Major
	Elementary Education (BA, BS); program in the College of Education; degrees from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
minors
	Educational Psychology, Human Relations
Four-year Graduation Plan
	No, because of student teaching
Honors
	Yes
Teacher Licensure
	Elementary Education, Secondary Education
Competitive Admission
Links
	Web Site Courses General Catalog
Video
	Featured Student Pam Schroeder (music education major)

• Why Study Teaching at Iowa?
• Admission
• Teacher Licensure Programs
• Student Teaching
• Careers
• Placement at Iowa
• Scholarships

Why Study Teaching at Iowa?
Iowa’s College of Education is well known for offering a high-quality curriculum that provides solid preparation for teaching careers. The college ranked among the top 25 at public schools nationwide in U.S. News & World Report’s latest edition rating the country’s best graduate programs.

Top-ranked programs in the college include rehabilitation counseling, counseling/personnel services, secondary education, educational psychology, and higher education administration. The College of Education’s strong relationship with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences makes Iowa’s education programs unique in their breadth, depth, and opportunity for diverse learning experiences.

To teach elementary students, you’ll major in elementary education. If you’d like to teach in secondary schools (grades 5-12), you’ll major in a subject that you'd like to teach and that is included in one of Iowa's teacher preparation programs. You'll also need to complete an elementary or secondary Teacher Education Program (TEP) to be eligible for licensure or to be certified. You must apply and be accepted to the TEP.

Secondary education has more specific requirements than some other areas, so be sure to talk with an advisor in the secondary education program area of your choice before you apply to the program.

Admission
To be admitted to the TEP, students first must first be admitted to the University. After completing 33 semester hours of course work (from Iowa or another institution) with a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of at least 2.70, you will apply to the TEP area in which you'd like to be licensed.

Visit the Office of Education Services web site to learn more about admission to the TEP, including submission of Praxis I scores.

After completing the required course work, you will file a student teaching application, and your professional progress will be reviewed to verify that you are ready for a student teaching experience.

Once you are admitted to the TEP, advisors will help you progress through your program area.

Teacher Licensure Programs
Teacher licensure programs prepare students to teach in elementary and secondary education settings.

Elementary Education Licensure/Certification

The undergraduate elementary education program prepares you to teach self-contained general elementary grades K-6. You’ll study education foundations and methods, and you will complete required course work in liberal arts and sciences and in any of the following areas of specialization. These endorsements, unlike the general elementary endorsement, cover grades K-8:

• Art
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• English language arts
• Hearing impaired
• Mathematics
• Middle school
• Music
• Physical education
• Reading
• Science
• Social sciences (history, social studies)
• Special education (Instructional Strategist I: Mild/Moderate)
• Speech communication/theater

Coaching and talented and gifted are available only as additional approval areas.

Secondary Education Licensure/Certification

Secondary school teacher preparation programs are available in the following areas:

• Art (includes art history)
• English
• Mathematics
• Music
• Science (general science, physical science, biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, 9–12 all science)
• Social science (anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, sociology)
• World languages (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, Spanish)

Coaching, English as a Second Language, journalism, hearing impaired, middle school, talented and gifted, and reading are available only as additional approval areas.

An Iowa secondary teaching license qualifies you to teach grades 5-12. If you plan to teach art or music, completing a program qualifies you to be licensed at both the elementary and secondary level. Programs are available to add additional licensure in other subjects.

Student Teaching
In addition to local student teaching opportunities, there are possibilities for placement in schools that provide diversity in location, ethnicity, and culture. Examples of locations include Des Moines and Chicago as well as California, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, and international settings.

Careers
Qualified teachers are in great demand. Public and private school enrollment in the United States is predicted to exceed 58 million students by 2015, an increase of nearly three million since 2003. The National Center for Education Statistics projects that four million teachers will be needed by 2015 because of teacher attrition and retirement plus increased school enrollment.

Jobs are available wherever schools exist, from large urban areas to rural mountain towns. Teaching is one of the few professions offering substantial choices for job seekers—such as location, subject area, schedule, and school type. Teacher salaries vary by region and by school district. Currently, teachers are enjoying salary increases and a trend toward reinvestment in public education.

Teachers from The University of Iowa work stateside and in international settings. They make a difference wherever they go.

Placement at Iowa
In 2009-10, 94 percent of all first-year elementary and secondary teachers found full- or part-time positions in teaching or teaching-related jobs. Iowa's education alumni are located throughout the United States and in foreign countries, teaching in public and private schools and working in other areas of education.

The Career Center at the college's Teacher Leader Center offers professional assistance with job search strategies, résumé development, and interview scheduling. It also helps students acquire the technical skills they'll need to translate their ideas and paper materials to an electronic portfolio on the World Wide Web. Students can videotape themselves teaching a class, counseling a child, or holding a conference with a family. Prospective employers may view the video online while speaking to the student on the telephone, making the interview process convenient and inexpensive for both.

Scholarships
A variety of financial support is available to education majors. See the college's Scholarships and Awards web page.

Student teaching scholarships also are available to provide financial assistance during the student teaching semester. Students apply in the spring for the following fall or spring semester. Eligible students must have a strong GPA and show exceptional promise as teachers, and they must plan to teach after completing the program.

Other sources for scholarship information include the Office of Admissions and the Office of Student Financial Aid.