Middle Grades Education

Shimada Resource Center

College of Education

150 Ritter Annex

1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19122

215-204-8011 (phone)

215-204-4383 (fax)

The Bachelor of Science in Education in Middle Grades Education prepares undergraduate students for middle level teaching (fourth to eighth grades). Middle grades teachers, particularly in math and science education, are increasingly sought out and in high-demand in Pennsylvania as well as across the country.

The College of Education program in Middle Grades Education is designed to ensure not only that there are certified teachers to fill the growing vacancies, but that our students graduate highly knowledgeable about learning and teaching as well as committed to pre/adolescent learners from diverse ethnic, economic and geographic backgrounds. To that end, our program focuses on building deep content-specific pedagogical knowledge aligned to the breadth of academic standards and the wide-ranging developmental needs of middle grades students. To develop a strong link between learning theories and actual pedagogical practice, we also require that our students engage in early, often and strategic field/clinical education experiences in middle grades settings.

Our newly designed program stands out as cutting-edge because we prepare undergraduate students to teach in both the upper elementary and middle grades classrooms. In addition to becoming certified to teach all elementary subjects in 4-6th, all Middle Grades Education students will pursue dual certification for 7-8th grades in one of the following concentrations:

• Math and Science
• Math and Language Arts/English
• Science and Language Arts/English

The total number of credit hours for the program is 126 credits for the Mathematics and Language Arts concentration, 126 for the Science and Language Arts concentration; and 127 credits for the Mathematics and Science concentration.

Bachelor of Science in Education Requirements

University Requirements

All new students are required to complete the university's General Education (GenEd) curriculum. 

All students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive (WI) courses at Temple University. Writing intensive course numbers end in 96, 97 and 98.

College Requirements

Students receive a Bachelor of Science in Education degree with a recommendation for Pennsylvania teacher certification upon the successful completion of their program requirements with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or must meet the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality GPA Qualifying Praxis Score.

The required total credit hours may vary depending on the course of study. These credit hours are satisfied by taking courses in four categories:

1. University General Education requirements (General Education)
2. Education courses
3. Teacher Education Certification Courses (i.e. methods and student teaching)
4. elective courses as permitted by your program of study

All students seeking to graduate with the recommendation for Instructional I Certification from Pennsylvania must also meet the requirements for candidacy.

Suggested Semester-by-Semester Plans

Mathematics and Language Arts Concentration:

To best prepare students in this major for the Praxis II exams, we strongly encourage taking the suggested GenEds listed.

* These three courses constitute the waiver for the GenEd Human Behavior category when the GPA requirement is met.

** These two courses constitute the waiver for the GenEd Science category when the GPA requirement is met.

*** This course constitutes the waiver for the GenEd Quantitative Literacy category when the GPA requirement is met.

Science and Language Arts Concentration:

To best prepare students in this major for the Praxis II exams, we strongly encourage taking the suggested GenEds listed.

* These 3 courses constitute the waiver for the GenEd Human Behavior category when the GPA requirement is met.

** These two courses constitute the waiver for the GenEd Science category when the GPA requirement is met.

*** These four courses constitute the waiver for the GenEd Quantitative Literacy category when the GPA requirement is met.

Mathematics and Science Concentration:

To best prepare students in this major for the Praxis II exams, we strongly encourage taking the suggested GenEds listed.

* These 3 courses constitute the waiver for the GenEd Human Behavior category when the GPA requirement is met.

** These two courses constitute the waiver for the GenEd Science category when the GPA requirement is met.

*** This course constitutes the waiver for the GenEd Quantitative Literacy category when the GPA requirement is met.