successful completion of this program and the requirements of the Professional Teacher Education program, students will qualify to be licensed to teach social studies. Students choosing this major will be observed by experienced geography faculty when student teaching. A graduate with this degree will also be qualified to pursue graduate study in geography.

Program Admission Requirements:

  • Academic Good Standing
  • 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. 

Degree Requirements — 123 Credits

Degree Requirements

1. Required Specified LAC — 15 credits

LAC area 4 — History

HIST 100Survey of American History from Its Beginnings to 1877

3

LAC area 5 — Social and Behavioral Sciences

ECON 203Principles of Macroeconomics

3

GEOG 100World Geography

3

PSCI 100United States National Government

3

LAC area 8 — Multicultural Studies.

Choose one of the following courses:

AFS 101Development of Black Identity

3

GNDR 101Gender and Society

3

HISP 102Hispanic Cultures in the United States

3

Remaining LAC — 25 credits

See “Liberal Arts Core”.

2. Required Major — 45 credits

Take all of the following courses:

GEOG 200Human Geography

3

GEOG 210Introduction to GIS and GPS

3

GEOG 220Climate and Vegetation

3

GEOG 230Landforms, Water & Hazards

3

GEOG 375Quantitative Techniques in Geography

3

GEOG 495Senior Seminar

3

Choose two of the following courses:

GEOG 302Cartography

3

or

GEOG 307Geographic Information Science

3

and

GEOG 390Geographic Inquiry: Applying Spatial Thinking

3

Regional Credits (6 credits)

Choose two of the following courses:

GEOG 218Emerging Asia

3

GEOG 224Exploring Colorado

3

GEOG 250The Making of the American Landscape

3

GEOG 296Study Abroad Experience

3

GEOG 326Africa

3

GEOG 333South America

3

GEOG 335Geography of Middle America

3

GEOG 340Europe

3

GEOG 344Asia: Special Topics

3

GEOG 395Advanced Regional Geography: Topics

3

Systematic Credits (6 credits)

Choose two of the following courses:

GEOG 300Advanced Human Geography: Topics

3

GEOG 312Economic Geography of the Industrialized World

3

GEOG 315Nature and Society

3

GEOG 320Population Geography

3

GEOG 330Cultural Geography

3

GEOG 345Environmental Geography: Earth at Risk

3

GEOG 360Nations, States, and Territory

3

GEOG 370The City

3

GEOG 391Western Colorado Rivers

3

GEOG 392Field Course in Geography

1-6

Supporting Credits (9 credits)

HIST 101Survey of American History from 1877 to the Present

3

and

Choose one of the following courses:

HIST 110African Civilization

3

HIST 113Asian Civilization II: From 1500 to the Present

3

and

Choose one of the following courses:

HIST 120Western Civilization from Ancient Greece to 1689

3

HIST 121Western Civilization from 1689 to the Present

3

3. Required PTEP — 38 credits

Phase I (5 credits taken concurrently).

EDFE 110 required semester before; see www.unco.edu/teach/check.html

STEP 161Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching I

2

EDF 366Conceptions of Schooling: Context and Process

3

Phase II (8 credits taken concurrently)

STEP 262Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching II

2

EDSE 360Adaptation, Modification, and Integration of Curriculum for the Secondary Exceptional Learner

3

PSY 349Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers

3

Phase III (11 credits taken concurrently)

EDFE 120 required semester before.

STEP 363Clinical Experience: Secondary

2

EDRD 340Developing Language and Literacy in the Content Areas

3

ET 449Integration of Technologies in Secondary Education Pedagogy

3

SOSC 341Teaching Secondary Social Studies

3

EDRD 340: maybe taken outside of Phase III

Phase IV (14 credits).

EDFE 130 required semester before.

STEP 464Secondary Student Teaching

1-14

  • Candidates must pass the Praxis or Place 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 program 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.

No geography teaching major may apply for admission to the Professional Teacher Education (PTEP) program until he or she has passed at least 15 semester hours of courses in the major, at least 6 hours of which must have been taken at the University of Northern Colorado.

To be admitted to PTEP, a student must have a 2.75 grade point average in those courses counting toward his or her major that were taken at UNC and must have taken at least three courses with the GEOG prefix.

Before being permitted to apply or student teaching, a student must have successfully completed at least 30 hours in the major and maintained a 2.67 grade point average in major courses taken at UNC.