Elementary and Middle School Education
General Education Requirement for Teacher Licensure, Initial Elementary Certificate
The following is an outline of General Education course work that is required for Elementary Education majors at Governors
State University. The courses listed in each category are Moraine Valley Community College courses that may be
transferred to meet GSU requirements. Courses with grades below “C” will not be accepted toward the degree.
I.
TRANSFERABLE GENERAL EDUCATION CORE CURRICULUM (49-50 Hours)
Area A: Written Communication (9 hours)
COM 101 - Composition I (3)
COM 102 - Composition II (3)
COM 103 - Speech Fundamentals (3)
Area B: Humanities and Fine Arts (9 hours)
Fine Arts Course (3)*
Humanities Course (3)*
Literature Course (3)*
Area C: Mathematics for Elementary Teachers (10-11 hours)
MTH 121 - Mathematics for Teachers I (3)
MTH 122 - Mathematics for Teachers II (3)
Mathematics Selective – choose one:
MTH 139 - Probability and Statistics (4)
MTH 143 - Finite Mathematics (4)
MTH 145 - Calculus for Business and Social Science (4)
MTH 150 - Calculus I/Analytic Geometry (5)
Area D: Biological and Physical Science (12 hours)
Choose one: BIO 111 - General Biology I (4) or BIO 112 - General Biology II (4)
(BIO 112 required for Biology Specialization and General Science Specialization.)
Choose one: CHM 111 - Fundamentals of Chemistry (4) or CHM 131 - Chemistry I (4) or
PHY 106/107 - Fundamentals of Physics & Lab (4) or PHY 150 Mechanics, Heat, and Sound (4)
(CHM 131 and PHY 150 required for General Science Specialization.)
Choose one: EAS 120 - Introduction to Earth Science (4) or EAS 125 - Introduction to Weather
and Climate (4) or GEL 150 - Physical Geology (4) or PHS 103 - Descriptive Astronomy (4)
(GEL 150 required for General Science Specialization)
Area E: Social and Behavioral Sciences (9 hours)
Choose one: HIS 201 – American History I (3) or HIS 202 – American History II (3)
PSC 110 - American National Government (3)
PSY 101 - Introduction to Psychology (3)
II. AREA OF CONCENTRATION/MAJOR FIELD (15 Hours)
Professional Education Core Courses (9 hours)
EDU 100 - Introduction to Education (3) Grade of B or better required.
PSY 105 - Child Psychology (3) Grade of B or better required.
EDU 111- Students with Disabilities in School (3) Grade of B or better required.
Other Transferrable Courses (6 hours)
GEO101 - Cultural Geography (3) or GEO102 - World Regional Geography (3)
(Meets non-western cultures requirement)
CCA-105 Health-Safety-Nutrition/Young Child (3) or PEH-171 A Healthy Lifestyle and You (3)
* Refer to the MVCC AA/AS guidelines for a list of course choices.
III. Teaching Specializations
In consultation with a program advisor, students will select at least 18 - 19 hours of coursework within one
of the following teaching specializations. . At least 9 hours must be completed at the upper-division level.
Transferable MVCC courses are shown in bold.
General Science (18 Hours)
BIOL 2104/BIOL 2107 Biological Science Foundations II and Lab (4)
BIO 112 - General Biology II (4)
CHEMISTY with Lab (4)
CHEM 131 - Chemistry I (4)**
PHYS 2141 Intermediate Physics I (3)
PHYS 2142 Intermediate Physics I Laboratory (1)
PHY 150 – Mechanics, Heat and Sound (4)**
PHYS 3211 Earth and Space Science (3)
Elective Science course(s) (3)
CHEM 132 - Chemistry II (4) or
PHY 151 - Electricity, Magnetism and Light (4) recommended
Biology (18 - 19 Hours)
BIOL 2102 Biological Science Foundations I (3)
BIO 111 - General Biology I (4)**
BIOL 2104 Biological Science Foundations II (3)
BIO 112 - General Biology II (4)
BIOL 3316/3317 Plant Diversity and Lab (3)
BIO 230 - Botany (4)
BIOL 3320/3321 Animal Diversity with Lab (3)
BIO 211 - Zoology I (4)
LAS 4125 Investigations in Scientific Thought (3)
Select at least 3 hours from the following:
BIOL 3108 Human Evolution (3)
BIOL 3112 Human Genetics (3)
BIOL 3322/3323 Ecology and Lab (4)
BIOL 4430/4431 Microbiology and Lab (4)
BIO 119 – Introductory Microbiology (4)
**This course will also satisfy a General Education requirement. At most one specialization course can
be used to satisfy a General Education requirement.
