Degree Requirements

Content Area Courses

All students need to have sufficient knowledge of the subject they will be teaching.  Illinois State Board of Education requires a minimum of 48 quarter hours (32 semester hours) in the content area subject.  Students should meet with their designated Content Area advisor at the beginning of their program for an official written content evaluation and provide a copy to your academic advisor.  Requirements can be satisfied by undergraduate coursework or courses taken elsewhere.  Content courses must be completed before student teaching.

Requirements for Secondary Education Social Science

All coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better.

  • US History I
  • US History II
  • US History – upper level
  • US History – upper level
  • World History I
  • World History II
  • Non-US, World History – upper level
  • Non-US, World History – upper level
  • Secondary Field (6 courses minimum):  Choose single field from Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, or Socio​​logy.

Additional certification requirements

  • One course in each area required
    • Geography
    • Economics
    • Political Science
    • Sociology/Anthropology 

Course Requirements

Pre-Education Introductory Courses: 16 quarter hours required

Advanced Standing Courses: 20 quarter hours required

**Note: Students matriculating in 2012-2013 and currently enrolled students who have not taken T&L 453 are advised to substitute TCH 472 for this course.

Graduate Level Content Area Courses: 8 quarter hours required

Two courses in History or the Social Sciences the graduate level are required.  Courses must be taken before student teaching if pursuing degree (not required for individuals pursuing certification only).  Courses must be approved by your Content Area Advisor prior to registration and requires graduate level registration.

  • HST   300 or 400 level history or social science course 1  
  • HST   300 or 400 level history or social science course 2

Student Teaching: 8 quarter hours required

Registration in student teaching requires completion of all requirements and procedures listed in the college core section.   EDU 95 indicates to the Illinois State Board of Education that all field experience hours are complete.

Induction Course: 4 quarter hours required

The induction year course is designed to assist students to negotiate the first year of teaching and aid in professional development.  The induction course is a requirement for the degree, not a requirement for certification.  This course must be taken at DePaul.

**Note: Beginning Fall 2012, students may take T&L 611 before or after student teaching.  Students matriculating Fall 2012 and currently enrolled students are advised to substitute TCH 482 for T&L 611.

Recommended/Optional Course

SCG 439 is required for middle school endorsements but is not required for the degree.  If taking SCG 439 for certification/endorsement purposes, a grade of C or better is required.

Master of Arts (M.A.) Degree Requirements: 4 quarter hours required

This is a Master of Arts degree requirement only.  A master’s thesis is written to fulfill the requirements of this course. An oral examination on the thesis is required. 

Certification Tests

All individuals certified by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) are required to complete certification tests specific to their teaching certificate.  Secondary Education Social Science majors must complete the following tests:

  • Test of Academic Proficiency (TAP) (test #400) - assesses knowledge of reading comprehension, language arts, writing, and math.  Test is required to qualify for Advanced Standing.
  • Social Science: History Content Area Test (test #114) – assesses and measures the candidate's core knowledge across history and social science fields.  Test is required before Student Teaching (deadlines apply)
  • Assessment of Professional Teaching (APT) (test #103, grade 6-12) – assesses knowledge of teaching planning, delivery, assessment, professionalism, and technology.  Test is required to be certified, recommended to take before Student Teaching. 

Field Experiences​​

Each student seeking certification from the College of Education/Professional Education Unit must complete supervised field experiences in appropriate settings in conjunction with education courses. The field experiences must include a variety of grade levels, multicultural experiences, and a minimum of 15 hours in special education settings. All field experiences must be completed prior to final approval for student teaching. Field experience hours should be entered by the student into the FEDS system when completing courses with field experience requirements. For details on requirements, expectations, documentation, & courses in your program that require hours, visit the College of Education website.​

T&L 589

THESIS RESEARCH IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

A student writing a thesis registers for this course for four quarter hours of credit. Where the thesis research and the writing of the thesis itself are prolonged beyond the usual time, the program advisor may require the student to register for additional credit. PREREQUISITE(S): SCG 410 and approved thesis proposal.

SCG 439

PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF YOUTH AND MIDDLE LEVEL EDUCATION

This course examines foundational and contemporary theories of youth and adolescent development. It considers how these theoretical ideas relate to contemporary questions of youth and middle level education. The course explores the historical invention of adolescence, changing ideas about the meaning of childhood, as well as some of the broader social, economic, political, and cultural implications of these changing ideas. This course seeks to develop in prospective educators a broader capacity to theorize about youth and schooling, and, hence, to act critically and reflectively in multiple contexts in which youth learn.

T&L 611

INDUCTION INTO THE TEACHING PROFESSION: SECONDARY

This course is designed to assist first-year secondary teachers to make the transition from student of teaching to teacher. The course creates a bridge between first-year teachers' formal education and the realities of their classrooms. In particular, the course provides assistance with the following: 1) understanding their induction into the profession; 2) analyzing their new educational contexts; 3) actualizing their educational philosophies; 4) developing their pedagogical knowledge; and 5) identifying and making the most of professional support systems within their schools. Prerequisite: Completion of student teaching or practicing teacher. PREREQUISITE(S): T&L 590 or practicing teacher.
Prerequisites:
T&L 590 is a prerequisite for this class.

