To become an elementary school teacher, students are required to declare the liberal studies for early and elementary education major. The major is the undergraduate part of the five-year Extended Teacher Preparation Program. The LSEE major requires a minimum of 120 credits within a highly structured, pre-professional program that combines with the Master of Teaching in the Extended Teacher Preparation Program associated with the School of Education. Successful completion of the LSEE major results in a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree, which is awarded simultaneously with the M.T.

The LSEE curriculum is carefully articulated to provide interdisciplinary course work and in-school learning experiences which prepare students to teach at the elementary level (P-6). A number of general education courses are either required or recommended as electives to prepare for the core curriculum of advanced courses in this liberal studies major and the Extended Teacher Preparation Program that follows. Students in this major benefit from belonging to a community of learners.

The LSEE major is separated into two divisions: foundation level and upper level. Students are first admitted to the foundation level after review of their SAT scores and GPA. Entering freshmen should have a minimum GPA of 2.5; and transfer or change-of-major students are also required to have a minimum GPA of 2.5 to be admitted. Advancement to upper-level status requires 60 or more credits (including TEDU 101 and the classes listed in boxes 1-7 on the general education requirements listed on the LSEE graduation check sheet available from the LSEE advising office and posted on the LSEE Blackboard site ), a minimum GPA of 2.8 and a passing grade on Praxis I or its alternatives. Information on Praxis I or its alternatives is available at the School of Education Office of Student Services. Students cannot take the following LSEE courses until they have advanced to upper-level status: HPEX 390, INSC 310, MATH 303, MATH 362, STAT 312, TEDU 307, TEDU 351, TEDU 411 (or ARTE 301), and the TEDU 310 block that consists of TEDU 310 Practicum (A), TEDU 410, TEDU 414 and TEDU 426. After completing at least 75 credits, LSEE students with upper-level status can enter the School of Education’s Extended Teacher Preparation Program. With a minimum GPA of 3.0 in their last 60 credits and appropriate GRE or MAT scores, these LSEE students can apply to the graduate part of the program (M.T.), continue their professional training and seek admission to the teaching profession.

The B.I.S. with the LSEE major is not designed as a terminal degree and by itself will not fully certify one to teach. Students who have reached senior status (85 credit hours or more) in any other major must graduate with that major and return as post-baccalaureate students to the M.T. program. These students should contact the Student Services Center (www.soe.vcu.edu/ssc) in the School of Education.

The required course work for the LSEE major is listed below.

General education requirements: Complete the following courses that satisfy the university core curriculum requirements and the general education requirements of the College of Humanities and Sciences. (44-54 credits)

1. Writing: (9 credits)
Complete each course.

UNIV 111 Focused Inquiry I
UNIV 112 Focused Inquiry II
UNIV 200 Writing and Rhetoric or research and academic writing course

2. Mathematics and statistics (3 credits)

MATH 131 Introduction to Contemporary Mathematics

3. Human, social, and political behavior: (3-4 credits)
Choose one course.

ANTH/INTL 103 Introduction to Anthropology
HUMS 300 Great Questions of the Social Sciences
POLI 103 U.S. Government¹
PSYC 101 Introduction to Psychology
SOCY 101 General Sociology

4. Science and technology: (4 credits)
Complete:

BIOL 101 Biological Concepts and BIOZ 101 Biological Concepts Laboratory
or BIOL/ENVS 103 Environmental Science

5. Diverse and global communities: (3 credits)
Choose one course.

INTL 101 Human Societies and Globalization²
MASC/INTL 151 Global Communications²
POLI/INTL 105 International Relations²
RELS 108 Human Spirituality³

6. Literature and civilization: (3 credits)
Choose one course.

ENGL 215 Readings in Literature
HIST 201 The Art of Historical Detection:____
HUMS 250 Reading Film
PHIL 201 Critical Thinking About Moral Problems
WRLD 203/INTL Cultural Texts and Contexts:____
WRLD 230 Introduction to World Cinema

