SECONDARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SOCIAL STUDIES COMPOSITE TEACHING MAJOR

The Social Studies Composite Teaching Major is available for persons who have at least a 2.75 career GPA, will complete the Secondary Teacher Licensure Program, and wish to be endorsed for all approved teaching subject areas in the Social Sciences. Separate teaching majors and minors in History, Geography, Economics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology are also available through the respective departments. The Department of Secondary Education is responsible for administration and advising of the Social Studies Composite major. The Department of Secondary Education works very closely at all times with the departments offering courses for the major, but does not control the cooperating departments’ selection of courses offered or the scheduling of those courses.

Should You Choose the Social Studies Composite Teaching Major or a Specific Major and Minor?

You should probably choose a separate teaching major and minor instead of the Social Studies Composite Teaching Major if:

• You are very interested in one or two of the subject areas, but have less interest in the others.
• You plan to teach exclusively at the High School Level or plan to move on to College-Level teaching.
• You want to teach advanced or AP courses at the High School level.
• You plan to complete Master’s and advanced degrees in a specific subject area such as History or Geography.
• You are concerned about whether or not you may be able to become “Highly Qualified” in individual subject areas.

You may want to choose the Social Studies Composite Teaching Major if:

• You intend to teach at the Middle Level or at a high school that utilizes teachers with a general Social Studies background.
• You want to have a broad range of subject areas that you can teach.
• You plan to complete a Master’s Degree or advanced work in Social Studies Curriculum rather than a specific subject area.

Which is more "marketable," Social Studies or a Specific Major and Minor?

Based on discussions with Human Resources Directors from several Utah districts, there is no simple answer. They have offered the following suggestions: 

• Sometimes a district may seek teachers who are qualified to teach all subject areas in the Social Sciences, and will seek Social Studies Composite graduates who can be assigned any subject needed.
• Other times a district may seek a History specialist who can, for example, teach AP History courses.
• And, in other cases, a district may seek a person with, for example, History licensure who is also qualified to teach in a completely different subject area, such as English or Math.
• WARNING: New and future polocies related to No Child Left Begin legislation and "Highly Qualified" status of teachers my prevent you from being able to be declared "Highly Qualified" in any of the specific areas covered in the Social Studies Composite. Graduates teaching in Utah are presently considered "Highly Qualified" in all areas based on testing, but the policies may be changed in time. If you wish to be certain you are considered "Highly Qualified" in individual subjects such as History or Geography, you should plan to declare and complete a full teaching major or minor in those subjects.

Both the History and Geography areas on the requirements below include options to meet teaching minor requirements and test to become highly qualified in History and Geography while completing the Social Studies Composite Major.

Required Course And Suggested University Studies Courses
EFFECTIVE FALL SEMESTER, 2006

Required Courses

SOCIAL STUDIES COMPOSITE TEACHING MAJOR

SUGGESTED UNIVERSITY STUDIES COURSES 

HENV 3350, Family Finance, offered through Spring 2007, is a nice course for meeting the QI requirement.

• At least two of the Breadth Courses must be USU courses. USU 1350 (Integrated Life Science) and USU 1340 (Social Systems and Issues), listed below, will meet this requirement or you may choose from any USU courses.
• ITE 3440, Science, Technology, and Modern Society, meets the DSC requirement and is relevant to Social Studies.