Social Sciences, BSEd

Total number of hours for the program: 120.

Admission to the Social Sciences Education Program

Students seeking admission to the Social Sciences 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 teacher education requirements. EDCI 201 and SPED 240 are the only courses in the professional education sequence that may be taken before admission to teacher education.

Continuation in the Social Sciences Education Program

To continue in the program, students must meet the continuation requirements of the Teacher Education Program . In addition, students must have a 3.00 GPA in both degrees (excluding the Professional Education Sequence and Liberal Studies) to be eligible for the internship, as well as to graduate. No grade lower than a C in courses in either major will count toward the degrees. Students must achieve a C or better in HIST 395 to take HIST 405. Students must complete the two-semester internship for both graduation and licensure.

Students seeking licensure must enroll simultaneously and complete the BSEd and the BS or BA in History.

Liberal Studies Hours (42 hours)

Liberal Studies Program Requirements

Teacher Education Program

Teacher Education Program Policies and Procedures

Professional Education Sequence Core (25 or 27 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
HIST 405 - Methods for Teaching Social Sciences Credits: 3
Intern I
EDSE 484 - Supervised Internship I Credits: 1-3
Intern II
EDSE 485 - Internship II Credits: 6
EDSE 495 - Seminar Credits: 3
HIST 491 - Supervised Student Teaching in Social Sciences, 9-12 Credits: 3
Note: You must be fully admitted into the Teacher Education program and have a 2.75 cumulative GPA to enroll in all courses in this Professional Education Sequence except for EDCI 201 and SPED 240.

Major Requirements for Social Science (29 hours)

All Social Science BSEd students pursue a double degree (Social Sciences and History).

I. Modern Foreign Languages (3 hours)

MFL 102 - Modern Foreign Language Credits: 3

II. Methods (8 hours)

HIST 310 - Teaching World History Credits: 1
HIST 395 - Building a Democratic Classroom Credits: 3
HIST 405 - Methods for Teaching Social Sciences Credits: 3
PSC 406 - Teaching Civics and Economics Credits: 1
Note: Students must achieve a C or better in HIST 395 to take HIST 405.

III. Social Science Courses (18 hours)

Students should take two of the following (one from the ECON group and one from the GEOG group) below. Students should also take four upper-division PSC electives, as explained under PSC Upper Division Electives:

Choose one from the following:
ECON 231 - Introductory Microeconomics and Social Issues Credits: 3
ECON 232 - Introductory Macroeconomics and Social Issues Credits: 3
Choose one from the following:
GEOG 350 - Economic Geography Credits: 3
GEOG 440 - Explorations in Regional Geography Credits: 3, R12
GEOG 444 - Political Geography Credits: 3

PSC Upper Division Electives (12 hours)

All students must take PSC 327 and must choose nine additional hours in American Politics from the following list. At least three of those hours must be either PSC 301, 308, or 312. Use the following elective breakdown to choose PSC electives:

All students should take the following:
PSC 327 - State and Local Government Credits: 3
Choose one course from the following:
PSC 301 - Congress Credits: 3
PSC 308 - American Presidency Credits: 3
PSC 312 - Judicial Process Credits: 3
Choose two courses from the following:
PSC 313 - Constitutional Law: Structure and Powers Credits: 3
PSC 314 - Southern Politics Credits: 3
PSC 315 - Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections Credits: 3
PSC 318 - Political Communication Credits: 3
PSC 322 - Public Administration Credits: 3
PSC 494 - Special Topics in American Politics Credits: 3, R6

Additional Requirements

Students must have a 3.00 GPA in both degrees, excluding the Professional Education Sequence and Liberal Studies.

Students must achieve a C or better in HIST 395 to take HIST 405.

Students must complete a two-semester internship.

Students seeking licensure must enroll simultaneously and complete the BSEd and the BS or BA in History.

No grade lower than a C in courses in either major will count toward the degrees.

Visit the department’s website at: https://www.wcu.edu/learn/departments-schools-colleges/cas/humanities/history/histug/eight-semester-plan-for-b.s.ed.-in-social-sciences-with-double-major-in-history.aspx to view the eight-semester curriculum guide.