Many of the questions that a new student will have about the Missouri Western Teacher Education Program can be answered by reviewing the official MWSU catalog.

Where do I find information about Financial Aid? Financial Aid or Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Jefferson City

Students with a secondary education major or interest in secondary teacher certification [art, physical education, math, English, etc.] will contact the department chair of the major who will evaluate the student's transcript.  The department chairperson's name and email address can be found on the right side of the Academic Departments webpage.

What are the "professional sequence "  required courses? 

All students receiving the recommendation for teacher certification by MWSU will complete the following courses.  This is known as the "professional sequence." 

• EDU 202 Introduction to Elementary Education 2 Credits 
• EDU 203 Participation in Elementary Teaching I 1 Credits 
• EDU 303 Experience in Elementary Teaching II 3 Credits 
• EDU 304 Psychology in Elementary Teaching 4 Credits 
• EDU 403 Seminar in Elementary Education and Human Relations 3 Credits 
• EDU 408 Elementary Student Teaching III 9 Credits 
• EDU 315 Psychology and Education of the Exceptional Child 2 Credits 
• Secondary majors will take one additional course:  EDU 311 Teaching Reading in the Secondary School  2 credit hours

What "major" courses are required?

This will depend upon which major or teacher certification area  a person will select:  elementary education or secondary education.  Select the appropriate degree on the  Department of Education Catalog webpage.

•  Elementary Education Courses 

See above for pdf files that will open the MWSU Elementary Education Major/Minor form, the non-certified special emphasis areas and the added endorsement special emphasis areas.

Individuals interested in a content area that will lead to certification as a high school teacher will major in that content area:  English, foreign language, history, math, biology, chemistry, speech, etc. These people will receive a teaching certificate for grades 9-12.

People interested in teaching art, music, and physical education will also major in one of the above areas.  Certification in these areas, however, will be for grades K-12.

Specific degree requirements for the above areas will be found on the right side of the following webpage: Academic Programs A transfer student will contact the department chair of the above MWSU departments to determine what classes will or will not transfer for the major.

What do I need to do to be admitted to the MWSU Teacher Education program?

General admission requirements are

• ACT of 22 if taken after 1989 or 21 if taken prior to 1989
• Cum GPA of 2.5
• Completion of the C-BASE at the 235 level on each of the five required subtests
• A low ACT score can be replaced with a score of 265 on each of the C-BASE subtests
• A person with a BA needs only to complete the ACT or the C-BASE
• A person with a MA/MS from an accredited university is exempt from the formal testing.
• The above Admission Requirements webpage explains the alternative admissions policy.

An undergraduate transfer student should complete the ACT and C-BASE testing prior to the arrival at MWSU.  If in Missouri, contact the MWSU Testing Center or the local testing office at a junior college.  As with the ACT/SAT,  the C-BASE is only given five times per year.  Generally there is a four to five week wait between when the C-BASE is taken and the arrival of the test results. 

Transfer students are given one semester as a grace period to complete the testing.  Still, it is advisable to have the testing successfully completed prior to the arrival at MWSU.

Admission to Teacher Education is required to take any Department of Education course at the 300 level or higher.