Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Arts
Nature of the Program
Students who want to become secondary English teachers (grades 5-Adult) complete a series of Secondary Education courses, requirements for General Education Foundations (GEF) components that are related to the area of specialization, and courses specific to the area of specialization: English, Grade 5-Adult.
The program boasts a clear set of research-based program goals and carefully sequenced learning experiences. Students will learn to integrate what one teaches with how it is taught and will receive more than 1,000 hours of experience in public school classrooms. The program functions in close collaboration with exemplary local public schools and has selective and rigorous standards for admission and retention of students as well as rigorous performance requirements that are relevant to effective teaching practice.
Admissions
- First-Time Freshmen are admitted directly into the major.
- Students transferring from another major at WVU must have a 2.75 overall GPA.
- Students transferring from another institution must have a 2.75 overall GPA.
Admission Requirements 2024-2025
The Admission Requirements above will be the same for the 2024-2025 Academic Year.
Major Code: 1423
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
General Education Foundations | ||
F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
Total Hours | 31-37 |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
Students must complete WVU General Education Foundations requirements, College B.A. requirements, major requirements, and electives to total a minimum of 120 credit hours. For complete details on these requirements, visit the B.A. Degrees tab on the Eberly College of Arts and Sciencespage.
Departmental Requirements for the B.A. in English Secondary Education
Students wishing to graduate with a degree in English Secondary Education must complete a total of 96 credit hours in their major. Students must abide by the following rules:
- Capstone Requirement: The university requires the successful completion of a Capstone course. Students majoring in English Secondary Education will complete ENGL 496 Senior Thesis for their Capstone experience.
- Writing and Communication Skills: The English Secondary Education program is a SpeakWrite Affiliated Program, committed to fostering and assessing student's written, verbal, visual, and mediated communication skills. The English Secondary Education major requires its Bachelor of Arts program graduates to complete at minimum the following SpeakWrite certified courses: ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 (or ENGL 103), ENGL 200, ENGL 241 ,ENGL 242 ENGL 261, ENGL 263, ENGL 496.
- Calculation of the GPA in the major: Students must earn a minimum grade C- in all C&I, EDUC, ENGL, and SPED courses applied toward English/Secondary Education Major Requirements, and minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75. If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of the GPA unless the course is eligible for a D/F repeat.
- WV State Certification Requirements:
- PRAXIS II #5038 English Language Arts (NOTE: Successful completion of this assessment is required prior to student teaching; scores must be received prior to obtaining a student teaching permit.)
- edTPA Teacher Performance Assessment – a three-part performance exam during student teaching. (NOTE: Successful completion of this assessment is required for program completion.
- Teacher candidates complete field experience hours in middle and high schools while completing professional education coursework. During the final year of the program, teacher candidates are placed in an appropriate school to complete their clinical student teaching experience. The College of Education and Human Services coordinates the placement and supervision of teacher candidates as they engage in these professional experiences.
- Benchmark Expectations: Please check Degree Progress tab.
Curriculum Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
University Requirements | 28 | |
ECAS B.A. Requirements | 12 | |
English/Secondary Education Major Requirements | 80 | |
Total Hours | 120 |
University Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
Outstanding GEF Requirements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 | 24 | |
ENGL 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
General Electives | 3 | |
Total Hours | 28 |
ECAS B.A. Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Fine Arts Requirement | ||
Foreign Language | 12 | |
Global Studies and Diversity Requirement | ||
Total Hours | 12 |
English/Secondary Education Major Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Foundation Course | 3 | |
