Secondary Certification
Areas of Certification
The department offers a PA secondary (7-12) teacher certification in biology, chemistry, computer science, English, mathematics, physics, social studies, and citizenship. The department also offers a K-12 certification in French, German, Russian, and Spanish.
Students pursuing secondary certification must complete required Educational Studies courses (#1 below) and courses that meet the state requirements for subject matter competency (#2 below).
This can be done by either completing a major in the certification discipline, by completing a major in the certification discipline with Educational Studies, or by completing the individual subject matter courses described below and any other major at the College. Majors in history, economics, or political science receive secondary certification in either citizenship or social studies, and majors in psychology or sociology/anthropology receive secondary certification in social studies.
1. Required Educational Studies Courses
In order to be certified, students should fulfill all of the state general distribution requirements. In addition, students must take the following courses in Educational Studies:
- EDUC 014. Pedagogy and Power: An Introduction to Education
- EDUC 021. Educational Psychology
- EDUC 023. Adolescence
- EDUC 024. Special Education: Adolescents with Special Needs (0.5 credit; formerly EDUC 023A)
- EDUC 026. Special Education
- EDUC 053. Educating Emergent Bilinguals
- Students will complete one semester of student teaching, which consists of EDUC 092: Curriculum and Methods Seminar (2 credits) EDUC 093: Practice Teaching (2 credits)
- For students pursing World Language Certification, EDUC 042 Teaching Diverse Young Learners.
2. Required Subject Matter Courses
In order to meet the state’s subject matter requirements, students often major in the discipline of certification or in the discipline of certification with Educational Studies. It may nevertheless be necessary to complete additional subject-specific course requirements in other fields/departments for certification. Detailed requirements are listed in the charts linked below.
Students may also major in Educational Studies or another department outside the discipline of certification and complete the required subject matter requirements described in the charts below in addition to their major requirements. Careful planning with an Educational Studies advisor is required in these cases. Students should refer to the subject-specific requirements charts below for details.
Citizenship Certification (History, Economics, Political Science majors)
Social Studies Certification (History, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology majors)
3. Exit Criteria for Secondary Certification
In order to complete PA Secondary Teacher Certification, students must complete the requirements needed for the Swarthmore Teacher Education Committee and apply through the PA Department of Education. Complete information about exit criteria is in the document below:
