Physics, Teacher Education Program (Grades 9-12), B.A.

Physics Teacher Education Program (Grades 9-12)

Students interested in teacher licensure in physics must complete both the physics major and the Secondary Education Cognate, B.S.  major requirements. See the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance  section of this catalog for a listing of the required secondary education cognate major courses. Students should apply for acceptance to this program no later than the second semester of their sophomore year. Requirements for this include admission to and successful completion of the approved teacher education program. Students must successfully complete all requirements for licensure in secondary education.

When declaring teacher licensure in Physics through the Program of Study Management System (POSM), students must first select “Declare or Add a Major” and then “Secondary Education Cognate” from the major list. Once this selection is made, a second menu box will appear with a list of the associated majors. Select the physics major and follow the on-screen instructions.

• You should apply for admission (this is NOT declaring your major) to the Teacher Education Program the semester you are enrolled in EDFS 201 Foundations of Education (3) . Requirements for admission:
  • Minimum overall GPA of 2.750 and 60 earned credit hours.
  • Passing score on the 3 components of the PRAXIS 1: Pre-Professional Skills Test (Reading, Writing, and Mathematics) as designated by the South Carolina Department of Education OR qualifying SAT or ACT scores.
  • Disposition forms from (a) a general education faculty member, (b) your EDFS 201  professor, and (c) someone who has observed you working with children.
  • If a student has transfer credit for a course that is equivalent to EDFS 201 , they must meet with the Teacher Education department chair and complete 1 hour of work.
  • A grade of C or better in EDFS 201 Foundations of Education (3) . 
• Your admission process must be completed before taking EDFS 460 .
• You must complete a major in the content area and the cognate major (see Secondary Education Cognate, B.S. ) to be forwarded to the State Department of Education for certification.
• Minimum Physics GPA of 2.500.
• Minimum education GPA of 3.000.

Required Courses

• PHYS 111 General Physics I (3)
• PHYS 111L General Physics I Lab (1)
• PHYS 112 General Physics II (3)
• PHYS 112L General Physics II Lab (1)
• PHYS 230 Introduction to Modern Physics (3)
• PHYS 370 Experimental Physics (4)
• PHYS 419 Research Seminar (1)
• PHYS 420 Senior Research (3)
• PHYS 499 Bachelor’s Essay (6)

Notes:

• With department approval, completion with grades of at least “B” in PHYS 101 /PHYS 101L  and PHYS 102 /PHYS 102L , together with MATH 120  and MATH 220  may be substituted for PHYS 111 /PHYS 111L  and PHYS 112 /PHYS 112L .
• Suggested programs of study leading to graduate school in physics, astronomy, astrophysics, meteorology and engineering are available from the department.

Additional Coursework beyond the Content major (Physics, B.A.) for Physics Certification:

• BIOL 101 Concepts and Applications in Biology I (4)
• BIOL 101L Concepts and Applications in Biology I (0)

•  

  OR

   

• BIOL 111 Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (3)
• BIOL 111L Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology Lab (1)

Coursework Meeting Major Requirements Excluded from the Major GPA Calculation

The following courses are excluded: BIOL 101 , BIOL 111 , BIOL 111L , MATH 120 , MATH 220 , MATH 221