The College of Education and Professional Studies offers Alternative Class A Programs for students who completed a non-teaching degree or for students who want to change teaching fields. Completion of the Alternative Class A program leads to the Master’s degree and recommendation for Master’s-level Alabama Class A professional educator certification.
Application Deadlines
Applications for this program are accepted throughout the year in fall, spring, and summer.
Application Materials Required for the Alternative Class A MSE in Secondary Education: General Social Studies 6-12
Applicants for a master’s degree education program must submit all of the following documentation to Graduate Admissions to be considered for admission:
Graduate Admissions
Jacksonville State University
700 Pelham Road North
Jacksonville, Alabama, 36265-1602
- Completed JSU Graduate Application for Admission.
- Non-refundable $35.00 application processing fee.
- Official transcripts from the baccalaureate degree awarding institution and all transcripts from institutions where post-baccalaureate work has been completed. To be considered for admission, applicants must hold a degree from an institutionally accredited institution or its foreign equivalent. (Students who have previously attended JSU do not need to request a transcript from the university.)
Applicants must hold a 2.00 GPA1 on the most recent undergraduate degree or a 3.00 GPA on the most recent master’s degree. This GPA must be documented on the official transcript of the degree-granting regionally accredited institution and must be the GPA that was used as the basis for granting the degree. - If a degree was earned outside the United States, the student must provide a course-by-course and credit hour-by-credit hour degree evaluation prepared by a state-approved agency:
- Center for Applied Research, Evaluation and Education, Inc.
- Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
- International Consultants of Delaware
- International Education Evaluations, Inc.
- International Education Research Foundation, Inc.
- Josef Silny and Associates, Inc.
- World Education Services
- Please see the ALSDE website for full details.
- International student applicants must see the International Student Applicants section of this catalog for other application and enrollment requirements.
- Alternative Class A Transcript Evaluation. Once transcripts have been received, applicants must contact Teacher Education Services at (256) 782-5574 for an individual evaluation concerning undergraduate course deficiencies and teacher education program eligibility requirements prior to registration for coursework.
| 1 | Applicants with below a 2.50 GPA will have additional requirements that will be assessed at the Alternative Class A Transcript Evaluation. |
Admission Requirements for the Alternative Class A MSE in Secondary Education: General Social Studies 6-12
Applicants are admitted on a selective basis upon review of the completed application package.
Admission to graduate studies is not equivalent to unconditional admission to an approved teacher education program. Graduate candidates in Alternative-A teacher education programs may take up to six courses, or 18 hours, prior to meeting the criteria for unconditional admission to the program.
If applicable, all deficiency courses and teacher education program eligibility requirements must be completed prior to unconditional admission to the teacher education program.
Minimum Requirements for the Alternative Class A MSE in Secondary Education: General Social Studies 6-12
An overall 3.25 GPA is required on all coursework attempted for the master’s degree. Transfer credit cannot be used to raise the GPA to the required 3.25.
All professional studies courses in graduate-level programs must be at the 500 level. All programs require 500-level courses in the teaching field; however, Secondary Education students must take half or more of their teaching courses at the 500-level according to the AL Code of Educator Preparation 290-3-02 (6)(a)5. Remaining teaching field courses may be taken at the 400 graduate level.
