Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies Integrated Teacher Preparation

Students completing Liberal Studies Integrated Teacher Preparation BA will graduate with both a BA and a multiple subjects teaching credential with the additional option of completing a Bilingual Authorization for the state of California. Students must start this program in their first year and qualify to begin the credential program courses before beginning their third year. By April of spring semester of their second year in the program, students will be admitted to the credential program if they have: attempted the C-BEST exam; completed 45 hours field experience; achieved at least a 2.76 GPA; acquired the CTC certificate of clearance. Transfer students from community colleges may enter the program upon advising. Please see the Liberal Studies ITEP advisor for more information.

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Reflect critically on their education and program of study.
  2. Recognize scholarship on which practice and knowledge in a discipline are based.
  3. Write critical and/or argument-based papers that can distinguish between different disciplinary methods and perspectives and potentially integrate them.
  4. Analyze a complex issue, theme or problem by applying multiple perspectives, theories, concepts and modes of inquiry.
  5. Engage and Support All Students in Learning.
  6. Create and Maintain Effective Environments for Student Learning.
  7. Understand and Organize Subject Matter for Student Learning.
  8. Plan Instruction and Design Learning Experiences for All Students.
  9. Assess Student Learning.
  10. Develop as a Professional Educator.

Liberal Studies Integrated Teacher Preparation (B.A.) – minimum 135 units

General Education Requirements Met in the Major

The requirements below are deemed “met in the major” upon completion of the courses listed (even though the courses and their prerequisites are not approved for GE). This is true whether or not the student completes the major.

Interdisciplinary Studies (12 units)

Select One:3
Teaching and Learning Beyond the Classroom
Self, Place, and Knowing: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Inquiry
HUM/AMST 225Values in American Life3
LS 300GWPerspectives on Liberal Studies - GWAR3
LS 690Liberal Studies Senior Seminar3

Reading, Language, and Literature (12 units)

Select One:3
First-Year Experience
Fundamentals of Oral Communication
Oral Communication - Multilingual
E ED 681Teaching Language and Literature with Elementary and Middle School Students3
ENG 114Writing the First Year: Finding Your Voice (or equivalent)3
SLHS 655Language Development3

History and Social Science (12 units)

HIST 114World History to 15003
HIST 115World History Since 15003
HIST 120History of the U.S. through Reconstruction3
HIST 450History of California3

Mathematics (9 units)

MATH 165Concepts of the Number System3
MATH 265Advanced Number Systems3
MATH 565Concepts of Geometry, Measurement, and Probability3

Science (18 units)

BIOL 100Human Biology3
ERTH 110Our Dynamic Earth3
LS 209Physical Sciences for Elementary School Teachers3
Select one:3
Biology for Today's World
Future of the Forests
Select one:3
Extreme Weather in a Warming World
Science and Culture for Future Elementary School Teachers
E ED 655Hands-on Undergraduate Science Education Experience3

Visual and Performing Arts (15 units)

Select One: 3
Western Art History I
Western Art History II
Latina/o/x Visual Culture
Select one:3
Dance Aesthetics: Cultural/Historical Perspectives
Social Movements & the Arts for Future Teachers
E ED 450Art and Learning3
LS 403/COMM 557Performance and Pedagogy of the Oppressed for Educators3
MUS 601Music for Children3

Physical Ed (3 units)

KIN 401Elementary School Physical Education: K-53

Human Development (6 units)

CAD 210Introduction to Applied Child and Adolescent Development3
RPT 280Developmental Play Processes3

Ethnic Studies (3 units)

Select One:

AA S 213Asian Americans and American Ideals and Institutions3
AFRS 375Law and the Black Community3
AFRS 376Government, the Constitution, and Black Citizens3
AIS 205American Indians and U.S. Laws3
LTNS 276Latina/o, U.S. Government, and Constitutional Ideals3
RRS 250Race, Ethnicity and Power in America3

Elementary Education and Credential (36-39 units)

E ED 687Seminar: Field Experience3
Select One:3
Bilingual Education in the U.S.: A History of Struggle, Resistance, and Achievement
Social, Cultural, and Historical Foundations of Education
Select One (Required only of candidates in the bilingual authorization)0-3
Chinese Heritage Language for the Bilingual Teacher Candidates
Spanish Heritage Language for the Bilingual Teacher: I
Select One:3
Teaching Reading and Language Arts - Chinese Bilingual
Teaching Reading and Language Arts: K-5
E ED 737Teaching Social Studies, Social Justice, and Literacy: Grades 3-63
E ED 747Teaching Practicum Phase II3
E ED 748Teaching Practicum Phase III3
E ED 756Teaching Practicum Seminar Phase I3
E ED 758Teaching Practicum Seminar Phase III3
E ED 777Curriculum and Instruction in Science3
E ED 784Curriculum and Instruction in Mathematics (CLAD Emphasis)3
E ED 786Seminar in Developmental Teaching and Learning3
ITEC 711Instructional Computing in Elementary Schools3

Recommended General Education Courses for ITEP (3 units)

Area A3: Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking and the Asian American Experience
Critical Thinking and the Ethnic Studies Experience
Critical Thinking and the Rhetoric of Latinas/os/x in the 21st Century

First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)

  1. The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.
  2. In order to choose your English Composition A2 course and your QR/Math B4 course, please complete the online advising activities at writingadvising.sfsu.edu and mathadvising.sfsu.edu. Questions? Contact Gator Smart Start.

First-Time Student Roadmap

This degree program is an approved pathway (“similar” major) for students earning the ADT in Elementary Teacher Education

California legislation SB 1440 (2009) mandated the creation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to be awarded by the California Community Colleges. Two types of ADTs are awarded: Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T). 

Note: no specific degree is required for admission as an upper-division student. However, the ADT includes specific guarantees related to admission and graduation and is designed to clarify the transfer process and strengthen lower-division preparation for the major.

An ADT totals 60 units and in most cases includes completion of all lower-division General Education requirements and at least 18 units in a specific major. (The Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science AS-T degrees defer 3 units in lower-division GE area C and 3 units in lower-division GE area D until after transfer.) Students pursuing an ADT are guaranteed admission to the CSU if minimum eligibility requirements are met, though not necessarily to the CSU campus of primary choice.

Upon verification that the ADT has been awarded prior to matriculation at SF State, students are guaranteed B.A. or B.S. completion in 60 units if pursuing a “similar” major after transfer. Determinations about “similar” majors at SF State are made by faculty in the discipline.

Degree completion in 60 units cannot be guaranteed when a student simultaneously pursues an additional major, a minor, certificate, or credential.

A sample advising roadmap for students who have earned an ADT and continue in a "similar" major at SF State is available on the Roadmaps tab on the degree requirements page for the major. The roadmap displays:

  • How many lower-division units required for the major have been completed upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
  • Which lower-division requirements are considered complete upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
  • How to complete the remaining 60 units for the degree in four semesters.

Students who have earned an ADT should seek advising in the major department during the first semester of attendance.

General Advising Information for Transfer Students

  1. Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
  2. The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
    • a course in U.S. History
    • a course in U.S. & California Government

For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:

  • Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
  • Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.

Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.

Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).

Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.

Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.

Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.

Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs

Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.

Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.

Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.