Admission to Teacher Education

After completion of appropriate courseworks comprising the undergraduate freshman year, the teacher education major is required to formally apply for admission to the Teacher Education Program. All students must schedule a formal interview with the Admission and Retention Committee. Interviews are held each semester. The student's application for admission to Teacher Education is formally approved by the committee and signed by the chair of the Admission and Retention Committee. The committee's decision is final. Students may be referred for additional coursework work, counseled into other non-teaching areas, or denied admittance to the program. 

Criteria for Admission to the Teacher Education Program

• A grade point average of 2.5 in total coursework
• Completion of a minimum of 32 semester hours
• Satisfactory score on the English Proficiency Examination
• Demonstrated proficiency in speech and writing (passing scores on Praxis I: PPST or NTE: CS)
• Completion of EDUC 101, Introduction to Education, with a grade of "C" or better
• A typewritten, three-page autobiography, submitted at least one week before the interview, focusing on the following: 
  • Work experience
  • Special interests
  • Direct experience with children
  • Out-of-state travel experience
  • Philosophy of education
• Submission of faculty evaluation forms from two faculty members
• Successful formal interview with the Admission and Retention Committee for Teacher
• Education
• A letter of approval from the chair of the Admission and Retention Committee.

Eligibility for Student Teaching

To become eligible to student teach, a student must meet all of the Admission to Teacher Education Criteria and the following eight requirements at the time of application (one semester prior to student teaching):

• Admission to Teacher Education
• A passing score on the Bowie State University English Proficiency Examination.
• Completion of a minimum of 100 semester hours.
• Cumulative grade point average of 2.5 in the major and in all courseworks completed.
• A grade of "C" or better in all professional sequence courseworks offered in the department.
• Completion of required education and method courseworks.
• Recommendation and approval for student teaching by the secondary department (secondary 
• education majors only).
• Passing scores on the core battery National Teachers Examination or PRAXIS II.

Student teaching applications must be submitted to counties the semester before placement. All requirements must be fulfilled before initiation of the admission process. The final grade in the student teaching experience must be a "C" or better. Student teaching is a non-paid, full-time public school experience. It is fulfilled in the county in which the student resides and with which the University has a collaborative agreement.

Second Bachelor's Degree: Teacher Certification

Students who hold a bachelor's degree who wish to become certified teachers must enroll as second-degree students. Student must also schedule an interview with the assessment coordinator in the Department of Education and obtain (prior to the interview) an evaluation of their transcripts by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Certification and Accreditation.

All second-degree students must be advised by the department chairperson or by the assessment coordinator of the department. Second-degree students must meet the PRAXIS testing requirements and fulfill all of the coursework requirements of their selected major. In their first semester at the University, second-degree students must also pass the Bowie State University English Proficiency Examination and be admitted to Teacher Education.