Foundations of Literary Study | ||
English Language Course | 3 | |
The English Language | ||
Historical Breadth Courses | 9 | |
American Literature 1 | ||
American Literature 2 | ||
British Literature 1 | ||
Gender/Multicultural/Transnational Course | 6 | |
Non-Western World Literature | ||
and select one of the following: | ||
Topics in Multiethnic Literature | ||
Topics in Native American Literature | ||
Global Anglophone Literature | ||
American Women Writers | ||
British Women Writers | ||
Topics in Women's Literature | ||
Study of Major Author Course | 3 | |
Shakespeare 1 | ||
or ENGL 363 | Shakespeare 2 | |
Methods Course | 3 | |
Approaches to Teaching Composition | ||
English Electives | 12 | |
Young Adult Literature | ||
Any ENGL at the 200-level or above | ||
Select any ENGL class at the 300 level or above | ||
Select one ENGL Writing Elective from the list below: | ||
Creative Writing Workshop: Fiction | ||
Creative Writing Workshop: Poetry | ||
Creative Writing Workshop: Non-Fiction | ||
Topics in Creative Writing | ||
Writing Theory and Practice | ||
Editing | ||
Multimedia Writing | ||
Business and Professional Writing | ||
Technical Writing | ||
Topics in Digital Humanities | ||
UNDERGRADUATE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION COURSEWORK | 38 | |
Teaching Language Arts: Secondary School | ||
Approaches to Teaching Language | ||
Approaches to Teaching Reading in ELA | ||
Identity and Cultural Diversity in the Classroom | ||
Teaching Practicum | ||
Seminar | ||
Learning in PreK-Adult Educational Settings | ||
Professional Inquiry in Education | ||
Practicum 1/Technology Application | ||
Practicum 2/Technology Application | ||
Special Education in Contemporary Society | ||
Differentiated Secondary Instruction | ||
Capstone Experience | 3 | |
Senior Thesis | ||
Total Hours | 80 |
Suggested Plan of Study
First Year | |||
---|---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
F2A | 3 | F3 | 3 |
F5 | 3 | F4 | 3 |
ECAS Global and Diversity Requirement (F7) | 3 | Foreign Language 102 | 3 |
ENGL 101 (F1) | 3 | ENGL 102 (F1) | 3 |
ENGL 191 | 1 | ENGL 200 | 3 |
Foreign Language 101 | 3 | ||
16 | 15 | ||
Second Year | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
F2A | 3 | Foreign Language 204 | 3 |
Foreign Language 203 | 3 | EDUC 200 | 3 |
ENGL 221 | 3 | ENGL 242 (F8 Course 1) | 3 |
ENGL 241 (ECAS Fine Arts Req. & F6) | 3 | ENGL 263 (F8 Course 2) | 3 |
ENGL 200+ Elective | 3 | ENGL 226 | 3 |
15 | 15 | ||
Third Year | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
C&I 424 | 3 | C&I 324 | 3 |
EDP 301 | 3 | C&I 425 | 3 |
EDUC 311 | 1 | C&I 489 | 3 |
ENGL 261 (F8 Course 3) | 3 | EDUC 312 | 1 |
ENGL 309 | 3 | ENGL 405 | 3 |
SPED 304 | 3 | SPED 461 | 3 |
16 | 16 | ||
Fourth Year | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
C&I 491 | 11 | ENGL 496 | 3 |
C&I 494 | 1 | ENGL at the 300 level (Literature of minority, regional or underrepresented groups) | 3 |
ENGL at the 300 Level or above | 3 | ||
ENGL/WRIT at the 300 Level or above (Writing Elective) | 3 | ||
ENGL at the 300 level or above | 3 | ||
12 | 15 | ||
Total credit hours: 120 |
Degree Progress
- By the end of the fourth semester in the major, the student must have completed EDUC 200 with a C or better and must have a minimum GPA of 2.75. If a student does not meet these criteria, they will be removed from the major until the benchmarks are met.
- By the end of the sixth semester in the major, the student must have completed 125 hours of field placement and must have a minimum GPA of 2.75.
- To graduate with this major, a student needs an overall GPA of 2.75.
Major Learning Outcomes
English/Secondary Education
Upon successful completion of the B.A. degree, English majors will be able to:
- Interpret texts within diverse literary, cultural, and historical contexts.
- Demonstrate a general knowledge of the social and structural aspects of the English language.
- Demonstrate a range of contextually effective writing strategies.
The learning goals for the WVU Secondary Teacher Education Program are to prepare students who:
- Have commitment and skills to engage in life-long learning;
- Are effective communicators;
- Recognize that teaching is a professional, moral, and ethical enterprise with well-developed ethical frameworks which facilitate effective teaching;
- Will serve as a facilitator of learning for all students;
- Possess in-depth knowledge of both pedagogy and content, and the relationships between them;
- Are reflective practitioners;
- Are aware of, and have respect for, human diversity;
- Value and integrate knowledge from a wide variety of fields, are creative and open to new ideas, and are able to act constructively in a world characterized by technological, cultural, and societal diversity and change.