BSEd in Secondary Education with Emphasis in Biology
Degree Program Description
The Bachelor of Science in Education in Secondary Education prepares students to work with children from ninth through twelfth grade in public, private, and alternative school systems. You may consider a degree in education if you enjoy working with children and/or adolescents, want to strengthen the future through education, and want to make a difference in the lives of others. MU Students work closely with mentors, practicing teachers, administrators, and university faculty to develop the knowledge and skills to enhance learning outcomes for children and youth. The coursework through the College of Education & Human Development focuses on teachers’ roles in facilitating learning at all levels of development and considers the influences of cultural, political, historical, and economic factors on students, teachers, and schools. Upon successfully completing the initial teacher certification process, the state grants you certification in secondary biology. Practical and rewarding clinical training in schools and agencies begins sophomore year and continues each semester culminating in a senior-level teaching internship, enhancing teaching skills and confidence. Coursework within Secondary Biology provides you with experience in the methods of teaching biology in supporting learners in the development of scientific literacy. This includes consideration of the nature of science, methods for teaching science, strategies for assessing science learning, and pathways for developing into a professional biology educator.
Major Program Requirements
Students must complete all university, general education, and content requirements, in addition to degree requirements. Please meet with an Academic Advisor to discuss degree requirements and to create a semester plan.
Teacher Education programs in the College of Education & Human Development are accredited by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Curriculum changes mandated to earn teacher certification may become effective at any point during your academic program. Therefore, it is extremely important that you DO NOT SELF ADVISE.
| Early Experiences | ||
| LTC 1100 | Orientation (Recommended) | 1 |
| or SPC_ED 1100 | Orientation: Special Education | |
| ESC_PS 2010 | Inquiry Into Learning I | 3 |
| or H_D_FS 3430 | Adolescence and Young Adulthood | |
| LTC 2040 | Inquiring into Schools, Community and Society I | 3 |
| or LTC 2040H | Inquiring into Schools, Community and Society I - Honors | |
| LTC 2044 | Early Field Experience for Teacher Education | 2 |
| Educational Technology (minimum 2 credit hours) | 2 | |
| IS_LT 2467 | Inquiry into Empowering Learners with Technology (IS_LT 2467 3 credit hours, IS_LT 2300 1 credit hour) | 1-3 |
| or IS_LT 2300 | Inquiry into Transforming Learning with Technology | |
Choose one course | ||
| IS_LT 2305 | Blended Learning in the K12 Classroom | 1 |
| IS_LT 2310 | Technologies for Game-Inspired Teaching and Learning | 1 |
| IS_LT 2315 | Advancing Equity in K12 Classrooms Through Artificial Intelligence | 1 |
| IS_LT 4099 | Making and Education | 2 |
| IS_LT 4310 | Seminar in Information Science and Learning Technologies (Topic: Accessible Learning and Information Environments) | 2 |
| IS_LT 4355 | Web Design and Development | 3 |
| IS_LT 4361 | Introduction to Digital Media | 3 |
| IS_LT 4373 | Exploring Moodle | 1 |
| IS_LT 4374 | Exploring Canvas | 1 |
| IS_LT 4386 | Microlearning | 1 |
| Mid-Level Experiences | ||
| LTC 4631 | Teach.Sci.Second.Sch.:Phil.,Hist., Sci.Inq.,Curr., Assm., & Teach I | 4 |
| LTC 4634 | Teaching Middle and Secondary Science I Field | 1 |
| LTC 4560 | Reading and Writing in the Content Areas | 3 |
| LTC 4460 | Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages | 3 |
| or LTC 4460H | Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages - Honors | |
| LTC 4641 | Teaching Middle and Secondary Science II | 3 |
| LTC 4644 | Teaching Middle and Secondary Science II Field | 1 |
| SPC_ED 4020 | Teaching the Exceptional Learner | 3 |
| LTC 4565 | Reading and Writing in the Content Areas II | 3 |
| Advanced-Level Experiences | ||
