Initial Teaching Licensure (PEL) with Secondary Education Endorsement

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for the Secondary Education Licensure program, students must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

To apply, please submit the following materials to the Office of Graduate Admission:

• A completed College of Education graduate application
• Online application fee
• One official transcript from each college and/or university attended
• Two letters of recommendation from professors or employer
• Resume
• A brief statement which explains your reasons for wanting to enter the Secondary Education program at DePaul and discusses your potential for becoming a teacher.

Course Requirements

Introductory Courses: 12 Quarter Hours Required

Advanced Courses: 20 Quarter Hours Required

¹

Taken in conjunction with specified methods courses.

Special Methods Courses: 8 Quarter Hours Required

Complete the course(s) listed that correspond to your content area

Student Teaching: 8 Quarter Hours Required

Registration in student teaching requires completion of all requirements and procedures listed in the college core section. EDU 95 indicates to the Illinois State Board of Education that all field experience hours are complete.

Content Area Courses

All students need to have sufficient knowledge of the subject they will be teaching. Illinois State Board of Education requires a minimum of 48 quarter hours (32 semester hours) in the content area subject. Students should meet with their designated Content Area advisor at the beginning of their program for an official written content evaluation and provide a copy to your academic advisor. Requirements can be satisfied by undergraduate coursework or courses taken elsewhere. Content courses must be completed before student teaching.

Requirements for Secondary Education Biology

Note: Effective for all individuals applying for licensure beginning February 1, 2012, all coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better.

• College Biology I
• College Biology II
• Ecology
• Cell Biology
• Physiology
• Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Biology Elective
• Biology Elective (with lab)
• Biology Elective (with lab)
• College Algebra or Calculus I
• College Chemistry I
• College Chemistry II
• General Physics
• College Environmental Science or Earth and Space Science or Astronomy

Requirements for Secondary Education Chemistry

Note: Effective for all individuals applying for licensure beginning February 1, 2012, all coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better.

Chemistry Core: 36 quarter hours required, grade of C or better required

• General Chemistry I
• General Chemistry II
• Organic Chemistry I
• Organic Chemistry II
• Analytical Chemistry 
• Physical Chemistry I
• Biochemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Chemistry  Elective I
• Chemistry Elective (with lab)
• Chemistry Elective (with lab)
• Calculus I
• Applied Probability and Statistics or Calculus II
• College Physics 
• College Biology
• College Environmental Science or Earth and Space Science or Astronomy

Requirements for Secondary Education English

All coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better. At least five courses must be at the 300 or above level. At least one course must have the Race, Ethnicity, and Sexuality (RES) designation or equivalency for non-DePaul courses. Content area advisors can make course substitutions based on an analysis of student’s transcripts.

• 1 Literature courses course
• 1 Poetry course
• 1 Shakespeare course
• 2 British Literature courses
• 1 Romanticism in American Literature course or approved American Literature substitute
• 2 American Literature courses
• 3 Writing and Oral Language courses
• 1 Grammar or Language and Style course

Requirements for Secondary Education Environmental Science

All coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better.

• College Chemistry
• College Biology
• College Physics 
• Environmental Science I
• Environmental Science II
• Earth’s Environmental System I: Life System
• Earth’s Environmental System II: Solid Earth System
• Earth’s Environmental System III: Climate System
• Earth Energy/Resources and Sustainability
• Environmental Science Elective
• Environmental Science Elective (with lab)
• Environmental Science Elective (with lab)
• Ecology 
• Oceanography
• College Algebra I OR Intro Statistics
• Plus two courses on Environmental Sciences at the Graduate Level, as noted below in the Graduate Content Area

Requirements for Secondary Education History

All coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better.

• Two US History courses (any level)
• Two Non-US History courses (any level) 
• One additional History course (any level)
• One Economics course
• One Geography course
• One Political Science course focused on American Government
• One Anthropology, Sociology, or Psychology course
• Three additional courses in any social science area (Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology, or Psychology)

Requirements for Secondary Education Mathematics

All coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better and a minimum of 18 quarter hours (12 semester hours) must be coursework at an undergraduate upper level or graduate level.

• Calculus I
• Calculus II
• Calculus III
• Intro to Math Reasoning OR Discrete Math I and Discrete Math II
• Multivariable Calculus I
• Multivariable Calculus II
• Linear Algebra
• Programming Language
• Abstract Algebra I
• Theory of Numbers or Abstract Algebra II
• Geometry I
• Geometry II or Real Analysis I
• Probability & Statistics
• History of Mathematics 

Requirements for Secondary Education Physics

All coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better.

• College Physics I
• College Physics II
• Classical Mechanics
• Electricity and Magnetism
• Thermal Physics
• Computational and Theoretical Physics
• Quantum Physics
• Physics Elective
• Physics Elective (with lab)
• Physics Elective (with lab)
• Calculus I
• Calculus II or Multivariable Analysis & Linear Algebra I
• College Chemistry I
• College Biology I
• College Environmental Science or Earth and Space Science or Astronomy

Requirements for Secondary Education Social Science

All coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better.

• Two US History courses (any level)
• Two Non-US History courses (any level) 
• One additional History course (any level)
• One Economics course
• One Geography course
• One Political Science course focused on American Government
• One Anthropology, Sociology, or Psychology course
• Three additional courses in any social science area (Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology, or Psychology)

Requirements for Secondary Education Visual Arts

All coursework in the content area must earn a grade of C or better and a minimum of 18 quarter hours (12 semester hours) must be coursework at an undergraduate upper level or graduate level.

• Two Dimensional Foundation
• Three Dimensional Foundation
• Drawing
• Intermediate or Adv. Drawing
• Painting
• Sculpture
• Computer Graphics
• Printmaking
• Principles of Art History
• Photography
• Video
• Art & Design I
• Art & Design II 

Licensure Tests

All individuals licensed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) are required to complete licensure tests specific to their teaching license. Secondary Education majors must complete the following tests:

• Content Area Test (test numbers below) – assesses knowledge of content area. Test is required before Student Teaching (deadlines apply).
• EdTPA - assessment conducted during the student teaching experience including video clips of instruction, lesson plans, student work samples, analysis of student learning and reflective commentaries. Students will submit an electronic portfolio to an outside agency for independent evaluation and a fee will be imposed by that agency as part of the assessment.

Biology

• Science: Biology Content Area Test (test #105)

Chemistry

• Science: Chemistry Content Area Test (test #106)

English

• English Language Arts Content Area Test (test #207)

Environmental Science

• Science: Environmental Science Content Area Test (test #112)

History

• Social Science: History Content Area Test (test #246)

Math

• Math Content Area Test (test #208)

Physics

• Science: Physics Content Area Test (test #116)

Social Science

• Social Science: History Content Area Test (test #246)

Visual Arts

• Visual Arts Content Area Test (test #145)

Field Experiences

Each student seeking licensure from the College of Education/Professional Education Unit must complete supervised field experiences in appropriate settings in conjunction with education courses. The field experiences must include a variety of grade levels, multicultural experiences, and a minimum of 15 hours in special education settings. All field experiences must be completed prior to final approval for student teaching. Field experience hours should be entered by the student into the FEDS system when completing courses with field experience requirements. For details on requirements, expectations, documentation, & courses in your program that require hours, visit the College of Education website.

Additional Requirements

Please also view the college core requirements under the MA or MED for Secondary Education for additional requirements. Note that the Secondary Education Licensure program listed above does not lead to a degree.