Middle Education

Purpose

The goal of Middle School Education program is to prepare knowledgeable and competent practitioners who are dedicated to serving the educational needs of all learners in grades 5-9.

Programs

The department offers three Middle School programs:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Non-Degree Certification Program for candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in an area other than education
• Master of Arts in Teaching program for candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in an area other than education

Completion of all programs qualifies candidates for a Type 03 (K-9) Illinois Teaching Certificate with middle grade (5-9) endorsements in language arts and social sciences. Other endorsements can be chosen as part of the concentration requirement.

Program Requirements

Undergraduate

Candidates seeking the Bachelor’s Degree complete 131 credit hours of coursework in three areas:

General Education	51 credit hours
Area of Concentration	21 credit hours
Professional Education	59 credit hours

 

Non-Degree Certification

Candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree in a field other than education may choose to complete only those courses which will lead to certification.

Master of Arts in Teaching

Candidates seeking the Master of Arts in Teaching Degree complete 59 credit hours of professional education coursework, in addition to any general education courses needed.  A final Comprehensive Exam will be taken prior to student teaching.

For All Programs

In addition to coursework, candidates complete approximately 200 clock hours of field experiences prior to student teaching. These experiences include observation, tutoring, teacher aiding, and teaching in middle grades. The final field experience, student teaching, places candidates in a middle level classroom all day, everyday for 16 weeks.

After admission to the university, candidates must eventually apply to the College of Education in order to take restricted professional education courses. In addition to other requirements, candidates must pass the Illinois Certification Test of Basic Skills prior to applying for admission to the College of Education.

Successfully completion of the Illinois Content Area Certification exam in Elementary/Middle Grades is required prior to student teaching, and successful completion of the Assessment of Professional Teaching Certification exam is required prior to graduation/certification.

All candidates must provide evidence of a recent TB test, and a recent fingerprint background check before completing any field experiences.

The Elementary Education Middle School Option Program is nationally recognized.