College of Performing and Visual Arts
Location: Guggenheim 101
Telephone: 970-351-2143
Fax: 970-351-2299
Website: https://arts.unco.edu/art/
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.
Contact the Art office for more 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:
Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of countless students through the arts? In this degree, you will experience a variety of hands-on learning that will prepare you to confidently teach visual arts in schools and arts organizations. You’ll develop knowledge, skills, and resources in art techniques and processes and analyze the place of the arts in our historical heritage and contemporary communities. Become an artist and educator to enhance your own and others' creative potential. Satisfactory completion of requirements leads to K-12 art education licensure.
Program Admission Requirements:
Academic Good Standing
- It is important to note that the Art Education major cannot be completed within 2 years. The first year is spent in completing the Foundations courses and requirements. Seniors and transfer students considering applying to the Art & Design program are advised that it is not possible to complete requirements in fewer than four regular semesters.
- Should the number of qualified applicants exceed space available in required courses, the school will admit only those students ranking highest in cumulative grade point averages.
Program Requirements:
- New Art & Design students must complete the Foundations requirements before they can begin their advanced art studies. The Foundations Courses include ART 134, ART 180, ART 183, and ART 184.
- An Exit level PTEP Senior Portfolio review is required prior to graduation. The portfolio consists of work from the student's concentration area. Students are evaluated on their knowledge and successful demonstration of professional portfolio preparation of artwork, art history and cultures, and verbal and written critical analysis. The PTEP Review also evaluates students on their knowledge and successful demonstration of art education pedagogy.
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.
- 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 academic/content advisor and/or Program Coordinator to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout the licensure program.