III. Teaching Specializations
In consultation with a program advisor, students will select at least 18 - 19 hours of coursework within one
of the following teaching specializations. . At least 9 hours must be completed at the upper-division level.
Transferable MVCC courses are shown in bold.
English (18 Hours)
American Literature (3 Hours)** Select one of the following:
ENGL 1221 American Literature I (3)
LIT 213 - American Literature I (3)**
ENGL 1222 American Literature II (3)
LIT 214 - American Literature II (3)**
English Literature (3 Hours) Select one of the following:
ENGL 1111 English Literature I (3)
LIT 221 - English Literature I (3)
ENGL 1112 English Literature II (3)
LIT 222 - English Literature II (3)
Multicultural Literature (3 Hours) Select one of the following:
ENGL 4121 Advanced Survey of Black Literature (3)
ENGL 4131 Comparative Latin American Literature (3)
ENGL 4161 Chinese Literature and Culture (3)
ENGL 4171 Native American Literature (3)
ENGL 4475 The Short Story: Crossing Cultures (3)
Advanced Composition (3 Hours)
ENGL 4100 Advanced Composition (3)
Select two of the following* (6 Hours)
ENGL 3115 Studies in Mythology (3)
HUM 115 - World Mythology (3)
ENGL 3123 Modern American Poetry: Voices and Visions (3)
LIT 217 - Introduction to Poetry (3)
ENGL 3330 Studies in Literature (3)
ENGL 4200 Literary Criticism (3)
ENGL 4550 Shakespeare’s Plays (3)*
LIT 225 - Shakespeare* (3)
ENGL 4460 Philosophical Themes in Contemporary Literature (3)
LIT 215 – Bible as Literature I (3)
LIT 216 – Bible as Literature II (3)
LIT 218 – Introduction to Drama (3)
LIT 219 – Women in Literature (3)
LIT 220 – Introduction to Fiction (3)
LIT 223 – Western Literature I (3)
LIT 224 – Western Literature II (3)
LIT 226 – Literature of the Non-Western World (3)
LIT 228 – Latin American Literature (3)
LIT 230 – African American Literature (3)
*Those students interested in earning a Middle Grades Endorsement must select a Shakespeare Course
as one of their choices from this course group.
**This course will also satisfy a General Education requirement. At most one specialization course can
be used to satisfy a General Education requirement.
III. Teaching Specializations
In consultation with a program advisor, students will select at least 18 - 19 hours of coursework within one
of the following teaching specializations. . At least 9 hours must be completed at the upper-division level.
Transferable MVCC courses are shown in bold.
History (18 Hours)
U.S. History (6 Hours)
HIST 1110 U.S. History I (3)**
HIS 201 – American History I (3)**
HIST 1120 U.S. History II (3)
HIS 202 – American History II (3)
European History (3) Select one of the following:
HIST 4650 Modern European History (3)
HIST 4670 Russia in the 20th Century (3)
HIS 250 – Survey of British History I (3)
HIS 251 – Survey of British History II (3)
Non-Western History (3) Select one of the following:
HIST 4115 Modern African History (3)
HIS 215 – History of Africa (3)
HIST 4300 Modern Middle Eastern History (3)
HIS 230 – History of the Middle East (3)
HIST 4340 Modern Chinese History (3)
HIS 210 – History of Asia (3)
HIST 4470 Latin American History (3)
HIS 220 – History of Latin American (3)
LAS 4100 Investigations in the Social Sciences (3)
HIS 230 – History of the Middle East (3)
Select one of the following:
HIST 3100 American Economic History (3)
HIST 4200 American Urban History (3)
HIST 4400 Black Experience in the U.S. (3)
HIS 204 - African American History (3)
HIS 101 – Western Civilization I (3)
HIS 102 – Western Civilization II (3)
HIS 105 – The World Since 1945 (3)
HIS 207 – Illinois and Local History (3)
**This course will also satisfy a General Education requirement. At most one specialization course can
be used to satisfy a General Education requirement.
III. Teaching Specializations
In consultation with a program advisor, students will select at least 18 - 19 hours of coursework within one
of the following teaching specializations. . At least 9 hours must be completed at the upper-division level.
Transferable MVCC courses are shown in bold.
