Program Overview
College of Natural and Health Sciences
Contact: Cynthia S. Galovich, Ph.D., Department Chair
Location: Ross Hall 0232
Telephone: 970.351.2961
Website: www.unco.edu/nhs/physics-astronomy
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 three parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits
*For Educator licensure majors, PTEP coursework counts towards the minimum of nine upper-division UNC credits (300-400).
Program Description:
The program emphasizes the laws, principles and applications of physics and other sciences, along with the communication skills and teaching methods to effectively teach these concepts at the junior high and high school levels (grades 7-12). Graduates of this degree would help to combat a shortage of physical science teachers and help meet the nationwide goals of excellence in science preparation.
With additional physics and mathematics courses, students could qualify for graduate study in physics or for employment in industry or governmental research laboratories.
Program Admission Requirements:
Academic Good Standing
Program Requirements:
- A 2.0 GPA or better is required in PHYS prefix courses for graduation.
- In accordance with University Policies, coursework earned more than 10 years prior to the date of matriculation to UNC may not be used to satisfy any major or minor requirements. Any exception to this policy is at the discretion of the academic program.
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 — 122 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 122 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the required 63 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
SCI 225 (3) is recommended to fulfill the Intermediate Writing Course requirement.
See Written Communication courses.
Mathematics — 3 credits
MATH 131 (4) and MATH 132 (4) are recommended to fulfill the Mathematics requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
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
BIO 110 (4), BIO 111 (4), CHEM 111 (4), CHEM 111L (1), CHEM 281 (3), CHEM 281L (1), GEOL 100 (4), and PHYS 240 (5) are recommended to fulfill the Physical & Natural Sciences requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 63 credits
Take all of the following courses:
Choose one of the following courses:
| AST 301 | Classical Astronomy and the Solar System | 3 |
| AST 302 | Stars and the Milky Way | 3 |
3. Required PTEP — 38 credits
Phase I (5 credits taken concurrently).
| EDF 366 | Conceptions of Schooling: Context and Process | 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 349 | Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers | 3 |
| STEP 262 | Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching II | 2 |
Phase III (11 credits taken concurrently)
| ECLD 340 | Academic Language/Literacy Development in the Content Areas at the Secondary Level | 3 |
| ET 449 | Integrating Technologies into Secondary Education Pedagogy | 3 |
| SCED 441 | Methods of Teaching Secondary School Science | 3 |
| STEP 363 | Clinical Experience: Secondary | 2 |
ECLD 340 may be taken outside of Phase III.
Phase IV (14 credits)
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 122 credit hours. This degree does not require university wide electives and has received an exception from the CDHE to exceed the typical limit of 120 credit hours.