Teacher Education

Purdue University Fort Wayne has been educating and preparing teachers since 1967. We offer B.S.Ed. degrees in Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle-level, and Secondary Education as well as minors in Early Childhood and Special Education. Your degree will make you eligible for licensure by the State of Indiana to teach preschool through Grade 3, grades K-6, grade 5-9, or grades 5-12.

Procedures for Declaring or Changing Majors:

Current students wishing to declare or change majors to one of the following programs of study should contact the Department of Teacher Education secretary at 260-481-4146 or stop by the office in Neff Hall 240 and inform the secretary of your intent to declare or change your major.  The secretary will then submit appropriate paperwork to the Registrar’s Office on your behalf.  The process usually takes one to two weeks before you will see the switch on your myBLUEprint.

The following content areas may also be added to any of the majors listed above:

English as a New Language (certificate)  
Exceptional Needs-Mild Intervention (minor)  
French (minor)  

Special Academic Regulations for Students in the Department of Teacher Education

Professional Education

Students are usually admitted to Professional Education (Block 1) courses beginning their junior year.

There are a number of academic regulations for students seeking admission to the Professional Education program. They include the following:

1. for early childhood degree completion majors only, completion of an A.S. in early childhood
2. completion of all Pre-Professional Education classes
3. complete at least 45 credit hours with a minimum 2.70 cumulative GPA (3.00 GPA for Early Childhood Education - Degree Completion majors); 2.70 cumulative GPA in your major course work with at least 50% completed in major (secondary) “as defined below under the Graduation heading”
4. successfully complete all program assessments
5. pass a Criminal History Report
6. students may repeat a Pre-Professional Education course one time.

Student Teaching

Below are the requirements for entering into the student teaching semester:

1. complete an application for student teaching and meet with the Director of Student Teaching ONE YEAR before intended student teaching semester (Fall: meet Sep-Nov; Spring: meet Feb-April)
2. submit and pass a Safe Hiring Solutions Criminal History Report
3. must have no more than 6 credit hours of general education or specialty area/major courses remaining before student teaching
4. completion of each Block course with a grade of C- or higher
5. successfully complete all program assessments
6. must have a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA and 3.00 major GPA (PFW)
7. take the licensure content exam(s)
8. candidates may retake a Block course one time

Graduation

Below are the requirements for graduation:

1. apply for graduation
2. successfully complete all program assessments
3. completion of student teaching and all course requirements
4. no grade lower than a C- in the 120 credits used to meet BSEd degree requirements
5. minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA
6. secondary students must also have a 3.00 major GPA (PFW) as defined below: 

• Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry and Physics major - BIOL, CHM, PHYS, ENTM and FNR courses
• Economics major - ECON courses
• English major - ENGL (ENG), COM (JOUR), LING, CLCS, CMPL, FVS (FILM), FOLK courses
• History major - HIST courses
• Math major - MA 16500, 16600, 17500 or 27500, 26100 or 26300, 31400, 35100, 46000, 44100 or 58000 and STAT 51100 or 51600
• Psychology major - PSY courses
• Sociology major - SOC courses
• Spanish major - SPAN courses and ILCS 30000

Licensure

Below are the additional requirements for obtaining an Indiana teaching license:

1. pass the licensure pedagogy exam
2. pass the licensure content exam(s)
3. provide evidence of CPR/AED certification
4. provide evidence of suicide prevention certification
5. apply for license

International Students

International students desiring to complete a program in the Department of Teacher Education must comply with all university requirements for international admissions, including demonstration of English language proficiency. International students seeking to obtain a license to teach, counsel, or administer in an Indiana school must obtain a Social Security number prior to application for the license.

Criminal History Reports

Anyone with a record of a sex crime against a child or other serious crime may not be placed into a clinical placement in which there is an actual or potential possibility that they will come into contact with children (IC5-2-12-12). Students who cannot be placed in clinicals as a result of their criminal histories and subsequently cannot complete the program requirements will be unable to graduate from the program.

Early Field Experiences

If you are pursuing a B.S. in a teacher education program, you are required to participate in the prescribed field experiences. Field-experience courses are numbered EDU 10100, 20100, 30100, and 40100 and must be taken as shown in the degree-requirements listings.

This distinctive program provides an organized series of courses designed to integrate all professional education courses with field experiences. The program allows you repeated opportunities to participate with teachers/pupils in classrooms. In the early part of your field experiences, you are introduced to teaching, educational concerns, goal setting, and professionalism. Beginning in your freshman or sophomore year and continuing up to your final semester, field experiences build upon one another so that you gain valuable classroom experiences designed to prepare you for your student teaching.

Academic Renewal Option

The Department of Teacher Education participates in the Academic Renewal Option for eligible students returning to PFW after an absence of five or more years.  See an advisor in the Department of Teacher Education advising office for details.

Pass/Not-Pass Option

Permission to elect this option must be requested on a form available from the Department of Teacher Education. Permission will be granted only if the course will not be used to fulfill any degree requirements other than total credits for the degree.

Certification-Only Option

Students who already hold a bachelor’s degree and who seek to obtain a teaching license in early childhood education, elementary education, or secondary education may qualify for enrollment under a Certification-Only status. Students who complete our certification-only option will qualify for an Indiana teaching license, but will not receive a second baccalaureate degree, unless they hold a Purdue University or PFW degree in Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, English, History, Mathematics, Physics, or Spanish. Students enrolled in this option will have to complete the same education (EDU) courses (51 credits in early childhood education, 62 credits in elementary education or 36 credits in secondary education) as those enrolled in a degree-seeking program. However, licensure content assessment exams must be taken prior to Block 1 and passed before student teaching. For more information on this option, you may view these programs in the catalog under Program Descriptions - Certification or contact the advising office in the Department of Teacher Education, Neff Hall 243, 260-481-6449.

Special Academic Regulations for Students in Education Studies Majors

1st Checkpoint for Admission to Education Studies courses requires:

1. Completion of 45 credits with a minimum 2.70 cum GPA (PFW), and enrolled to retake any course that has a grade of “C-” or below.
2. Submit and pass a Criminal History Report via Safe Hiring Solutions (criminal reports must be updated each year).

2nd Checkpoint for Admission to Senior Internship

1. Complete an application for internship by specified date.
2. Submit and pass a Criminal History Report via Safe Hiring Solutions.
3. Minimum 2.70 cum GPA (PFW); no grade lower than a “C-” in any required course.

3rd Checkpoint: Verification for Completion of Degree

1. Apply for graduation.
2. Completion of internship and all course requirements.
3. Minimum 2.70 cum GPA (PFW) in courses required for the degree; no grade lower than a “C-” in any required course.

For an exception to any of the above requirements, a student should request permission for a waiver in writing from the Teacher Education Department Chair. All waiver requests must be submitted at least 10 days before classes begin.