Department FAQs

Yes, but to enter the Early and Elementary Education Program your overall GPA must be greater than 2.75, including transfer courses. Your SU overall GPA must be above 2.50.

One strategy to improve your required course GPA is to re-take pre-professional required program courses. The most recent SU grade counts toward your GPA.

Pre-professional required program courses with grades lower than C must be repeated. Professional program courses also need a grade of C or higher. When overall GPA drops below 2.50 overall or 2.75 in pre-professional required program courses, classes may need to be repeated. Check with your assigned education advisor for more help.

Yes, but the MATH 155 grade will still influence your overall GPA 2.50 requirement.

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) recently relaxed their test requirements for program admittance. Prospective teacher candidates DO NOT have to submit the Praxis I Core scores to apply to the Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP). However, graduating program completers who have a grade point average lower than 3.0 will be required to submit the Praxis I scores to the MSDE in order to obtain a license.

PRAXIS CORE exams can be scheduled at any designated testing center. Navigate to www.ets.org for more PRAXIS CORE information.

Select this link to review Maryland PRAXIS requirements.

The Center of Student Achievement provides free Praxis tutoring. To schedule an appointment and to access additional resources.

Applications to the program may be accepted when you have one science or one math pre-professional required program courses unfulfilled. A waiver can be requested during the Professional Early and Elementary Education Program Application process. A math or a science course that is granted a waiver must be completed successfully within the first semester of being admitted to the Professional Early and Elementary Education Program. You must earn a C or higher in the waivered course in order to remain in the program.

As long as you successfully complete the waivered course and obtain at least a 2.75 in the required professional program courses you do not need to reapply. See your assigned academic education advisor for questions.

Foundations courses (ELED 201, ELED 202 & ECED 251) and all of Methods Blocks A-D require a placement in schools. Paul Gasior, Clinical Practice Coordinator, will provide you with a school placement. You must complete an on-line placement request for each semester that you are enrolled in a foundations, methods or internship course. clinical practice requests are completed the semester before the placement is needed. Background affirmations are required at the beginning of each academic year and in the semester that you apply for internship. The internship I and II are completed in Block's C & D. Double majors will have an additional internship experience.

Clinical practice placement begin at the start of the each semester.

Access the online placement information through the Clinical Practice Placement Request.

Foundations course (ELED 201 & ELED 202) placements require 20 hours of observation time for each foundations course. ECED 251 requires 16 hours of observation per semester. 11 days per semester in your assigned school.

• Methods Block A and B classes require 1/2 day per week in your assigned school.
• Block C begins the first phase of your year-long internship. Block C placements require 20 full days in your assigned school. The one-hundred day calendar requirement includes both Block C and D.
• Block D is the full-time internship semester. Block D placements require you to fulfill a minimum of 80 days in your assigned school.

The Office of Clinical Practice is located in TETC 379. SU ID holders can be picked up in this office.

E-mail your mentor when you receive the placement information and give them a few days to answer. If no response is received try one more e-mail, then call the school and leave a message for the mentor.

Review the Maryland PRAXIS requirements.

Some PRAXIS II exams are offered on-line. Review the Maryland PRAXIS requirements.

The Program Director will notify you of your program status if your GPA drops below the 2.75 requirement for professional program courses. For more information about program retention for your major see the major requirements for Elementary, Early Childhood, and Elementary/Early Childhood majors.

I earned a "D" in a required professional courses, can I re-take the course?

Required professional program courses can be repeated once. Program dismissal can occur if the repeated course grade is lower than C or if the required Professional Program GPA is lower than 2.75.

If you choose Spanish as a minor you can study for a semester in Spain. Please see the Spanish minor coordinator for additional information.

If you choose Latin American Studies as a minor then you can study for a semester in Ecuador. To spend a semester abroad in China, Ecuador, or Estonia without a Spanish or Latin American Studies minor there are a number of classes you can take. Pre-professional required course electives including Literature, History (above HIST 103), Humanities, and Social Science can fulfill SU requirements while studying abroad. Discuss these options with your assigned education advisor early in your program if you are interested in studying abroad.

To spend a semester abroad in China, Ecuador, or Estonia without a Spanish or Latin American Studies minor there are a number of classes you can take. Pre-professional required course electives including Literature, History (above HIST 103), Humanities, and Social Science can fulfill SU requirements while studying abroad. Discuss these options with your assigned education advisor early in your program if you are interested in studying abroad.

Visit the Center of International Education.

You can spend up to 8 weeks of your 16 week internship abroad in New Zealand. You should attend an interest meeting the semester before you want to intern abroad. You must fill out an application in the early part of the semester and attend an interview. Based on the recommendations of all of your methods instructors, the quality of the application, and your answers to interview questions, a decision will be made either to allow you to represent Salisbury University in an internship abroad.

No, as long as your official transcript lists your AAT (Associates Art of Teaching) degree. You must send the official transcript to the SU Admissions office and drop off a copy of the your transcript to the Early and Elementary Education (TE 278) office prior to the semester you are enrolling in professional program courses.

The AAT degree is an Associate Arts of Teaching degree. This allows you to automatically be granted admission to Professional Early and Elementary Education Programs. An Associate of Arts degree does not allow automatic admission to Professional Early and Elementary Education Programs. Up to sixty credits may be taken as long as the courses you transfer fulfill pre-professional program requirements for Elementary, Early Childhood and Elementary/Early Childhood Education.

Only if you have met the MSDE equivalent requirements. Review the Maryland PRAXIS requirements.