T&L 590

SECONDARY STUDENT TEACHING

(6 quarter hours) Students will be placed for a minimum of 10 weeks in a secondary school. Seminar will meet once a week, in the participating schools and/or at DePaul. At first, they will focus on issues of immediate concern to student teachers. As the students gain experience the seminar will examine six or eight classroom issues; that is, topics which students have found to be significant on the basis of their experience. These would have found to be significant on the basis of their experience. These would include such things as assessment, evaluation, classroom management, curriculum planning, and relationships with colleagues. After delineating what the issues are, students would be expected to analyze and discuss readings which relate to the issues. PREREQUISITE(S): Application and approval required. Open only to DePaul student.

T&L 591

SECONDARY STUDENT TEACHING SEMINAR

(2 credit hours) This course is taken concurrently with T&L 590, Secondary Student Teaching. In this course, students will have opportunities to reflect on their student teaching experience and prepare materials to support their employment searches and career as teachers. COREQUISITE(S): T&L 590

EDU 95

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE WITH CHILDREN AND YOUTH

(no credit) Required of all students. Observations and participatory experience with children and youth in a school or agency. This course is a prerequisite for student teaching and related professional courses.

EDU 25

BASIC TECHNOLOGY LITERACY

(0 Credit) This online course provides students with a knowledge about assembling, using, and troubleshooting basic technology hardware and software. In this course, students demonstrate understanding of basic computer setup and the use of peripheral devices such as printers, speakers, flash drives, scanners, digital cameras, videos, and computer software.

T&L 424

INTRODUCTION TO SECONDARY EDUCATION

This course is an introduction to the DePaul Secondary Education program as well as the professional world of secondary school teaching. In this course, candidates develop the knowledge and skills necessary for being a reflective practitioner. Candidates focus on understanding themselves (professional identity) and their behaviors in teaching situations with students in schools. These insights, combined with subject-matter knowledge, guide the development of various course assignments. Candidates will learn how to observe effectively in a school setting, to identify school governance issues, to understand school environment and the current social issues that shape it, and will experience a variety of teaching methods and resources for their future teaching. Candidates will acquire knowledge of important social concepts and theories that affect education, especially as they affect educational change in urban societies. As candidates become aware of differences in individual, ethnic, and cultural group attitudes, values and needs, they also will learn to recognize the complexities of teaching and learning in a pluralistic society. Candidates will be committed to teaching as a responsible professional who acts ethically as well as in a collegial fashion. In addition to class attendance, candidates are required to complete 15 daytime fieldwork hours as part of the course. This course is a prerequisite to T&L 425. It is highly recommended that this course be taken concurrently with SCG 406.

T&L 425

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION IN SECONDARY EDUCATION

This course will examine materials, methods, and techniques appropriate for teaching in secondary schools. Topics include writing instructional objectives, developing lesson plans, designing a curriculum unit, understanding classroom management and assessment related issues. Students will be encouraged to reflect upon their own emerging educational philosophies as well as draw from previous courses they have taken. Students will be given many opportunities for planning, using and evaluating a variety of instructional strategies while preparing and teaching a micro lesson in front of their peers. Students will be committed to teaching as a professional acting responsibly, ethically, and collegially in accordance to Vincentian Personalism. Prerequisite course: T&L 424
Prerequisites:
T&L 424 is a prerequisite for this class.

SCG 406

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING:SECONDARY

This course focuses on the multiple factors that contribute to the period of adolescence, bridging childhood and adulthood. Particular attention is given to the intrapsychic, interpersonal, biological, and socio-cultural processes that are mediated by the meanings that youth give to their identity vis a vis rac, class, and gender formations within the broader society. Students will engage in interdisciplinary study of theories to examine the implications for teaching and learning processes and the role of educational institutions in fostering the healthy development of youth in society. Forms of inquiry will include students' examination of their own lives and assumptions, critique of theory, and observations of young people in a variety of contexts.

SCG 408

EDUCATION AND SOCIETY

A study of social forces that impinge upon the educational enterprise and analysis of the relationship to major social problems in urban education with emphasis on their social, economic, political, historical and philosophical dimensions.

SCG 409

SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

This course focuses on the relationship between school structures and culture, social relations of race, ethnicity, class, and gender, and ideologies organizing education in the United States. Students will explore a range of theories in the sociology of education atha5t explore linkages between school structures and processes and broader social forces. Readings may examine the political economy of schooling, inequalities in educational practices, and student and teacher identities shaped by schools and the larger society.

SCG 411

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

This course examines the relationship of education to the moral and ethical dilemmas or predicaments of the human condition. It will entail issues related to the nature of education's responsiveness, or lack there of, to the concerns of the human condition: for example, human alienation, suffering, success and failure, caring, freedom, responsibility, liberaiton and agency. Special attention will be given to how these concerns influences or have social, cultural and political implications for how teachers address them within the teaching and learning process.

