Graduate Programs

Post Bacc Certification

Post Bacc Certification: Non native-speaker students who are college graduates but have not finished the undergraduate major in the language and wish to become certified:

• must complete the course requirements for the undergraduate major, to include linguistics and to finish the 10 courses for the major (minus the extras, like a second language and language cognate).
• must complete the non-departmental undergrad requirement in anthropology
  (Note: as of Summer 2012, the two Math and two English courses requirement has been dropped).
• certification courses:
  • may elect to do their certification courses at the graduate level and pay graduate tuition for all courses; the grades for all of them count in the GPA. (important: if student gets an F they are dismissed from the graduate program). POST-BACC UNDERGRAD STUDENTS CANNOT ENROLL IN THE MASTER'S PROGRAM UNTIL THEY FINISH THE LANGUAGE MAJOR.
  • may do the certification courses at the undergraduate level as well. HOWEVER, certified teachers may earn a higher salary based on the number of graduate credits they have accumulated and permanent certification requires 24 graduate credits.

Once the undergraduate major is complete the student may enroll in one of two programs:

1. Graduate certification, T177 in French, T176 in German, T178 in Spanish
2. The M.A.L.C. in French, German or Spanish with certification

*** All qualified prospective graduate program applicants may take three graduate courses while they apply to the degree bearing program they seek. Application is online and includes cover form, goals essay in the target language, transcripts and 2 letters of recommendation.

*** Students seeking graduate certification in French, German or Spanish may additionally enroll in the M.A.L.C. (The M.Ed. from the College of Education requires certification for admission.) Our degree programs have the computer codes, A 127 French, A 128 German, A 129 Spanish.

*** Students have 5 years to finish the master's degree and they are under no contractual obligation to finish. Enrolling in the program gives a higher professional profile when applying for a job.

*** All graduate certification students should consider finishing their education courses and student teaching and getting a job BEFORE finishing the master's degree, which usually involves a substantial salary upgrade in area school districts. Also 24 graduate credits are required for Level II certification, so teachers will need graduate courses once on the job. Many school districts reimburse tuition. However, some districts seek teachers who have already finished their master's degree.

*** Students who are college graduates may do their student teaching as an internship in a contract job (usually called emergency certification) at full salary, but they still have to enroll in student teaching, EDS 411-412, and complete the program with practicum sessions and a certified language coop teacher in their school.

*** Graduate certification students may retroactively include their education courses in a master's program, but they will start the "clock ticking" on the five year limit for completing the degree with the first graduate course they take.

College graduates who are native speakers of the language and have completed a related undergraduate major may qualify to enter the graduate level programs. HOWEVER, it is vital to complete all the necessary courses to prepare for teaching, both the foreign language and the required education courses. If the undergraduate degree is from another country, the student must have WES evaluate the coursework for equivalency BEFORE they can be accepted to the WCU graduate program. Foreign speaker students should get their language proficiency tested, in English (TOEFL) and the language they plan to teach, both oral and written, BEFORE beginning any courses at WCU.

College graduates with a completed major in the language have three options:

1. Enroll in the Post-Bacc program and take certification courses at the undergraduate level, up to five courses a semester
2. Apply for graduate certification (however we strongly recommend that you take at least one graduate course in the language while you are being certified; alternately you can take the ACTFL required tests up front to determine any weaknesses to address).
3. Apply to the M.A.L.C. program in French, German, or Spanish and include 4 of the required courses for certification in the degree.

REQUIRED TESTING INCLUDES THE OPI AND WPT TESTS TO BE TAKEN DURING STUDENT TEACHING. See below for full schedule of required testing.

Required courses for PA K-12 State Certification in a language:

UNDERGRADUATE----------------------------------------------------------------GRADUATE

ANT 102 Anthropology-------------------------------------------------------------culture course

I. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION (36 S.H.)

A. Foundations of Special Education (3)	EDA 103	EDA 542
B. Ed. Psychology (3)	EDP 250	EDP 550 clearances requ.
C. Assessment for Learning (3)	EDP 355	EDP 531
D. Child & Adolescent Psychology (3)	EDP 349 or PSY 382	EDP 569
E. Literacy Dev. Inclusive Classrooms (3)	EDR 347	EDR 550

FORMAL ADMISSION [EDF 030] TO THE TEACHING PROGRAM MUST BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO TAKE THE FOLLOWING COURSES:

F.  Tech Tools to Transform (1)	EDM 349 (1)	EDM 349 (1)
G.  Spec. Ed: Processes and Proc. (2)	EDA 303 (2)	EDA 511
H.   Prin. Teaching & Field Experience (3)	EDS 306	EDS 505
I.    Techniques of L2 Tchg  PK-12  (3)	LAN 401	LAN 503

PREREQ: Completion of language courses through the advanced level, LIN 230 or LAN 327 [min. grade of “C”], and professional education courses including EDS 306 (excluding EDS 411/412).

J.    Student Teaching (12 semester hours)	EDS411	EDS 411
	EDS412	EDS 412

Graduate Certification

Admission to the Graduate Certification programs is through the Graduate School. The "career" designation for the French program is T177, Spanish is T178. This may be combined with the "career" code for the master's degree.

SPANISH or FRENCH GRADUATE CERTIFICATION:
Candidates who have the appropriate required undergraduate degree and/or major in Spanish or French, or native fluency and a related undergraduate degree from a Spanish or French-speaking university, may enroll directly in the graduate courses required for Pennsylvania State Certification K-12.

GERMAN / RUSSIAN POST BACCALAURATE CERTIFICATION:
If you already hold an undergraduate degree with a major in German or Russian, you may pursue Pennsylvania State Certification K-12 in these languages at the graduate level.

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Here is a separate listing of just the graduate level certification courses:

• EDA 542 Foundations of Special Education
• EDT 500 Educational Technology (or EDM 349 1 credit Technology Tools Teacher/Learning)
• EDP 531 Assessment for Learning 7-12
• EDP 550 Advanced Educational Pyschology
• EDP 569 Adolescent Development and Learning
• EDR 550 Literacy Development and Secondary Students with Disabilities in Inclusive Classroom

Formal Admission to Teacher Education [EDF 030] must be obtained before enrollling in the following courses. This includes an approved program of study signed by your advisors.

• EDA 511 Inclusion and Collaboration
• EDS 505 Field Observation
• LAN 503 Techniques of Second Language Teaching (prereq if never had linguistics: LIN 501)
• EDS 411-412 Student Teaching (not for graduate credit but required for certification)

NOTE: you must register a year ahead of time for student teaching with or without an internship.

Information about Post Baccalaureate undergraduate-level K-12 Certification in various languages is also available through the Graduate School (610) 436-2943 or the Secondary Education Advisement Center at 251 Greene Library, 610-436-3063.

For more information, please contact: