Catalog - Table of Index

History Major

Secondary Education Certification

Degree BA, History
Department Chair David Wright, PhD

The secondary education certification in citizenship (CIT/SECED) is designed to prepare junior high school and secondary school teachers of history and the other social studies. The program emphasizes studies in history with a number of courses in political science, geography, sociology, and anthropology. The CIT/SECED program has been continually refined to keep pace with developments in the profession. Approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, it leads to a teaching certificate valid in Pennsylvania (grades 7–12) and transferable to many other states. A unique aspect of the program is that it prepares teachers to effectively work with students with disabilities who are likely to be included in their classes.

Effectively, students majoring in CIT/SECED must complete two majors, one in teacher education and one in history. Accordingly, they have two academic advisors who cooperate to keep them on track. Each semester, students must meet with both advisors.

Pre-service teachers in CIT/SECED must successfully complete the liberal arts core curriculum, a series of teacher education department (TED) courses and field experiences, the courses and experiences required by the SECED specialization, and a content area major in history.

CIT/SECED majors must satisfactorily complete a series of field experiences that begin during the second semester of the first year and continue every semester until graduation. By graduation, our pre-service teachers will have spent at least 700 hours in community classrooms. During students’ final semesters, they must complete a 15-week student teaching assignment, consisting of two separate placements. All field experiences and teaching assignments are arranged by the university. Transportation to and from field experience and student teaching assignments is the responsibility of the student.

Students who successfully complete the SOC/SECED program are eligible for recommendation by the university to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for state teacher certification. The university’s recommendation and the successful completion of other requirements established by the state, including meeting the pass scores specified by the state on the national teacher examination, qualify graduates for an “Instructional I” certificate. Once certified in Pennsylvania, our graduates usually are able to become certified in other states..

Sequence of Required Courses

First Year

First Semester	Total Credits	15	Second Semester	Total Credits	18
HIS 101	Western Civilization I	3	HIS 102	Western Civilization II	3
MTH	Math Bank I	3	MTH	Math Bank II(Stats)	3
ENG 103	English Composition	3	ENG	Eng Lit Core (Amer or Brit req.)	3
PHL 100	Intro to Philosophy	3	TED 111	Intro to Education	3
PSY 123	Intro to Psychology	3	TED 121	Intro to Technology	3
TED 101	First-Year Seminar or	0	TED 191	First-Year Field	0
TED 102	Transfer Seminar	0	FA	Fine Arts Core	3

Sophomore Year

First Semester	Total Credits	18	Second Semester	Total Credits	17
ENG	English Lit Core	3	FA	Fine Arts Core	3
SCI	Science Core	3	SCI	Science Core	3
PHL	Philosophy Core	3	HIS 104	U.S. History II	3
HIS 103	U.S. History I	3	TED 251	Curriculum	3
TED 231	Learning	3	TED 261	Teaching	3
TED 241	Development	3	TED 271	Classroom Management	2
TED 292	Sophomore Field I	0	TED 293	Sophomore Field II	0

Junior Year

First Semester	Total Credits	18	Second Semester	Total Credits	17
HIS 405	Seminar on History	3	HIS 491	Junior Research Seminar	3
RLS	Core	3	GEO 202	Cultural World Geography	3
TED 367	Methods in Sec Ed	2	TED 377	Classroom Mgt in Sec Ed	1
TED 356	Curriculum In Sec Ed	1	TED 395	Junior Practicum	1
POL 100	Amer National Govt	3	POL 103	Global Politics	3
BUS 207	Contemporary Economics	3	HIS/POL	Free Elective	3
HIS	Advanced Elective	3	ENG	Advanced Elective	3
TED 394	Junior Field	0

Senior Year

First Semester	Total Credits	17	Second Semester	Total Credits	12-15
HIS	Advanced Elective	3	TED 497	Student Teaching	9-12
ENG	Advanced Elective	3	HIS	Advanced Elective	3
TED 443	Parent Conferencing	1
SOC 221	Cultural Minorities	3
HIS 210	History of England	3
RLS	Religion Core	3
TED 401	Senior Seminar	0
TED 496	Senior Field	0

Total required for graduation 131 credits

Education Course Descriptions (TED) History Course Descriptions (HIS)