Secondary Science License, BA
Introduction
Please click here to see School of Education & Human Development information.
The Education and Human Development major with a Secondary Science license focuses on engaging Colorado's rapidly diversifying student and family population. It combines cutting-edge research with real classroom experiences. You'll learn from innovative faculty members who are locally, nationally and internationally recognized for their teaching and research in secondary science education. They will provide you with a robust knowledge base and relevant learning experiences in transforming deep content knowledge into learning experiences for learners across multiple cultural contexts as it relates to teaching youth in grades 7 through 12. You'll engage in powerful classroom experiences and benefit from our rich 20-year history of partnering with schools to prepare teachers.
The secondary science program ensures that you will develop deep content knowledge across a number of disciplines important to become a successful science teacher with courses in physics, biology, chemistry and Earth sciences. You will also be prepared with the methods and foundations coursework that will make you a highly effective, innovative and compassionate secondary science teacher skilled in improving student performance and reaching the needs of today's diverse learners in a variety of school settings. You will have the skills to be a teacher leader. CU Denver graduates often go on to acquire positions in educational leadership as their careers progress.
Program Delivery
- This is an on-campus program with a variety of delivery options for many of our courses including hybrid, evening, weekend, and online courses.
Declaring This Major
- Click here to go to information about declaring a major.
General Requirements
To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.
- CU Denver General Graduation Requirements
- CU Denver Core Curriculum
- School of Education and Human Development Graduation Requirements
- Click here for information about Academic Policies
Program Requirements
- Students must complete a minimum total of 126 semester hours for the EDHD Secondary Science Education Track.
- Application to the last year of the program, the Professional Year Residency is required. After successfully completing all other Core, major, and elective courses, all students must apply for admission into the Professional Year. Requirements for admission include a 3.0 GPA, positive letters of recommendation, successful evaluations of earlier clinical experiences, and a successful interview. (Students with a lower GPA may be considered under certain conditions. Please see the SEHD website.)
- A minimum of C- is required for all Science content courses.
- A minimum GPA of 2.0, grade of C or better, is required for all major courses applying to EDHD - Secondary Science Education requirements unless otherwise specified.
- Students must complete and maintain a 3.0 minimum grade point average in Professional Year coursework to complete licensure requirements. Please see an advisor for more information on this requirement.
- Transfer courses must be approved by faculty and/or advisor to apply to the major.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Major Courses | ||
| CLDE 2000 | CLDE Foundations 1 | 3 |
| EDFN 1000 | Equality, Rights & Education | 3 |
| or LCRT 2000 | Rebels, Villains, & Superheroes: How Children's Literature Shapes Our Identities | |
| or LCRT 3815 | Once Upon a Time: Family Literacies in Culturally Diverse Communities | |
| HDFR 1010 | Life Span Development in Ecological Settings | 3 |
| or HDFR 2110 | Child Ecology | |
| or HDFR 3050 | Children's Thinking and Assessment | |
| SCED 4340 | Equity & Culture in Science Education: Local/Global | 3 |
| EDFN 4010 | Social Foundations and Cultural Diversity in Urban Education 1 | 3 |
| CLDE 4020 | Responsive Classroom Communities 1 | 3 |
| EDHD 1930 | Community Based Field Experience & Seminar 1 | 3 |
| EDHD 2930 | Learning & Development Field Experience & Seminar 1 | 3 |
| EDHD 3930 | Diverse Learners Field Experience & Seminar 1 | 3 |
| SPED 4030 | Understanding (dis)Ability in Contemporary Classrooms 1 | 3 |
| Content Courses | ||
| A minimum grade of C- or higher is required in each course. | ||
| MATH 1110 | College Algebra (or higher) | 4 |
| BIOL 2010 | Organisms to Ecosystems (Gen Bio) | 3 |
| BIOL 2020 | Molecules to Cells (Gen Bio) | 3 |
| CHEM 2031 | General Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 2061 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| GEOL 1073 | Physical Geology: Surface Processes | 3 |
| GEOL 1074 | Physical Geology: Surface Processes Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 2010 | College Physics I | 4 |
| or PHYS 2311 | General Physics I: Calculus-Based | |
| PHYS 2020 | College Physics II | 4 |
| or PHYS 2331 | General Physics II: Calculus-Based | |
| Tracks | ||
| Select all courses in one of the following tracks: | 8-11 | |
| Professional Year Courses | ||
| A minimum grade of B- is required in each course. | ||
| SPED 4400 | Universal Design for Learning (UDL) | 3 |
| LCRT 4100 | Secondary Literacy Instruction and Assessment | 3 |
| STME 4020 | Learning and Assessment in STEM: Embracing Design Thinking | 3 |
| STME 4030 | Exploring Approaches to STEM Education: Making Student Learning Visible | 3 |
| UEDU 4040 | Planning for Learning | 3 |
| UEDU 4050 | Capstone: Planning, Instruction & Assessment | 3 |
| UEDU 4931 | Internship & Lrng Comm I | 2 |
| UEDU 4932 | Internship & Lrng Comm II | 2 |
| UEDU 4933 | Internship & Lrng Comm III | 6 |
| General Electives | ||
Additional General Electives hours may be needed to reach the required 126 hours for the BA. | ||
| Total Hours | 94-97 | |
- 1
Courses require a grade of B- or better; all other courses require a grade of C or better.
Biology Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 2011 | Organisms to Ecosystems Lab (Gen Bio) | 1 |
| BIOL 2021 | Molecules to Cells Lab (Gen Bio) | 1 |
| CHEM 2038 | General Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| CHEM 2068 | General Chemistry Laboratory II | 2 |
| Select two additional upper-division (3000-level or above) BIOL courses (minimum of 6 credits) | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 11 | |
Chemistry Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 2038 | General Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| CHEM 2068 | General Chemistry Laboratory II | 2 |
| Select two additional upper-division (3000-level or above) CHEM courses (minimum of 6 credits) | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 9 | |
Environmental Sciences/Geology Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 2021 | Molecules to Cells Lab (Gen Bio) | 1 |
| or CHEM 2038 | General Chemistry Laboratory I | |
| BIOL 2011 | Organisms to Ecosystems Lab (Gen Bio) | 1 |
| or CHEM 2068 | General Chemistry Laboratory II | |
| Select two additional upper-division (3000-level or above) ENVS or GEOL courses (minimum of 6 credits) | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 8 | |
Physics Track
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHYS 2321 | Intro Experimental Phys Lab I | 1 |
| PHYS 2341 | Intro Experimental Phys Lab II | 1 |
| Select two additional upper-division (3000-level or above) PHYS courses (minimum of 6 credits) | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 8 | |
To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.