In addition to the Child Development and Education Major, students pursuing elementary teacher certification must complete a set of Elementary Content Courses, as well as meet additional state requirements. Because of the number of courses required for elementary certification, students wishing to complete certification in 4 years should begin taking courses in the child development and education major by the beginning of their sophomore year.

All students seeking elementary school certification must take a set of 8 courses designed to provide the breadth of knowledge required by the elementary school curriculum: 2 courses in English, 2 in Math, 2 in Science, 1 in History, and 1 in Geography. These courses will generally fulfill the College's Distribution Requirements. However, since not every course that fulfills a College Distribution Requirement will fulfill an Elementary Content Requirement students seeking certification should select their courses carefully.

Guidelines for Elementary Content Courses:

2 English Courses - ENG 111/112 and 1 literature course
Students must take two College level English Courses, one course in composition and one course in literature. ENG 111/112 will count as the composition course. The literature course can be ENG 190 or any other literature course that a student takes. If the English Department grants a student course credit for English 190 based on an AP test score, it will fulfill the literature requirement.

2 Math Courses - MTH 123 & MTH 124
Students must take two College level Math Courses. We require MTH 123 & MTH 124 since they were designed to meet the content requirements of the state. 

1 History Course - American History
Students are required to take a U.S. History course.

1 Geography Course - EDU 205 Geography for Teachers

2 Science Courses -
The State requires knowledge of earth/space, life, and physical sciences including scientific, societal, environmental and ethical programs and issues. Students should select 2 courses that between them provide background in physical and biological sciences and environmental studies. One of the courses must have a laboratory. It is recommended that both courses have labs. Students should use the following information to help guide their choices:

Course	Biological Science Component	Environmental Studies Component	Physical Science Component
BIO 100 (Introduction to Biology)	Yes
BIO 101 (General Biology - Part I)	Yes	Yes	Yes
BIO 102 (General Biology - Part II)	Yes	Yes
CHM 101 (Chemistry in Context)		Yes	Yes
CHM 147 (Topics in Chemistry)			Yes
CHM 160 (Organic Chemistry: Structure and Fundamentals)			Yes
ESS 201 or ESS 202 (Geology)		Yes	Yes
ESS 209 or ESS 210 (Astronomy)		Yes	Yes
ESS 232 (Meterology)*		Yes	Yes
EVS 101 (Intro to Environmental Studies)*	Yes	Yes	Yes
EVS 130 (Intro to Nat. Resource Mgmt)*	Yes	Yes	Yes
EVS 220 (Agroecology)*	Yes	Yes	Yes
EVS 260 (Diffusion of Env. Innovations)*		Yes
PHY 201 or 207 (Introductory Physics)			Yes
SCI 100	Depends on Topic	Depends on Topic	Depends on Topic
SCI 100 (Science of Nutrition)	Yes		Yes
SCI 100 (Forensic Science)	Yes		Yes

* This course does NOT have a lab associated with it.

Students interested in seeking certification should be aware that the State Requirements also include:

• An overall College GPA of 3.0.
• Act 34 Criminal Record Clearance (required annually and will cost the student $10 per year) – Note: Students who have a criminal record are NOT eligible to be certified.
• Act 151 Child Abuse Clearance (required annually and will cost the student $10 per year)
• Negative TB test (required annually while in the program, can be done on campus)
• Passing all 7 of the Praxis tests (National Certification tests)

Students interested in additional information about Pennsylvania State Requirements should contact:

Dr. James Longo, Education Department

Dr. Rosalie Carpenter, Education Department