"Everyone at Western is friendly, and the professors really care about their students."
Brandi, Birth-Kindergarten and Special Education Double Major
Choice #1: Professional Education or Early Childhood?
Choice #2: Liberal Studies or "Core 44"?
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Choice #1: Professional Education or Early Childhood?
Professional Education
Students who choose the professional education option are interested in possibly teaching kindergarten or public school pre-k. They take & must pass the Praxis I and they do two semesters of internship. Except for the internship, the coursework is identical to that of early childhood. The internship for professional education is 20 hours.
Early Childhood
Students who choose early childhood are not certified to teach in the public schools. They are generally interested in working with young children & their families in settings other than public schools. The internship for early childhood is one semester & 9 credit hours. Except for internship, the coursework is identical to that of professional education.
This is not a choice you must make immediately. In fact, we recommend you take some time to consider your personal situation and your career goals before making this decision. Since the coursework is identical until internship, you have plenty of time to think through professional education vs. early childhood.
Choice #2: Liberal Studies or "Core 44"?
Liberal Studies
This option is where you take the general studies courses you have taken at the community college & transfer them course-by-course to WCU for the specific liberal studies requirements. This option often has "glitches," such as the upper-level perspectives requirement, that make it difficult for many transfer students from community with A.A.S. degrees. If you choose the Liberal Studies option, your advisor will be Stef Soroka (828-227-3890) in WCU's Advising Center.
"Core 44"
In this option, you complete the 44-hour general education "core" of courses at the community college and this transfers in a "block" to in place of the liberal studies requirement. You have an advisor at the community college that helps you determine which courses to take for the "core 44." This option is generally better for transfer students with A.A.S. degrees because you aren't subject to the specific requirements of liberal studies, such as the upper-level perspectives requirement.
*** If you have an A.A., A.S., or a four-year degree, your Liberal Studies are waived at WCU. However, if you have one of those degrees, you may still need to take the courses that WCU assumes you have had as an early childhood student at the community college, since the cohort concept is based around students with A.A.S. degrees in early childhood. Those courses are EDU 144 & EDU 145 or PSY 244 & PSY 245 (in place of BK 363), EDU 146 (in place of BK 462), EDU 259 (in place of BK 470), and EDU 221 (in place of SPED 240).