Secondary Education, BA

Department: Secondary Education and E ducational Leadership

High School (8-12), Middle School (5-8), PreK-12 Specialist

The Department for Secondary Education and Educational Leadership offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education. This major is designed for undergraduate students intending to teach at the middle and/or high school grade levels (i.e., grades 6-12). The Secondary Education, BA is a double major program and requires students to be concurrently enrolled in another major from an appropriate academic discipline. Graduates from the program will be eligible to apply for initial Massachusetts licensure in their respective content area(s), listed below:

Biology (Teacher of Biology 8‑12)
Chemistry (Teacher of Chemistry 8‑12)
Dance (Teacher of Dance - all levels)
Earth and Space Science (Teacher of Earth and Space Science 8‑12)
English (Teacher of English 5‑12)
History (Teacher of History 5‑12)*
Mathematics (Teacher of Mathematics 5‑8 or 8‑12)
Physics (Teacher of Physics 8‑12)
Spanish (Teacher of Foreign Language: Spanish 5-12)
Theatre (Teacher of Theatre - all levels)
Visual Art (Teacher of Visual Art PreK‑8 or 5‑12)

*Please note: students intending to teach history must enroll in both the History BA and the Social Studies minor.

Additionally, all undergraduate students preparing for a career in education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts must meet the requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Students may not enroll in education courses beyond the introductory level (300-level and above) until they have met all admission criteria (including a minimum overall 2.800 GPA and successful completion of the appropriate Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure^®). See the Educator Preparation and Licensure Policies and Procedures for further information.

Learning Outcomes

Admission Requirements

Students may declare a major in Secondary Education at any point, provided they are concurrently enrolled in a major from the liberal arts or sciences. All undergraduate students seeking licensure must consult the College of Education and Health Sciences section of the this catalog for information pertaining to admission to a professional education program and the state regulations for the licensure of educational personnel and important institutional deadlines.

Grade Requirement

2.800 minimum GPA in the major and minimum grade of “C-” for all required courses.

Course Requirements

Foundation courses (9 credits)

EDHM 210 - Introduction to Teaching in the Secondary Schools *
EDHM 225 - Adolescent Development for Middle and High School Teachers
EDHM 235 - Learning, Motivation, and Teaching
*Must be completed before applying to the professional education program.

Cognate course (3 credits)

SPED 202 - Introduction to Special Education

Professional courses (9 credits)

Enrollment in the following courses requires admission to the professional education program.

Strategies course (3 credits)

Select the appropriate content area course from the following:

Student teaching practicum (12 credits)

Before enrolling in the practicum, all course work, including content courses, must be completed and respective content are MTEL^® exams must be passed. See the Educator Preparation and Licensure Policies and Procedures for specific deadlines.

EDHM 490 - Teaching Practicum (12 credits)
or INTD 492 - International Student Teaching Experience (6 credits) and EDHM 490 - Teaching Practicum (6 credits)

Note:

Note: No more than two (2) EDHM courses may be taken during a semester.

Total minimum credits: 36

Core Curriculum Requirements

A minimum of 120 earned credit hours is required for graduation. These earned hours include the Core Curriculum Requirements as specified in the Core Curriculum section of this catalog and at the Core Curriculum website, www.bridgew.edu/corecurriculum. For additional graduation requirements, see the Undergraduate Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog.