Science Education (Concentration in Physics), BSEd

Total number of hours for the program: 120. These hours include the Liberal Studies program, the Professional Education Sequence, the Concentration in Physics, and general electives.

(Nine credits that count for the major may also fulfill requirements in Liberal Studies)

Admission to the Science Education Program

Students seeking admission to the Science Education Program must declare their major and meet the requirements for admission to the Teacher Education Program .

Admission to the Professional Education Sequence

Students in Professional Education must be admitted to the Teacher Education Program and are subject to all of the teacher education requirements. EDCI 201 and SPED 240 are the only courses in the professional education sequence that may be taken prior to admission to teacher education.

Continuation in the Science Education Program

To continue in the program, students must meet the continuation requirements of the Teacher Education Program .

Liberal Studies Hours (42 hours)

Liberal Studies Program Requirements

Teacher Education Program

Teacher Education Program Policies and Procedures

Professional Education Sequence (23 hours)

The professional education sequence for secondary science education majors includes the follow 23 hours:

Core Courses
EDCI 201 - Teacher Leadership in a Diverse Society Credits: 3
SPED 240 - The Exceptional Child Credits: 3
EDCI 430 - Culturally Relevant Classroom Management Credits: 3
Intern I
EDSE 483 - Secondary/Special Subject Area Internship I Credits: 2-3
Intern II
SCI 491 - Supervised Student Teaching in the Sciences, 9-12 Credits: 3
EDSE 485 - Internship II Credits: 6
EDSE 495 - Seminar Credits: 3
You must be fully admitted into the Teacher Education Program and have a 2.75 GPA to enroll in all of the above courses (except for EDCI 201 and SPED 240)

Science and Math Requirements for Physics Concentration (64 hours)

The major requires 64 hours as follows:

SCI 150 - Introduction to Secondary Science Education Credits: 1
SCI 301 - Nature of Science Credits: 3
SCI 422 - Principles and Methods of Science Education Credits: 3
MATH 146 - Precalculus II Credits: 4
MATH 153 - Calculus I Credits: 4
BIOL 140 - Principles of Biology I Credits: 4
BIOL 141 - Principles of Biology II Credits: 4
CHEM 139 - General Chemistry I Credits: 4
CHEM 140 - General Chemistry II Credits: 4
GEOL 141 - Earth History and Prehistoric Life Credits: 3
GEOL 145 - Climate Change and Water Resources Credits: 3
GEOL 151 - Earth: Geology, Resources, Hazards, and Environment Credits: 3
PHYS 130 - Introductory Physics I Credits: 4
or
PHYS 230 - General Physics I Credits: 4
PHYS 131 - Introductory Physics II Credits: 4
or
PHYS 231 - General Physics II Credits: 4
PHYS 310 - Modern Physics Credits: 3
PHYS 325 - Thermodynamics Credits: 3
or
CHEM 352 - Physical Chemistry: Chemical Thermodynamics Credits: 3
MATH 255 - Calculus II Credits: 4

Capstone (2 hours)

PHYS 380 - Research in Physics Credits: 1-3, R12

Additional Requirements

To satisfy general university degree requirements, students must take at least 30 hours at the junior-senior level at WCU.

Visit the department’s website at: https://www.wcu.edu/learn/departments-schools-colleges/ceap/stl/secspeced/undergraduate-secondary-education.aspx to view the eight-semester curriculum guide.