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History Degree (B.A.) with Teacher of History Licensure (5-12)

Founded in 1839, Westfield State University is especially proud of its history as the first co-educational institution to prepare teachers. Steeped in this tradition of developing progressive educators, our program supports future History teachers to be creative, engaging, and innovative with a background in the discipline of History that is rich and rigorous.

Requirements

Program Description

Westfield State University's educator preparation programs are approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and accredited by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). The Westfield State University program for licensure for teachers of History has been recognized by the National Council for the Social Studies.

Teacher of History (5-12) Requirements
Students wishing to be licensed to teach History at the Middle or High School level must complete the following:

  • All courses for the History major (45 credits);

  • The following core courses which may be selected from the Common Core requirements (a minimum grade of B- is required);

  • Two courses in Geography

  • One course in Political Science

  • One course in Economics or HIST 0273 

  • The Professional Sequence for Middle and Secondary (36 credits);

  • HIST 0332 - Methods of Teaching History: Middle and Secondary Credits: 3

Student progress toward meeting Advanced Standing in Teacher Education is monitored at the end of the sophomore year (57 credits). All students must meet the requirements for Advanced Standing to achieve teacher candidacy. Please see the section on Licensure for Teacher Education.

In order to be eligible for student teaching, a student must have completed all required course and field work, have an overall GPA of 2.8 (including transfer work), and have a passing grade in the appropriate Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL; i.e., Communication and Literacy and subject matter tests).

Requirements for the History Major - 45 Credits

Required Major Core - 27 Credits

Students must earn at least 21 of their history credits from Westfield State University.

History Distribution Electives - 18 Credits

Student must select six history electives totaling at least 18 credits. Students may not select more than four courses from any one area of history (United States, European, or World) in fulfilling this requirement. 

Note:

Students must complete at least two electives at the 0300-level. A three-credit internship may be used to fulfill one 200-level elective course. Students may not take more than two independent study courses. Students who are considering graduate school strongly are encouraged to take a foreign language.

 may count as a Eurpoean history elective when the topic is the Holocaust.

Students interested in teacher licensure MUST meet with the program director, to ensure that they enroll in courses which meet the requirements of that program.

Professional Sequence: Middle and Secondary (Grades 5-12)

The Professional Sequence for Middle and Secondary must be completed by students intending to teach an academic subject area in the Middle or Secondary School. Students must complete an academic major in the subject area in which the licensure is sought.

Professional Sequence Core:

Professional Sequence Courses Middle and Secondary:

Practicum

Appropriate academic Practicum and Seminar, such as the following:

Pedagogical Coursework

An overall 2.8 GPA plus a 3.0 GPA in the pedagogical sequence specific to your licensure program prior to practicum is required. Consult with the department on which courses are classified as part of the pedagogy requirements.

Additional Graduation Requirements

All students must meet the University Graduation Requirements and complete a general education or common core of studies, distributed among the different academic areas as detailed in General Education: WISE or Common Core.