Students who plan to receive a degree in education or a license through Western Carolina University must apply for and be officially admitted to a teacher education program. Students should apply for admission to teacher education during the semester in which they are enrolled in EDCI 231 (BK 250 for B-K majors), a course that is prerequisite to all other courses in the professional education sequence. Application should be made during the advisement and pre-registration weeks of the semester.
Admission requires an application that is completed during the semester the student is enrolled in EDCI 231 Historical, Social, and Philosophical Foundations of Education (BK 250 Introduction to Birth-Kindergarten for BK majors). The requirements for admission to teacher education are described below.
Admission Criteria.
All requirements for admission to teacher education should be met by the beginning of the semester following the semester in which the student submitted the application. The following criteria are minimum requirements for admission:
1. Completed at least 30 hours;
2. Earned a C (2.0) or higher grade in EDCI 231, ENGL 101 and 102.
3. Earned (and then maintain) a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 ; students with a major in elementary or middle grades education must earn (and then maintain) a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75.
4. Achieved the minimum required scores on the PPST (Reading, Writing, Mathematics).
5. Submit an autobiography via TaskStream.
6. Completed a personal interview and received a satisfactory evaluation from the Professional Education Interview Panel. Students should register for the interview during the first two weeks of the semester in which they apply for admission to teacher education;
7. Submit the application for Admission to Teacher Education.