| LTC 4651 | Teach.Sci.Second.Sch.:Phil.,Hist.,Sci.Inq.,Curr.,Assm., & Tech III | 3 |
| LTC 4654 | Teach Sci MS/Sec Sch: Phil,Hist,Sci Inq,Curr,Assm & Tech III Fld | 1 |
| LTC 4050 | Classroom Communities: Managing Collaboration for Learning | 3 |
| or SPC_ED 4310 | Behavioral and Classroom Management | |
| LTC 4060 | Teachers as Leaders: Policy, Ethics, and Advocacy | 1 |
| LTC 4971 | Internship and Capstone Seminar | 12 |
| Internship and Capstone Seminar - Honors (Honors students can choose to enroll in 6 credit hours of LTC 4971H and 6 credit hours of LTC 4971 to fulfill 12 credit hour requirement for Internship and Capstone Seminar.) | ||
| Content Area | ||
| BIO_SC 1500 | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory | 5 |
| or BIO_SC 1500H | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory Honors | |
| BIO_SC 1200 | General Botany with Laboratory | 5 |
| BIO_SC 2200 | General Genetics | 4 |
| or BIO_SC 2200H | General Genetics - Honors | |
| BIO_SC 2300 | Introduction to Cell Biology | 4 |
| or BIO_SC 2300H | Introduction to Cell Biology- Honors | |
| BIO_SC 3400 | Evolution and Ecology | 3-8 |
| or BIO_SC 3650 & BIO_SC 4600 | General Ecology and Evolution | |
| BIO_SC 3700 | Human Physiology | 5 |
| or MPP 3202 | Elements of Physiology | |
| or MPP 3202H | Elements of Physiology - Honors | |
| Additional Required Science Courses (12 credit hours minimum, at least 1 course from each area*) | 12 | |
| Physics | ||
| PHYSCS 1050 | Concepts in Cosmology | 3 |
| PHYSCS 1200 | Everyday Wonders: Explaining How Ordinary Things Work | 4 |
| PHYSCS 1210 | College Physics I | 4-5 |
| or PHYSCS 2750 | University Physics I | |
| or PHYSCS 2750H | University Physics I - Honors | |
| PHYSCS 2200 | Life and the Universe | 3 |
| PHYSCS 3200 | Physics of Space Explorations | 3 |
| *Chemistry (must complete all 8 credit hours listed below) | 8 | |
| CHEM 1400 & CHEM 1401 | College Chemistry I and College Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| or CHEM 1400H & CHEM 1401 | College Chemistry I - Honors and College Chemistry I Laboratory | |
| CHEM 1410 & CHEM 1411 | College Chemistry II and College Chemistry II Laboratory | 4 |
| or CHEM 1400H & CHEM 1411 | College Chemistry I - Honors and College Chemistry II Laboratory | |
| Earth Science/Environmental Science | ||
| ENV_SC 1100 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 3 |
| ENV_SC 4024 | Foundations of Environmental Education | 3 |
| GEOL 1050 | Planet Earth | 3 |
| GEOL 1200 | Environmental Geology with Laboratory | 4 |
| or GEOL 1200H | Environmental Geology with Laboratory - Honors | |
| or GEOL 1100 | Introduction to the Earth with Laboratory | |
| or GEOL 1100H | Introduction to the Earth with Laboratory - Honors | |
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student’s actual plan may vary based on course choices and where options are available.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| LTC 1100 | 1 | Educational Technology Course | 1 |
| Educational Technology | 1 | ENGLSH 1000 | 3 |
| MATH 1100 | 3 | Social/Behavioral Science | 3 |
| Humanities | 3 | Humanities | 3 |
| Additional Required Science Course: Earth Science/Environmental Science | 3-4 | BIO_SC 1500 | 5 |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| 14-15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| LTC 2040 (Fall or Spring) | 3 | ESC_PS 2010 or H_D_FS 3430 (Fall or Spring) | 3 |
| LTC 2044 (Fall or Spring) | 2 | Humanities/Writing Intensive | 3 |
| American History/Government | 3 | BIO_SC 2300 | 4 |
| BIO_SC 2200 | 4 | CHEM 1410 | 3 |
| CHEM 1400 | 3 | CHEM 1411 | 1 |
| CHEM 1401 | 1 | Elective | 3 |
| 16 | 17 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| LTC 4631 | 4 | LTC 4641 | 3 |
| LTC 4634 | 1 | LTC 4644 | 1 |
| SPC_ED 4020 | 3 | LTC 4460 | 3 |
| LTC 4560 | 3 | LTC 4565 | 3 |
| BIO_SC 1200 | 5 | BIO_SC 3400 | 3 |
| Additional Required Science Course: Physics | 3-5 | ||
| 16 | 16-18 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| LTC 4651 | 3 | LTC 4971 | 12 |
| LTC 4654 | 1 | ||
| LTC 4050 | 3 | ||
| LTC 4060 | 1 | ||
| BIO_SC 3700 | 5 | ||
| Elective (if needed to reach 120 credit hour total) | 1 | ||
| 14 | 12 | ||
| Total Credits: 120-123 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.