If you intend to complete Residency Teacher Certification with an endorsement in Elementary Education, you are required to major in Integrated Studies. Coursework for the major along with the Residency Teacher Certification program may be completed in four years.
It also is possible to complete a major in Integrated Studies without the residency teacher certification coursework. Such students will not be required to complete the Foundations Quarter, Methods Quarter, Integrated Quarter, and Internship quarter required for certification. Instead they must complete one or more concentration-specific capstone courses rather than the Education Capstone course.
Find out more about this program’s mission, vision, and outcomes.
The Integrated Studies major is a comprehensive interdisciplinary program designed for students who want to pursue a career as an elementary school teacher.
- A minimum 86-91 credits are required for this major, including 36-41 upper-division credits.
- This is the required major for you if you intend to complete the Residency Teacher Certification with an endorsement in Elementary Education as an SPU undergraduate.
- Coursework for the major along with the Residency Teacher Certification program may be completed in four years.
- This major allows you to develop depth of knowledge in the content areas in which you will teach: language arts, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, the arts, and health/fitness.
Core courses
The Core Courses were selected to enable you to develop both breadth of content knowledge across the subject areas you will teach (e.g., language arts, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, the arts, and health/fitness), and some depth of content knowledge in those areas. These courses simultaneously fulfill your Ways of Knowing requirements.
A number of these courses were specifically designed for future elementary teachers, including inquiry-based mathematics; inquiry-based science; children’s literature; the arts, music, theatre; and health/fitness education of children.
The courses are aligned with the six content areas of Washington state’s Endorsement Competencies for Elementary Education K–8 and will prepare you to take the state-mandated WEST-B® and WEST-E™ content skills tests. Further information about the tests can be found on the School of Education website.
Concentration in a discipline
You will select a discipline as an area of concentration early in your program. You take 24–35 additional credits of coursework in this discipline with the goal of acquiring greater depth of knowledge in one of the Core content areas.
When you are admitted into the major, you should work with your advisor for your selected concentration.
The six concentration areas, and their faculty contacts, include:
- The Arts Concentration, Andrew Ryder, PhD, advisor
- Health and Fitness Concentration, Jarrett Mentink, PhD, advisor
- Language Arts Concentration, April Middeljans, PhD, advisor (If you choose this concentration, you must fulfill the requirement for proficiency in a second language.)
- Mathematics Concentration, Jerilynn Lepak, PhD, advisor
- Natural Sciences Concentration, Kara Gray, PhD, advisor
- Social Sciences Concentration, Alberto Ferreiro, PhD, advisor
Advising
It is extremely important for you to work closely with an advisor as you make decisions regarding your course selections for the Core courses, the Concentration, and the Residency Teacher Certification, and the University’s graduation requirements.
As an incoming freshman, you are assigned a University Colloquium advisor and an Integrated Studies faculty advisor. You will work with your Integrated Studies faculty advisor to select appropriate courses.
If you plan to participate in a study abroad program, you will need to work closely with your faculty advisor to determine the most appropriate quarter for such travel. This planning should be done during your freshman year, if possible.
Transfer students
Work closely with your Integrated Studies faculty advisor to determine whether or not you have completed transfer courses that may substitute in the Core courses and in the Concentration.
entering and completing the major
In order to earn a degree, you must complete an academic major. SPU encourages students to explore various academic paths, and students are not required to enter a major immediately upon admission to the University. However, you should enter a major by the end of your sophomore year to help ensure your timely completion of a degree. Students who transfer as juniors and seniors should identify and enter their major within their first two quarters at SPU.
- If this is your first quarter at SPU and you wish to enter a major in this department, you may select a program by using the online Major or Minor Application form. You will receive an email notification of acceptance.
- If you are an SPU student with an SPU cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better, use the online Major or Minor Application form to select your major. You will receive an email notification of acceptance. Students on academic probation (with an SPU cumulative GPA below 2.0) will not be permitted to enter a new major or minor until they regain good academic standing.
- Once admitted, you should maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA if you plan to pursue elementary teacher certification.
- The University requires a grade of C- or better in all classes that apply to a major or minor; however, programs may require higher minimum grades in specific courses. You may repeat an SPU course only once for a higher grade.
- To advance in this program, meet with your faculty advisor regularly to discuss your grades, course progression, and other indicators of satisfactory academic progress. If your grades or other factors indicate that you may not be able to successfully complete the major, your faculty advisor can work with you to explore options, which may include choosing a different major.
- You must complete the major requirements in effect in the SPU Undergraduate Catalog for the year of admittance to the major.