Secondary Certification
Areas of Certification
The department offers a PA secondary (7-12) teacher certification in biology, chemistry, computer science, English, mathematics, physics, social studies, and citizenship. The department also offers a K-12 certification in French, German, Russian, and Spanish.
Students pursuing secondary education must complete required Educational Studies courses and courses that meet the state requirements for subject matter competency. This can be done by completing a major or special major in that field, or by completing the subject matter courses described below. Majors or special majors in history, economics, or political science receive secondary certification in either citizenship or social studies, and majors or special majors in psychology or sociology/anthropology receive secondary certification in social studies.
1. Required Educational Studies Courses
In order to be certified, students should fulfill all of the state general distribution requirements. In addition, students must take the following courses in Educational Studies:
- EDUC 014. Pedagogy and Power: An Introduction to Education
- EDUC 021. Educational Psychology
- EDUC 023. Adolescence
- EDUC 024. Special Education: Adolescents with Special Needs (0.5 credit; formerly EDUC 023A)
- EDUC 026. Special Education
- EDUC 053. Educating Emergent Bilinguals
- Students will complete one semester of student teaching, which consists of EDUC 092: Curriculum and Methods Seminar (2 credits) EDUC 093: Practice Teaching (2 credits)
- For students pursing World Language Certification, EDUC 042 Teaching Diverse Young Learners.
2. Required Subject Matter Courses
In order to meet the state’s subject matter requirements, students may major or special major in the discipline of certification and complete any additional subject-specific requirements listed in the charts linked below. Students may also major in Educational Studies or another field and complete the required subject matter requirements described in the charts below. Students should refer to the subject-specific requirements charts for additional information.
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Citizenship Certification (History, Economics, Political Science Majors and Special Majors)
- Computer Science
- English
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Social Studies Certification (History, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology Majors and Special Majors)
3. Exit Criteria for Secondary Certification
In order to complete PA Secondary Teacher Certification, students must complete the requirements needed for the Swarthmore Teacher Education Committee and apply through the PA Department of Education. Complete information about exit criteria is in the document below:
