Psychology Major with Teacher Certification in Elementary School Teacher in Grades K-6 (B.A.)
Students who wish to pursue K-6 teacher certification in Elementary Education must apply to and be admitted to the Teacher Education Program. Please visit the Teacher Education Program website for the required professional sequence of courses and other important Program requirements, guidelines, and procedures. Students also are strongly advised to review the Teacher Education Program Handbook.
A minimum of 120 credits of coursework is required for the baccalaureate degree with a minimum 2.0 overall GPA, and a minimum 2.0 major GPA. However, more than 120 credits may be required depending upon the major field of study.
Psychology majors must earn a grade of C- or above in all Psychology courses. Psychology course in which grades of less than C- are earned must be repeated and brought up to a minimum grade of C- or they will not count toward the major.
Program Requirements
Students must complete 42 credits of General Education requirements and 3-9 credits of World Languages and Cultures Requirements.
Complete the following with minimum grades of C-:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| PSYC 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 203 | Introduction to Psychological Research | 3 |
| PSYC 220 | Introduction to Statistical Methods in Psychology | 4 |
| PSYC 301 | Experimental Psychology | 4 |
| Electives | ||
| Biological Basis of Behavior | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Physiological Psychology | ||
| Perception | ||
| Comparative Animal Behavior | ||
| Motivation | ||
| Cognition | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Cognition | ||
| Human Learning and Memory | ||
| Psycholinguistics | ||
| Fundamentals of Conditioning and Learning | ||
| Personality | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Developmental Psychology I | ||
| Psychological Foundations of Personality | ||
| Abnormal Psychology | ||
| Social/Applied | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Health Psychology | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Psychology Of Work: Personnel Psychology | ||
| Psychology 0f Work: Organizational Psychology | ||
| Clinical Psychology | ||
| School Psychology | ||
| Advanced and 200 Level Electives | ||
| Select 12 credits from the list (see below) | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 38 | |
Advanced and 200 Level Electives
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Electives | ||
| Select 6-12 credits from the following: | ||
| PCOM 385 | Advanced Community Psychology: Externship | 3 |
| PCOM 387 | Methods in Evaluation Research | 4 |
| PSYC 300 | The Teaching of Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 310 | Introduction to Psychological Testing | 3 |
| PSYC 314 | Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making | 3 |
| PSYC 324 | Contemporary Issues in Child Advocacy | 3 |
| PSYC 330 | Forensic Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 360 | History and Systems of Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 366 | Health Psychology: Applications to the Community | 3 |
| PSYC 375 | Evolutionary Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 402 | Systems of Psychotherapy | 3 |
| PSYC 488 | Seminar in Cognitive Science | 3 |
| PSYC 496 | Psychology Honors II | 4 |
| If not already used, the following may also be taken: | ||
| PSYC 302 | Health Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 304 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 305 | Physiological Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 306 | Psychology Of Work: Personnel Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 307 | Psychology 0f Work: Organizational Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 308 | Perception | 3 |
| PSYC 313 | Cognition | 3 |
| PSYC 320 | Developmental Psychology I | 3 |
| PSYC 332 | Psychological Foundations of Personality | 3 |
| PSYC 340 | Human Learning and Memory | 3 |
| PSYC 348 | Psycholinguistics | 3 |
| PSYC 353 | Comparative Animal Behavior | 3 |
| PSYC 354 | Clinical Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 355 | Motivation | 3 |
| PSYC 358 | Fundamentals of Conditioning and Learning | 3 |
| PSYC 365 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| 200 Level and Other Major Electives | ||
| Select 0-6 credits from the following: | ||
| PCOM 245 | Introduction to Community Psychology | 3 |
| PCOM 391 | Cooperative Education in Psychology | 4-9 |
| PSYC 201 | Child Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 202 | Adolescent Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 224 | Children's Rights and Child Advocacy | 3 |
| PSYC 225 | Psychology of Adjustment | 3 |
| PSYC 227 | Psychological Aspects of Human Sexuality | 3 |
| PSYC 230 | Environmental Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 231 | Psychology of Aggression | 3 |
| PSYC 235 | Psychology of Exceptional Children and Youth | 3 |
| PSYC 245 | Hispanic/Latino Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 246 | Psychology of the Black Experience | 3 |
| PSYC 248 | Psychology and Law | 3 |
| PSYC 265 | Psychology of Women | 3 |
| PSYC 268 | Psychological Aspects of Aging | 3 |
| PSYC 294 | Psychology of Leadership: Theory and Application | 3 |
| PSYC 420 | Packaged Computer Programs for Psychology | 1 |
| PSYC 459 | Special Topics in Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 491 | Independent Study I: Research | 1-3 |
| PSYC 492 | Independent Study II: Research | 1-3 |
| PSYC 495 | Psychology Honors I | 4 |
| One of the following may also be used: | ||
| CMPT 288 | Introduction to Cognitive Science | 3 |
| LNGN 288 | Introduction to Cognitive Science | 3 |
| PHIL 288 | Introduction to Cognitive Science | 3 |
| PSYC 288 | Introduction to Cognitive Science | 3 |
Teacher Ed Program Requirements (K-6)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Professional Sequence | ||
| Pre-Professional Core | ||
| CMST 101 | Fundamentals of Speech: Communication Requirement | 3 |
| EDFD 220 | Philosophical Orientation to Education | 3 |
| FCST 214 | Child Development I | 3 |
| FCST 314 | Child Development II: Adolescence | 3 |
| PSYC 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| Health for Teacher Education | ||
| Select one of the following: 1 | 3-4 | |
| Biological Sciences | ||
| Biology for Survival | ||
| The Biology of Human Life | ||
| Human Heredity | ||
| Mammalian Anatomy and Physiology I | ||
| Mammalian Anatomy and Physiology II | ||
| Human Anatomy and Physiology | ||
| Genetics | ||
| Personal Health Issues | ||
| Injury Prevention and Emergency Care | ||
| Study of Human Diseases | ||
| Perspectives on Drugs | ||
| Mental Health | ||
| Human Sexuality | ||
| Health Education Methods | ||
| School Health and Community Services | ||
| Counseling Skills for Public Health Professionals | ||
| Honors Seminar in Science | ||
| Honors Seminar in Contemporary Issues in Science | ||
| Principles and Practice of Emergency Care | ||
| Nutrition | ||
| Mathematics Requirement | ||
| MTHM 201 | Mathematics in Elementary Schools I | 3 |
| MTHM 302 | Mathematics in Elementary Schools II | 3 |
| Elementary Ed Professional Sequence | ||
| ECEL 200 | Perspectives on Early Childhood and Elementary Education in a Democracy | 3 |
| EDFD 221 | Historical Foundations of American Education | 3 |
| ECEL 408 | Social Studies and the Arts in Elementary Classrooms | 3 |
| ECEL 418 | Social and Cultural Context of Families and Communities | 3 |
| ECEL 427 | Explorations: Science, Math, and Technology in the Elementary Classrooms | 3 |
| READ 399 | Early Literacy Development and Instruction | 3 |
| READ 408 | Literacy in the Elementary Grades | 3 |
| Clinical Sequence/Student Teaching | ||
| ECEL 412 | Seminar I: Inclusive Elementary Classrooms | 1 |
| ECEL 421 | Seminar II: Inclusive Elementary Classrooms | 3 |
| ECEL 422 | Integrating Elementary Curriculum and Assessment for Equity and Diversity | 3 |
| ECEL 410 | Clinical Experience I: Inclusive Elementary and Early Childhood Classrooms | 2 |
| ECEL 414 | Clinical Experience II: Inclusive Elementary Classrooms | 9 |
| Total Credits | 63-64 | |
| 1 | Or pass the MSU Health Knowledge Test available through the Center of Pedagogy. |