[ Education ]

Curriculum

Elmhurst College has established teacher preparation requirements in three categories:

• General education, i.e. those courses that everyone must take for a bachelor's degree
• Professional courses, i.e. Department of Education courses
• Courses in subject area preparation, i.e. those courses that are counted in subject majors or specialization areas

Certification as a teacher is allowable only after all of the requirements have been met, including passing scores on the state's basic skills, subject specialty, and assessment of professional teaching exams.  

Freshmen who are considering the possibility of or have already decided to pursue an education-related major are strongly encouraged to take and pass the Illinois Basic Skills test prior to beginning their Spring Term at the College. Transfer students should have passed the Illinois Basic Skills test prior to beginning classes at Elmhurst College.

Admission to the College does not guarantee admission to a teacher certification program.

All courses completed to meet certification requirements must be three semester hours or more unless otherwise specified. In addition, all courses taken to meet certification requirements, including general education courses applied to certification requirements must be completed for a grade of C or higher. Only one course with an earned C may be repeated. Education courses must be completed within 10 years of admission to program. Course requirements for specific certification programs may be obtained by contacting major departments.

All certification programs include field experience requirements. For example, Elmhurst College requires a minimum of 100 clock hours of course-aligned field experiences in a diverse blend of settings for all candidates. Field experiences are the part of the professional preparation for teaching that enable candidates to acquire practical applications to add to the theoretical knowledge treated within course work. All Department of Education courses include a field requirement. The Satellite Network has been designed to assist candidates in obtaining their field experience placements for upper-level methods courses.