Mathematics (18 Hours)
LAS 4127 Investigations in Mathematical Thought (3)**
MATH 2281 Applied Calculus (3) or
MATH 2290 Calculus I (4)
MTH 145 - Calculus for Business and Social Science (4)** or
MTH 150 – Calculus I/Analytic Geometry (5)**
MATH 3331 Geometry (3)
MATH 2100 Statistics (4) or
STAT 2100 Statistics (4)
MTH 139 – Probability and Statistics (4)**
Select from the following to total 18 hours:
MATH 1423 College Algebra (3)
MTH 141 - College Algebra (4)
MATH 2150 Discrete Mathematics (3)
MTH 215 – Discrete Mathematics (3)
MATH 4133 Number Theory (3)
MATH 2292 Calculus II (4)
MTH 151 - Calculus II/Analytic Geometry II (5)
Computer Programming (no more than three hours)
Students who complete the Mathematics Specialization and who plan to teach mathematics at the
middle-school or junior-high level must also take EDUC5640 Teaching Mathematics at the Middle and
Intermediate Grades.
**This course will also satisfy a General Education requirement. At most one specialization course can
be used to satisfy a General Education requirement.
III. Teaching Specializations
In consultation with a program advisor, students will select at least 18 - 19 hours of coursework within one
of the following teaching specializations. . At least 9 hours must be completed at the upper-division level.
Transferable MVCC courses are shown in bold.
Social Science (18 Hours)
GEOG 2100 Human Geography (3)
ECON 2302 Macroeconomics (3)
ECO 101 - Principles of Macroeconomics (3)
HIST 1110 U.S. History I (3)
HIS 201 – American History I (3)**
HIST 1120 U.S. History II (3)
HIS 202 – American History II (3)
Choose 2 courses (6 hours) from the following choices:
ANTH 3100 Trends in Cross-Cultural Analysis (3)
ANT 202 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
HIST 3100 U.S. Economic History (3)
HIST 4115 Modern African History (3)
HIS 215 – History of Africa (3)
HIST 4400 Black Experience In the U.S. (3)
HIS 204 - African American History (3)
HIST 4470 Latin American History (3)
HIS 220 – History of Latin American (3)
HIST 5701 World History Concepts and Interpretation (3)
HIS 105 - The World Since 1945 (3)
POLS 2101 Principles of Political Science (3)
SOC 3100 Studies in American Society (3)
SOC 101 – General Sociology (3)
HIS 101 - Western Civilization I (3)
HIS 102 - Western Civilization II (3)
HIS 207 - Illinois and Local History (3)
HIS 210 - History of Asia (3)
HIS 230 - History of the Middle East (3)
HIS 250 - Survey of British History I (3)
HIS 251 - Survey of British History II (3)
**This course will also satisfy a General Education requirement. At most one specialization course can
be used to satisfy a General Education requirement.
IV. Professional Education Courses (53-62 Hours)
The following courses may be taken at the lower-division level: Transferable MVCC courses are shown
in bold.
EDUC2310 Foundations of Education (3)
(Met if EDU 100 was completed at MVCC)
EDUC2330 Educational Psychology: Child Growth and Development (2-3)
(Met if PSY 105 was completed at MVCC)
SPED4100 Survey of Students with Exceptionalities (3)
(Met if EDU 111 was completed at MVCC)
GSU Professional Education Courses (48 hours)
The following courses must be taken at the upper-division level:
EDCP 3101 Introduction to Educational Technology (3)
EDUC 3320 Future of American Education (3)
EDUC 3321 Effective Teaching and Lab (4)
EDUC 4440 Educational Psychology in Action (3)
ELED 3301 Teaching Laboratory I (1)
ELED 3302 Teaching Language Arts in Elementary Schools (3)
ELED 3303 Developmental Reading in Elementary Schools (3)
ELED 4401 Teaching Laboratory II (1)
ELED 4420 Teaching Creative Arts, P-5 (3)
ELED 4430 Teaching Elementary Health and Physical Education (2)
ELED 4450 Corrective Reading Instruction (3)
ELED 4460 Teaching Science in Elementary Schools (3)
ELED 4463 Teaching Mathematics in Elementary Schools (3)
ELED 4466 Teaching Social Studies in Elementary Schools (3)
Professional Education Selective (select one course in consultation with academic advisor)
EDEC 4460 Integrating Instruction in Early Childhood (3)
EDUC 4442 Early Adolescent Educational Psychology (3)
EDUC 5530 Multicultural Children’s Literature (3)
ELED 5500 Teaching in the Inclusive Classroom (3)
Student Teaching (12 hours)
ELED 4999 Student Teaching (12)
Optional Courses for Middle Grades Endorsement (Consult with academic advisor)
EDUC 4442 Early Adolescent Educational Psychology (3)
EDUC 4443 Curriculum and Methods for Middle Schools (3)
EDUC 4640 Teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate & Middle Grades (3)
For additional information, contact:
Ms. Cynthia Hutson
Academic Advisor
[email protected]
(708) 235-7304
http://www.govst.edu/eled
GSU Transfer Guide 7.8.2014
The content of the transfer guide is subject to change based upon curricular or preparatory
standards established by regulatory bodies.