Course Information Suite

Curriculum and Instruction

Curriculum and Instruction
Interim Head of Department: Ray Price
Associate Head: Bonnie Armbruster
Department Office: 311 Education Building, 1310 South Sixth, Champaign, (217) 244-8286

Curriculum Preparatory to Elementary School Teaching

For the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education

This program prepares teachers for grades kindergarten through nine. A minimum of 125 semester hours, excluding basic military science, is necessary for graduation. There are six prerequisite courses that must be completed prior to admission into the Elementary Education program. Information on prerequisites can be found here. Students applying to the major must also provide evidence of having 50 hours of formal experience working with children or youth comparable to the age-level of students served in the program for which application is made.  Illinois law and Council on Teacher Education policy require that all candidates for admission to a teacher preparation program pass the Illinois Certification Testing System test for Basic Skills prior to admission. 

Students who are admitted to Elementary Education for the fall of their junior year may be able to complete the requirements for the bachelor's degree in four years. Students who are admitted to Elementary Education for the fall of their senior year will need five years to satisfy the requirements for teacher certification. Students are advised that additional course work must be completed to teach departmentalized subjects in middle grades 5 through 8. Consult the Elementary Education adviser or the certification officer for additional information.

In order to be recommended for certification, candidates are required to maintain UIUC, cumulative, content area, and professional education grade point averages of 2.5 (A=4.0). Candidates should consult their adviser or the Council on Teacher Education for the list of courses used to compute these grade point averages. For teacher education certification requirements applicable to all curricula, see the Council on Teacher Education section elsewhere in this catalog.

Degree Requirements


Hours Orientation Seminar
1 EDUC 101, Education Orientation Seminar

The following degree requirements also meet general education course requirements and must be selected from the campus general education course list.

Hours Communication Skills
4 RHET 105
3-4 Advanced Composition1
7-8 Total

Hours Mathematics and Science1
6-8 Life science
6-8 Physical science (mathematics not acceptable)
3-5 Quantitative Reasoning I elective1
4 MATH 103 - Theory of Arithmetic
19-25 Total

Hours Humanities/Arts2
6 Literature2 (including 3 hours of English or American literature & 3 hours of non-western literature4 suggested)
3 SPED 117
3-4 American History2 (Satisfies Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures requirement.  Choose from HIST 170, 171, 172, 173, 270, 271, or 272.)
12-13 Total

Hours Language Other Than English
0-12 Three years of one language other than English in high school or completion of the third semester of college level language other than English.

Hours American History
3-4 Choose from:
 
HIST 170 - US Hist to 1877-ACP
 
HIST 171 - US Hist to 1877
 
HIST 172 - US Hist Since 1877
 
HIST 173 - US Hist Since 1877-ACP
 
HIST 270 - United States History to 1815
 
HIST 271 - Nineteenth Century America
 
HIST 272 - Twentieth Century America

Hours Social/Behavioral Sciences
4 PSYC 100 - Intro Psych
3 PS 101 - Intro to US Gov & Pol
3-4 Cultural geography. Choose from: GEOG 104, 110, or 210
10-11 Total

Hours Health and Physical Development
3 KIN 268 - Children’s Movement
3 Total

Hours Electives
9 Elective Courses (if needed to complete the 125 hour graduation requirement.)

Hours Area of Concentration2
12 Additional study in one academic discipline selected from the categories of mathematics, science, social sciences, or humanities. No more than six of the required twelve hours may be taken at the 100 level. (Consult an adviser for the list of approved disciplines.)

Hours Professional Education
3-4 EPS 201/202 - Foundations of Education
3 EPSY 236 or PSYC 216 - Child Dev For Elemen Teachers or Child Psych
2 MUS 241 - Music for Elementary Teachers
2 ART 202 - Art in the Elementary Grades
8 EDPR 432 - Ed Prac in Elementary Ed
3 SPED 405 - Gen Educator's Role in SPED
3 CI415 - Language Varieties, Cultures and Learning
2 CI405 - Intro Tchg Elem Age Children
4 CI406 - Thry Prac in Elem Schl Tch, I
2 CI407 - Thry Prac in Elem Schl Tch, II
4 CI430 - Tchg Children Mathematics
3 CI432 - Invest Approach Elem Math Inst
1 CI447 - Iss Prac in Address Diversity
3 CI448 - Tchg Elem Social Studies
2 CI450 - Tchg Elem Science, I
2 CI451 - Tchg Elem Science, II
3 CI467 - Prin Tchg Lit to Child Youth
3 CI475 - Teach Elem Rdg & Lang Arts, I
3 CI476 - Teach Elem Rdg & Lang Arts, II
55-56 Total
125-1345 Total minimum hours for degree

1. General Education Requirement. Courses must be selected from the Campus General Education Approved Course List.
2. Courses must be selected from approved College of Education course list. Please contact academic adviser for approved courses.
3. At least one science course must be a laboratory course as identified in Footnote2. The second life science and physical science electives are degree requirements which must be selected from the campus approved general education list.
4. At least one 3-semester-hour course in humanities, electives, or the area of concentration must be taken in non-Western or US Minority culture.
5. The total hours required for the degree may be higher for students who do not complete the language other than English requirement in high school.