Admission to Professional Semester

College of Education

All students preparing to teach are required to successfully complete the professional semester.

Criteria for Admission to the Professional Semester

An applicant for the professional semester must meet the following criteria at the time of enrollment for the professional semester. Application for the professional semester must be made by March 15 for the fall semester and September 15 for the spring semester.

1. Admission to teacher education prior to application for the professional semester.
2. At least six hours of resident credit at PSU must have been completed before admission to the professional semester.
3. Successful completion of Multi-Cultural Experiences in:
   1. PSYCH 357 Educational Psychology
   2. SSLS 510 Overview of Education for Exceptional Students or SSLS 511 Overview of Children with Disabilities Birth through 6th Grade (Secondary Education majors must choose SSLS 510).
4. Signed Attestation Form
5. Approval from the Major Academic Department

Additional Professional Semester Admission Requirement for Early Childhood/Late Childhood K-6 Majors

1. Successful completion of the following Academic Standards:
   1. Cumulative GPA = 2.8000
   2. In-Major GPA = 3.0000 with no grade below "C"
   3. Completion of ALL courses listed under the Education, Psychology, and Lab Experiences section , (50 hours)
   4. Completion of a minimum of 100 credit hours
   5. A 2.00 GPA in each field of concentration
   6. A grade of "C" or higher in PSYCH 263 Developmental Psychology and PSYCH 357 Educational Psychology
   7. Successful completion of CURIN 307 Clinical Experience
   8. Completion of MATH 304 Mathematics for Education II
2. Satisfactory completion of specific components of the Electronic Portfolio
3. If applicable, all deficiencies listed in the Professional Teacher Candidate Improvement Plan exhibit successful remediation or a rating of "progress being made" to eliminate deficiencies.

Additional Professional Semester Admission Requirements for Early Childhood Unified (ECU) Majors

1. Successful completion of the following Academic Standards:  

a. Cumulative GPA = 2.80
b. In-Major GPA = 3.00 with no grade below “C”
c. Completion of ALL courses listed under the Education, Psychology and Lab Experiences section
d. Completion of a minimum of 100 credit hours
e. A grade of "C" or higher in PSYCH 263 Developmental Psychology and PSYCH 357 Educaitonal Psychology
f. Completion of MATH 304 Mathematics for Education II

2. Satisfactory completion of specific components of the electronic portfolio.
3. If applicable, all deficiencies listed in the Professional Teacher Candidate Improvement Plan exhibit succcessful remediation of a rating of "progress being made" to eliminate deficiencies.

Additional Professional Semester Admission Requirements for Secondary and PK-12 Majors

1. Successful completion of the following Academic Standards:
   1. Cumulative GPA = 2.50
   2. In-Major GPA = 2.75
   3. A minimum grade of "C" in PSYCH 263 Developmental Psychology
   4. A minimum grade of "B" in PSYCH 357 Educational Psychology
   5. A GPA of 3.00 in 15 hours of Professional Education courses with no grade below a "C" in the following:
      • CURIN 261 Explorations in Education
      • SSLS 510 Overview of Education for Exceptional Students
      • PSYCH 357 Educational Psychology* (minimum of "B")
      • CURIN 520 Middle and Secondary Reading*
      • ( ) 479 Techniques for Teaching Middle and Secondary School*
   6. Completion of a minimum of:
      • 95 cumulative hours
      • 30 hours in major
      
      *Must be admitted to Teacher Education.

For more specific information about the professional semester and procedures for enrolling in it, the student should consult the Director of Teacher Education in the Office of Teacher Education, Room 110, Hughes Hall.

Additional Requirements

The teacher candidate must complete a course relating to the teaching of the exceptional child. The course offered at Pittsburg State University which meets this requirement is SSLS 510 Overview of Education for Exceptional Students.

The Kansas State Department of Education requires all applicants for initial issuance of licensure to take and satisfactorily pass the Principles of Learning and Teaching Test (PLT) and a content test in each teaching area for which licensure is sought.

Information regarding testing dates on the Pittsburg State University campus is available in the Testing Center, Whitesitt Hall or 110 Hughes Hall.