BA in Elementary Education K-6

Education Advisor: Assigned upon declaration of the major.

Faculty Mentor:

By sophomore year, all education majors are assigned a Faculty Mentor who provides guidance on program requirements, issues course permits, assists with clinical internship applications, and supports students on their journey from learner to certified teacher in the State of New Jersey.  Once you are a declared Elementary Education major in your sophomore year, you will be assigned a Mentor. Your mentor’s name is on the top of your degree works audit.

Program Description:

The K-6 major is a thirty-three (33) credit sequence of courses that qualifies candidates to become eligible for certification as a teacher from kindergarten through grade six (K-6). In addition to general education requirements (University Core Curriculum), students must also take an appropriate academic major. The purpose of the program is to prepare preservice candidates for teaching in K-6 elementary schools.

View course requirements here (for students entering the program in Fall 2025)

View Requirements and Course Descriptions: Elementary Education, BA

Optional Endorsements/Minors (an endorsement is an add-on to complement your existing teaching credentials, enhance your skills and expand your career opportunities):

• Undergraduate Bilingual Endorsement
• Undergraduate English as a Second Language (ESL) Endorsement
• Elementary Education (K-6) and Teacher of Students with Disabilities Minor

Steps to matriculation in the Undergraduate K-6 Elementary Major:

• Enroll as an elementary education major and as an appropriate liberal arts or sciences major as indicated by the state.
• Complete required bilingual, multicultural, and child development courses with at least a C grade.
• Achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher with 60 credits completed.
• Before Clinical Practice I: Complete the following courses:
  • two history (one of them American history)
  • two math (including CIED 2140)
  • two sciences (one with a lab)
  • two world languages

Upon matriculation in the Undergraduate K-6 Elementary Major:

• The Praxis Subject Assessment examination in Elementary Education (can be taken as one test series 5001; or as four individual tests [5002, 5003, 5004, & 5005]) must be taken before Clinical Practice I and passed before Clinical Practice II. For more information about Praxis scholarships and disability and ESL accommodations, please view our Praxis Resources.  
• Apply for background check/Obtain a NJ Substitute Teaching License.
• Submit clinical applications

Please Note: No more than one additional course may be taken during clinical practice.

Exit Requirements:

• Complete program requirements successfully.
• A cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 and a GPA of at least 3.0 in education courses on a 4.0 scale.

View Requirements and Course Descriptions: Elementary Education, BA