Secondary Education Transfer Tips

The majors and how to apply

If you attend the University of Iowa as an undergraduate student to become a secondary school teacher, you will earn two degrees: a bachelor's degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) in the main subject area you will prepare to teach, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Education. The College of Education offers seven secondary teaching majors:

When you apply to the university, apply for the CLAS major. See the links above for the CLAS majors you can choose from.

The seven secondary teaching majors require a separate application to the Teacher Education Program (TEP). TEP application requirements include having completed 30 semester hours earned college credit and additional program area admission requirements.

When to transfer?

Things you may want to consider in deciding when to transfer to Iowa include:

  • Your College of Liberal Arts and Sciences major: What are the course requirements? Do they have prerequisites or sequences? Are there any courses of the major you can complete at your current college?
  • Your College of Education major: Plan on 4 semesters to complete your Teacher Education Program courses. You may want to transfer to the University of Iowa and apply to the Teacher Education Program for your third year of college.

Admission to Teacher Education Programs is selective. Meeting the minimum criteria does not ensure program admission. Selection is determined by academic achievement as reflected in grade point averages, aptitude as reflected by recommendations and personal statements, and the ability of the given program area to provide quality instruction and clinical and field experiences.

General Education Requirements

The general education requirements to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Education are the GE CLAS Core of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), so the same general education courses will satisfy the requirements of both your College of Education degree and your CLAS degree.

Transfer students with an AA degree from an Iowa or Illinois community college will enter the university having fulfilled all of the General Education CORE Program requirements (except World Language and Understanding Cultural Perspectives) in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The World Languages requirement can be satisfied in high school, community college, or at the university. The Understanding Cultural Perspectives requirement must be completed with coursework taken at the University of Iowa.

Teacher Education Program Requirements

Check to see if your community college has courses that are equivalent to these Teacher Education Program courses: See How do my courses transfer?. You can take equivalents of these courses at your community college, if they are available:

  • EPLS:3000 Foundations of Education
  • PSQF:1075 Educational Psychology and Measurement
  • EDTL:4900 Foundations of Special Education

State standards for teacher preparation require a college-level math course as part of the liberal arts core. You can meet this requirement by selecting a course in mathematics (MATH), statistics (STAT), or computer science (CS) for the Quantitative or Formal Reasoning requirement.
Check to see if your community college has courses that will transfer into your College of Liberal Arts and Sciences major.

Resources

Secondary Education