Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education

Bachelor of Science

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Admissions requirements

  • A cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required for admission to upper professional level courses and to intern teach.

Student success

  • "When I walked on to this campus I just felt a sense of home and community like no other."Elise McCutchen, current student

Industry highlights

"The Bureau of Labor and Statistics expects to see 111,500 new elementary school teaching positions added between 2020-2030.""Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics"

Program overview

The elementary education program prepares new educators to meet the unique needs of learners in Pre-Kindergarten to third grade (PK-3) and in third to sixth grades (3-6) with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. WMU provides preservice teachers specialized knowledge about the learning needs of children from various contexts and across subjects to be successful in future classrooms. Graduates of this program will be eligible to teach all subjects in PK-3 and 3-6 and will qualify to take the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) PK-3 (ZO) and/or 3-6 (ZP) endorsement.

Why Western Michigan University

WMU’s comprehensive program meets coursework and clinical experiences required for Michigan PK-3 and 3-6 certification.

WMU’s elementary education program will:

  • Increase your knowledge about the needs of culturally diverse students in the PK-6th grade based on current research, theory and standards.
  • Create opportunities to work with children PK-6 public schools, community resources, and parents.
  • Include multiple field experiences, pre-internships, and a full-time internship that will culminate your teaching experience.
  • Prepare you to collaborate with, engage, and develop disciplinary area methods to better serve the academic needs of students across ELA, science, social studies, math and specials.
  • Support you as you learn to analyze and modify instructional material and assessments to ensure equitable instruction within classroom settings and beyond.

Who should apply

Students seeking to enter the elementary teaching profession either in lower elementary (PK-3) or upper elementary (3-6).

Career opportunities

Graduates of the elementary education program will be eligible for certification to teach:

  • Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd grade with ZO endorsement:
    • All subjects (English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies) for PK-3 students
  • 3rd - 6th grade endorsement (ZP):
    • All subjects (English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies) for 3-6 students in self-contained or departmentalized instruction

  • While Michigan is experiencing a severe teacher shortage, teachers with a PK-3 endorsement can temporarily be placed in self-contained classrooms up to 6th grade.

  • Additional endorsements are needed to teach early childhood.

The lower elementary certificate (PK-3) is also available within early childhood unified education, special education and teaching English to speakers of other languages. Students seeking a non-teaching degree should visit the child development and services, family studies or youth and community development website.

Cost and funding

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