7. General education electives: (6-7 credits)
Choose one course from:

PHYS 103 Elementary Astronomy
CHEM 110 Chemistry and Society
INSC 201 Energy!
and
Choose an additional course from 3, 5 or 6 above.
(RELS 108 Human Spirituality³ is recommended)

8. General education modules: (4 credits)
Complete the following courses.

TEDU 411 Integrating the Arts in Curriculum for Young Children¹ or ARTE 301 Art for Elementary Teachers¹
HUMS 202 Choices in a Consumer Society

9. Foreign language: (0-8 credits)

Students must demonstrate competency through the 102 level by previous high school background or placement test or courses. (Spanish recommended)

10. Senior capstone: (9 credits)
Complete each course (as a senior)

TEDU 310 Practicum (A)^{1, 4}
TEDU 414 Curriculum and Methods for Early/Elementary Children ^{1, 4}
TEDU 426 Teaching Reading and Other Language Arts^{1, 4}

Specific LSEE requirements: (75 credits)
(21 of these credits can be satisfied with courses that also satisfy general education requirements; these are denoted with a “5” superscript)

Math and statistics: (12 credits)
Complete each course.

MATH 303 Investigations in Geometry⁴
MATH 361 Numbers and Operations
MATH 362 Algebra and Functions⁴
STAT 312 Data Analysis and Statistics for Elementary Education4

Natural sciences: (10 credits)
Complete:

GEOG 203 Physical Geography and GEOZ 203 Physical Geography Laboratory
or GEOG 204 Physical Geography and GEOZ 204 Physical Geography Laboratory
and
INSC 310 Content of Elementary Science⁴

And choose one of the following:

ENVS 301 Introduction to Meteorology
ENVS 310 Introduction to Oceanography
INSC 300 Experiencing Science
INSC 301 Investigatory Mathematics and Science
PHYS/MHIS 307 The Physics of Sound and Music

Social studies: (18 credits)
Complete each course.

ECON 203 Introduction to Economics
GEOG 102 Introduction to Human Geography
HIST 101 Survey of European History
POLI 103 U.S. Government⁵
RELS 108 Human Spirituality⁵ or RELS/INTL 311 or 312 Religions of the World
SOCS 302 Diverse Families and Children in the United States or SOCY/ANTH/WMNS 304 The Family

Cross-cultural communication: (3 credits)
Choose one of the following courses.

ENGL/LING/WMNS 452 Language and Gender
ENGL/INTL 454/ANTH 450 Cross-cultural Communication
INTL 101 Human Societies and Globalization⁵
INTL 493 International Studies Internship
MASC/INTL 151 Global Communications⁵
POLI/INTL 105 International Relations⁵
TEDU/FRLG 575 Intercultural Communication
Study abroad (approval required)

Education courses: (32 credits; including 12 credits that are also included in the general education requirements; these are denoted with a “6” superscript)
Complete each course.

EDUS 301 Human Development and Learning
HPEX 390 Physical Education for the Elementary Teacher⁴
TEDU 101 Introduction to Teaching
TEDU 310 Practicum (A) ^{4, 5, 6}
TEDU 310 Practicum (B) ⁴
TEDU/ENGL 386 Children’s Literature I⁴
TEDU/ENGL 389 Teaching Writing Skills⁴
TEDU 410 Classroom Management in Elementary Schools
TEDU 411 Integrating the Arts in Curriculum for Young Children or ARTE 301 Art for Elementary Teachers ^{4, 5, 6}
TEDU 414 Curriculum and Methods for Early/Elementary Children ^{4, 5, 6}
TEDU 426 Teaching Reading and Other Language Arts^{4, 5, 6}

Electives: (3-19 credits)
(Consult with a program adviser regarding the selection of a possible minor or other coherent series of courses)

¹ Required for LSEE majors
² Satisfies LSEE cross-cultural communication requirement
³ Satisfies LSEE social studies requirement
⁴ LSEE upper-level status required to take this class
⁵ Satisfies a general education requirement
⁶ These credits are counted with those for the general education requirements.