English Education and Teaching Licensure
Secondary Education Licensure
Students who wish to be licensed to teach English in secondary schools should apply for admission to the English Education Program in their junior year. Licensure requires a 15-hour minor in education and a fifth-year internship. Current GPA requirements for admission to the English Education program are a 2.7 overall GPA and a 3.0 GPA in the major.
To initiate admission, students should contact the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences Student Services Center, Claxton Complex A332, 974-8194.
Information on the advising services provided by the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences for pre-secondary education students can be found at English Education Licensure.
Recommended Courses
The English Education faculty recommends the following courses for students pursuing a career in secondary education:
Surveys of British and American literature
- English 201 British Literature I: Beowulf through Johnson
- English 202 British Literature II: Wordsworth to the Present
- English 231 American Literature I: Colonial Era to the Civil War
- English 232 American Literature II: Civil War to the Present
Shakespeare
- English 404 Shakespeare I: Early Plays
- English 405 Shakespeare II: Late Plays
English Language
- English 372 The Structure of Modern English
African American and/or Women's Literature
- English 233 Major Black Writers, or
- English 333 Black American Literature and Aesthetic, or
- English 443 Topics in Black Literature, or
- English 332 Women in American Literature, or
- English 422 Women Writers in Britain
English 371 (Foundations of the English Language) is also desirable, as is a course in advanced writing (English 355 or 455 or a course in creative writing).
The rest of the upper-division courses should be selected with the intent of filling in gaps in the student's knowledge. The directors of the English Education Program recommend that students planning to enter the program choose courses that cover a broad area (e.g., Modern British and American Poetry) rather than choosing those courses that focus on a single author.
Students should also remember that they must satisfy the requirements of the concentration that they have chosen.