Students not enrolled for a one year period must receive department head approval before continuing coursework in the program and be re-evaluated by Teacher Education Services.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| ED 501 | Introduction to Graduate Teacher Education | 3 |
| ESE 500 | Research and Statistics in Secondary Education | 3 |
| ESE 505 | Education Methods, Assessment, and Technology in Secondary Schools | 3 |
| ESE 510 | Secondary Practicum One | 3 |
| ESE 521 | Teaching Social Studies | 3 |
| ESE 534 | Secondary Practicum Two | 3 |
| ESE 561 | Foundations of Secondary Education | 3 |
| ESE 567 | Literacy Theory and Practice | 3 |
| ESE 571 | Critical Inquiry in History and Social Science | 3 |
| ED 595 | Internship in Education 1 | 3 |
| ED 596 | Reflective Practices in Education | 3 |
| Teaching Field Requirement | ||
| Select fifteen graduate semester hours from the social studies area 2 | 15 | |
| Diversity Requirement | ||
| SPE 500 | Survey Course in Special Education 3 | 3 |
| or EFD 552 | Diversity Issues in Education | |
| Total Hours | 51 | |
51 Graduate Semester Hours Required for this Degree
| 1 | ED 595 Internship in Education (3) is equivalent to undergraduate student teaching and requires a semester long internship in the public schools. This must be scheduled during the last semester of coursework. |
| 2 | By faculty advisement, select 15 graduate semester hours from the social studies area to include at least one course from two of the following areas: economics, geography, history, political science, and psychology. At least half of the 15 semester hours selected must be numbered at the 500 level. A student may transfer no more than three semester hours in the teaching field. |
| 3 | SPE 500 Survey Course in Special Education (3) is required unless SPE 300 Survey of Exceptional Children and Youth (3) was taken at the undergraduate level. If SPE 300 Survey of Exceptional Children and Youth (3) has already been taken at the undergraduate or graduate level, candidates must select EFD 552 Diversity Issues in Education (3) to satisfy this diversity program requirement. |
Undergraduate Requirements
Students must have earned an undergraduate degree in one of the following areas: history, geography, political science, psychology, sociology, or economics or complete 32 semester hours of undergraduate coursework with a minimum of 19 hours at the 300-400 levels with any combination of courses from areas covered by the certification or pass the appropriate Praxis Subject Assessment content exam.
For the degree in the composite field of social studies, additional undergraduate coursework must be taken to remove undergraduate course deficiencies in related teaching fields. Deficiencies are determined with a formal evaluation of the students' transcripts.
Students must have the approval of their advisors in professional studies and in the teaching field before registering for undergraduate coursework to meet the undergraduate requirements/deficiencies specified for the degree.
51-83 Total Undergraduate and Graduate Semester Hours Required for this Degree
Graduation and Comprehensive Exam
No comprehensive exam is required for this degree. All students must apply for graduation by the given deadline of the semester in which they plan to graduate. Please see the Graduation and Comprehensive Exam section of this catalog for more information.
Completion of this program and all state required testing leads to eligibility for Master’s-level professional educator certification in General Social Studies 6-12.
Please Note: Teacher education programs are approved by the Alabama State Board of Education and are, therefore, subject to periodic revision resulting from changes in State certification requirements. Subsequently, modifications in students’ programs may become necessary. Students in all graduate level teacher education programs must schedule their coursework each semester with approval of their faculty advisors. Successful completion of this program includes meeting all requirements including earning a passing score on the edTPA portfolio during the internship semester. Upon completion of this program and any state-required Praxis Subject Assessments, a student will be eligible to apply for the Master's Level Professional Certificate which provides teacher certification for general social students 6-12. Teacher Education Programs may be altered to meet changes in Federal and Alabama State Department of Education regulations.
Alabama Class A Professional Educator Certification Requirements
Issuance of Alabama professional educator certificates is the legal responsibility of the Alabama State Department of Education. Universities cannot issue a professional certificate. To be eligible to apply for certification, a student must complete an appropriate program of study at a college or university which has been approved by the State Board of Education to offer a program leading to the desired certificate. When a student completes the program of study, the institution recommends to the State Department of Education that the appropriate certificate be issued.
- Alabama State Department of Education regulations are subject to change; therefore, it is recommended that students apply for certification upon graduation. During their last semester of coursework, students should contact the Certification Office of the Department of Accreditation, Certification and Partnership Initiatives, CEPS Complex, Pod 4, Room 405, for information about this process. The university cannot recommend any student for certification who has not satisfied all state and university requirements for admission to and completion of an approved program.
- Recommendation for certification must be made within 60 months of program completion. Recommendation after 60 months requires completion of current program requirements.