SCG 410

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH: PURPOSES, ISSUES, AND METHODOLOGIES

(formerly CUG 400) This course will examine the basic questions, issues and theoretical frameworks central to the purpose, conceptualization, conduct, writing, reading and the use of educational research as a means for informing educational theory, practice and policy. Students will be exposed to the multiple frameworks which inform education research, the various methodologies employed in collecting and analyzing data and will examine the advantages, limitations and values implicit in conducting and evaluating research.

LSI 446

PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION OF THE EXCEPTIONAL CHILD

Identification, characteristics, programs, schools, curricular variations, techniques for securing maximal development. Includes historical background, current legal and service provision issues including mainstreaming and inclusion.
Prerequisites:
Advanced Teacher Candidate Standing is a prerequisite for this class.

T&L 525

READING, WRITING, AND COMMUNICATING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

This course analyzes the relationships among reading, writing, speaking and listening. It encourages middle level and high school teachers in all disciplines to take these interrelationships into account and to plan curricula that include current teaching strategies to enable students to become better readers, writers and thinkers in their various content-areas. This course will also concentrate on group process and its role in effective teaching within and across content-areas. Language use, learning and teaching are considered from a multicultural perspective.
Prerequisites:
Advanced Teacher Candidate Standing is a prerequisite for this class.

HST 393

TEACHING HISTORY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (CROSS-LISTED AS SE 310/T&L 453)

Teaching History And The Social Sciences (Cross-listed as SE 310/T&L 453)

T&L 453

TEACHING HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Teaching, History and Social Science in Secondary Schools. Prepares for teaching history and social sciences at the middle and secondary school levels. Examines the nature and purpose of history and social sciences curriculum within secondary schools, the current status of social studies materials and practices, and issues confronting today's secondary social studies teachers. Emphasis on alternative teaching strategies, resources for teaching and learning, teachers' responsibilities in curriculum development and decision-making, and methods and materials for addressing cultural diversity. Lesson and unit development, evaluation and classroom management also will be discussed. PREREQUISITE(S): T&L 405 or T&L 425 and Advanced Standing.
Prerequisites:
Advanced Teacher Candidate Standing is a prerequisite for this class.

T&L 455

READINGS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Prepares students for teaching American history at the secondary level. Readings focus on the foundational texts of American history from the colonial era to the late 20th century, with an emphasis on gaining content knowledge and applying it to teaching in the secondary classroom. Class discussions focus on matters of interpretation, evidence, and historiography.

TCH 484

TEACHING THE SCIENCES IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 2

This course continues students' immersion into the pedagogical content knowledge development and practices that began in TCH 424 and TCH 474. The course provides students opportunities to continue to explore and develop research-based and theoretically grounded best practices in the teaching of the different sciences, including biology, chemistry, environmental science, and physics with an emphasis on reflective and collaborative practice. The course provides extensive opportunities for planning, using, and evaluating a variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology resources, through teaching demonstrations and modeling and field experiences. Students will fine-tune and reflect on writing instructional objectives, developing lesson plans, designing a curriculum unit, creating a classroom environment, and implementing instructional delivery strategies and methods that meet the needs of diverse learners, including English language learners and students who speak nonmainstream dialects of English. And like in TCH 471, students will reflect on and clearly articulate orally, in writing, and through practice an educational philosophy and theory. Students will also demonstrate commitment to teaching as a professional who acts responsibly, ethically, and collegially in accordance to Vincentian personalism.

TCH 472

TEACHING HISTORY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 1

This course introduces students to the theoretical and practical issues of teaching history and the social sciences in secondary classrooms. The course introduces candidates to research-based and theoretically grounded best practices in the teaching of the basic concepts of the seven social science disciplines. Students will practice and reflect on writing instructional objectives, developing lesson plans, designing a curriculum unit, creating a classroom environment, and implementing instructional delivery strategies and methods, including the use of technology resources, that meet the needs of diverse learners, including English language learners and students who speak nonmainstream dialects of English. Students will reflect on their own emerging educational philosophies and theories. They will also demonstrate commitment to teaching as a professional who acts responsibly, ethically, and collegially in accordance to Vincentian personalism.

TCH 482

TEACHING HISTORY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 2

This course continues students' immersion into the pedagogical content knowledge development and practices that began in TCH 422 and TCH 472. The course provides students opportunities to continue to explore and develop research-based and theoretically grounded best practices in the teaching of the basic concepts of the seven social science disciplines with an emphasis on reflective and collaborative practice. The course provides extensive opportunities for planning, using, and evaluating a variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology resources, through teaching demonstrations and modeling and field experiences. Students will fine-tune and reflect on writing instructional objectives, developing lesson plans, designing a curriculum unit, creating a classroom environment, and implementing instructional delivery strategies and methods that meet the needs of diverse learners, including English language learners and students who speak nonmainstream dialects of English. And like in TCH 471, students will reflect on and clearly articulate orally, in writing, and through practice an educational philosophy and theory. Students will also demonstrate commitment to teaching as a professional who acts responsibly, ethically, and collegially in accordance to Vincentian personalism.