Early Childhood, Elementary, & Middle Level Education

Two distinct options are offered through the Elementary Education Curriculum: General and Middle School. Both lead to a Standard Elementary (kindergarten through grade nine) Certificate. In the General option, emphasis is on kindergarten through grade six, while in the Middle School option the emphasis is on grades five through eight and includes a subject matter endorsement for teaching in grades 5-9.

This major requires that all students (including native, dual majors, transfer students from community colleges or senior institutions, internal transfers, and post-baccalaureate) follow and meet the requirements for Admission, Retention, and Graduation from Teacher Certification programs as described in the “Teacher Certification Programs” section of this catalog and as explained at the University Admission to Teacher Education Meeting which all students must attend. Students must gain University Approval to Take Teacher Education Courses no later that the end of their first semester Junior year in order to use this suggested plan. Additional information on Admission, Retention and Graduation for Teacher Certification programs can be found on the College of Education & Professional Studies website at www.eiu.edu/ceps/teached.

All students must pass the Illinois Certification Test of Basic Skills for selection into teacher education and should complete this requirement no later than their sophomore year.

Students must receive a “C” or better in all professional education courses and maintain a minimum cumulative and major GPA of 2.65 in order to continue in the program. Courses requiring a “C” or better are identified in the suggested plan by a “+”.