Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Studies Adolescence Education (leading to initial certification)

Requirements may differ according to date of enrollment. Current students should check their college catalog.

Responsibility for the B.A. in Social Studies Adolescence Education is shared by the College of Education and the Department of History. Students are encouraged to double major in History (or another field) in order to enhance their understanding of the discipline and their future employment opportunities.

Requirements beyond those of the College Core Curriculum include:

Students in all education programs are required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language. This requirement may be satisfied in any one of the following four ways: (1) completion of course work at the 116 level at Fredonia, or (2) transferring the equivalent of two successful college semesters (116 level), or (3) scoring at the 50th percentile or higher on the CLEP exam, or (4) completion of three years of high school language with a Regents score of 85.

Double Major

To achieve the double major in History with the addition of only one history course, the student must select a history course for the American minorities requirement and for one of the Part IV B courses in the Building Knowledge group.

Requirements for Transfer Credit: Students transferring credits to Fredonia should normally expect no more than 27 credit hours earned elsewhere to apply to the Social Studies course requirements. (Special consideration can be given students who have earned a B.A. degree in one of the social sciences.) As a rule, the department will not accept as equivalents to advanced social studies courses credits earned at two-year colleges. All requirements for EDU 419 and EDU 430 must be completed under Fredonia supervision. To be applied to the requirements of the Social Studies Adolescence Education program, transferred courses must have been completed with a grade of C+ or better.

Other Requirements: All majors must fulfill all testing and assessment requirements set by the Department of History. At present, these include gated assessment requirements. Grades must be C+ or better in all required courses in the Social Studies program. The Written Communication requirement under the College Core Curriculum must be passed with a C or better. Students are encouraged to complete one course in statistics as part of the College Core Curriculum.

Enrolled students and transfer students wishing to declare the Social Studies Adolescence Education major must have an overall GPA of 2.75. The grade point requirements for entering the student teaching semester are: overall GPA of 2.75, in Professional Education courses 2.75, and in the Social Studies component 2.75. Acceptance into the senior, professional year is also contingent upon a personal interview and review by the Social Studies screening committee composed of Department of History faculty and area social studies teachers. A copy of the criteria used by the screening committee may be obtained in the history department. Acceptance into student teaching also requires approval by the director of the College of Education.

EDU 419 can be taken only in the fall semester of the senior year. EDU 430 requires the entire spring semester as a full course load.

Students are strongly advised to pursue a second major in History or one of the other social science disciplines (economics, political science, or sociology/anthropology) and may count appropriate courses taken for the Social Studies Adolescence Education major and the College Core Curriculum requirements towards such a second major.