Secondary Education Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Professional Program

Department of Secondary Education, Woodring College of Education

58 credits

Introduction

The Secondary Education program is designed for those who want to become a teacher at the middle or high school level. The program leads to a recommendation to the state of Washington for a teaching certificate endorsed in at least one subject area. This program requires completion of the Secondary professional education course sequence, a baccalaureate degree with academic preparation for an endorsement, and a student teaching internship.

See the Department of Secondary Education catalog page for additional program and teacher certification information. In particular, review the following headings: Certification, Endorsements, Requirements upon Program Admission, Character and Fitness, General Retention Requirements, Program Completion, and Internships.

Why Consider a Secondary Education Undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Professional Program?

Teaching today is more and more focused on ensuring student learning. The benchmark of great teaching is student learning. However, this is a challenge. Teaching and learning are collaborative and reciprocal; it is an on-going process, requiring openness to new ideas. No other profession allows you to engage with a subject matter that you enjoy every day, and work with youth to help them think and learn with you. Teachers have opportunities to go beyond content and create a classroom environment that fosters students to learn and share diverse viewpoints and perspectives about the content and skills they are learning. Plus, you are able to see firsthand when students understand for the first time a new idea or phenomenon. We hope to prepare teachers who are able to foster creativity, transform the status quo, and develop a classroom community of learners. Teaching will transform you and serve the next generation of citizens in our democracy.

How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):

Secondary Education applicants apply when they are close to completing their academic major. Sophomores and transfer students should seek advising with their academic major department, particularly Music and Physical Education & Health applicants. All applicants to the Woodring College of Education undergraduate and post-baccalaureate teacher education programs must be formally admitted to and currently enrolled at Western Washington University or must apply to Western Admissions for the same quarter they apply to teacher education. Inquiries should be directed to Woodring College Teacher Education Admissions, Student Services, Miller Hall 254F, phone 360-650-6161, e-mail address TeacherEd.Admission@wwu.edu.

The requirements listed below are minimum application criteria. Enrollment restrictions apply to Woodring programs. Meeting the following requirements makes the applicant eligible for admission consideration but does not guarantee admission. Students who meet all criteria are further evaluated to determine the most qualified applicants. Students will be evaluated on all information provided with the application, including required copies of transcripts from all prior colleges. Consideration will be given to those applicants with endorsements in academic areas of current critical need.

Pre-application Requirement

An endorsement evaluation is required with your application for all endorsements you may be earning. No more than 10 endorsement credits, limited to the content method course(s), may be outstanding once you begin the SEC program. The evaluation should indicate any courses that are in progress or planned at the time of application. To obtain an evaluation, undergraduates should take transcripts (and a transfer equivalency report) plus the endorsement form (found at wce.wwu.edu/cert/endorsements) to their academic endorsement advisor between October and May. E-mail TeacherEd.Admission@wwu.edu for assistance with the endorsement evaluation. Non-WWU post-baccalaureate applicants must also send course descriptions and/or syllabi for all courses relevant to their endorsement.

Applicants must meet the basic skills requirement in reading, writing, and mathematics. This may be met by: a) Taking the WEST-B exam, b) SAT scores, c) ACT scores. There is no minimum score requirement for admission. See the Woodring admissions website at wce.wwu.edu/admissions/basic-skills for details.

Application Criteria

• Endorsement evaluation.
• Post-baccalaureate applicants must also apply to Western Admissions by the application deadline.
• Cumulative grade point average of 2.75 or higher overall college-level work or over the last 45 credits for undergraduate and post-bac applicants.
• Meet the basic skills requirement.
• Completion of an English composition course with a grade of B- (2.7) or higher
• Experience working with youth in a school or educational setting.
• Experience with diverse communities.
• Essays responding to the prompts on the application.
• Two letters of reference.
• Interview by SEC faculty (details provided after application deadline).

Important Application Dates:

• Applications and supporting materials must be received by the following deadlines: 
  • Fall quarter: February 15, for Undergraduate/Post-Bac. program
  • Winter quarter: September 1 for Undergraduate/Post-Bac. program

Grade Requirements

Students must earn a grade of C or better in the Secondary Education professional program and in all courses required for the endorsement.