Undergraduate Pathways
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Did you know?
Only 9 percent of school principals identify as Black in the United States. –National
Bureau of Economic Research (2018)
Are you interested in adding a minor that prepares you for becoming a K-12 educator?
Below you will find minors offered by SDSU that could potentially help prepare you for a graduate program or credential that is education focused.
The Pre-Professional Transformation Strand is applicable to all majors. Courses taken in this strand will help you apply cultural proficiency learning to your professional career goals. This minor is designed for those who would like to pursue a career in education such as a school counselor, principal, social worker, etc. Minor requirements for this strand include 15 units.
For more information, you may contact the Cultural Proficiency Minor Advisor, Liz Buffington ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
The Teaching For Transformation Strand is designed with courses that are prerequisites for the California teaching credential program. This minor is designed for those who would like to puruse a career as a teacher. Minor requirements for this strand include 19-21 units.
For more information, you may contact the Cultural Proficiency Minor Advisor, Liz Buffington ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
The minor in children’s literature allows students in a wide variety of fields to benefit from programming and curriculum offered by the faculty of SDSU’s National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature. Courses in the literature of young childhood and adolescence benefit students preparing for careers in education, psychology, social work, medicine, or any other field serving children.
For more information you may contact the Children's Literature Undergraduate Minor Advisor, Lashon Daley ([email protected]) or visit their homepage
Our mission is to prepare students to become early childhood educators and professionals who work with children and families in their schools and communities. The focus of the department is on the study of social-emotional development as the underlying foundation for all other areas of development including physical, cognitive, motor, and language. The program represents an interdisciplinary field of study with the basic assumption that development takes place across the lifespan in the context of the family, community, and public policy.
For more information, we recommend that you contact the Child Development Advisor ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
This minor, offered through the Department of Counseling and School Psychology (CSP), builds on CSP’s commitment to facilitating individual, group and systems change in diverse social contexts. The minor introduces students to skills and concepts used to understand and create such change, and to professional career paths such as school and community counseling, clinical psychology, social work, family therapy, and school psychology. It provides immersion in theory and experience-based practice.
For more information, you may contact the Counseling & Social Change Peer Advisors or visit their homepage.
The minor in teaching English as a second or foreign language provides background in the teaching of English as a second and foreign language and provides expertise that can be transferred to the teaching of foreign languages. The minor fits well with language majors such as Spanish, Japanese, and European Studies.
For more information, you may contact the Program Advisor, Ian Ruston ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
The minor in Social Work consists of 24 units and is strongly recommended to all students with majors in the social and behavioral sciences who wish to broaden their competencies in a related discipline.
For more information, you may contact the Social Work Advisor, Jennifer Cosio ([email protected]), or visit their homepage.
The Interdisciplinary SDSU Leadership Minor seeks to develop self aware, culturally competent, transformational leaders. Established in 2008, the minor complements any major and is open to all undergraduate students. The Leadership Minor consists of required coursework, hands-on learning (internships, service learning, and leadership roles), plus elective coursework determined by the student, and a capstone class that integrates the art and science of leadership.
For more information, you may contact the Leadership Advisor, Dr. Lisa Gates, ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
A minor in Sociology is a useful accompaniment to many majors on campus because we all live in a socially organized society and engage in daily social interaction. The minor consists of 18 units of Sociology coursework.
For more information, you may contact the Sociology Minor Advisor ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
Are you interested in adding a major that prepares you for becoming a K-12 educator?
Below you will find majors offered by SDSU that could potentially help prepare you for a graduate program or credential that is education focused.
This major covers de topics are covered in different areas in which faculty specialize: social theory, family, health and illness, immigration, education, race and ethnicity, popular culture, social movements, criminology, and urban sociology.
For more information, you may contact the Sociology Major Advisor ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
The mission of the Leadership Studies major at San Diego State University is to develop culturally aware leaders who can address the critical problems facing our society today. Students majoring in leadership studies will explore the ways leadership has been conceptualized and studied, as well as how those in leadership positions have applied their knowledge, skills, and analytical/assessment practices to address team, organizational, and societal issues. The major emphasizes theory-to-practice and active learning approaches; students will be supported in developing strategies for identifying, analyzing, and solving team and organizational problems. Further, students will explore effective, ethical, and relational leadership practices to address community, national, and global challenges for positive organizational and social change.
For more information, you may contact the Leadership Studies Advisor, Dr. Lisa Gates ([email protected]), or visit their homepage.
Many of our students use the Liberal Studies major to pursue careers in K-8 teaching. For these students, we offer options in areas of general, special, and bilingual education. Within general education, students have the option to focus on teaching literacy, mathematics, or science.
Other students use the Liberal Studies major to seek careers in a variety of other professions within the field of education. These options include careers as a school counselor, reading specialist, librarian, or instructional designer. You'll find a wealth of other opportunities available as well, particularly if you choose to pursue graduate studies after completing your degree.
For more information, you may contact the Liberal Studies Advisor ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
The major is designed for those who are interested in pursuing a career as an English teacher. This program of study prepares students to obtain the Single Subject Credential in English which is required for one to teach in a K-12 setting.
For more information you may contact the English Major Advisor, Dr. Clare Colquitt or visit their homepage
The focus of the department is on the study of social-emotional development as the underlying foundation for all other areas of development including physical, cognitive, motor, and language.
For more information, you may contact the Child Development Advisor ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
Psychology at SDSU focuses on a number of areas of psychology, including the effects of prenatal environments, including the influence of hormones and drugs on brain development and later functioning; the effects of childhood experience on social-emotional and cognitive development; the functioning of adults and the elderly in response to biological and environmental challenges; the normal processes of learning, memory and cognition; and the effectiveness of behavioral and cognitive intervention procedures for enhancing physical and mental well-being.
For more information, you may contact the Psychology Peer Advisors
The 65 unit undergraduate Social Work major is designed to apply to a wide variety of social work practice settings. The preparatory course work for this major includes a basis in the liberal arts requiring classes in human biology, economics, public health, psychology, sociology, statistics and Social Work.
For more information, you may contact the Social Work Advisor, Jennifer Cosio ([email protected]), or visit their homepage.
The School of Music and Dance undergraduate Music Education teacher-training program has been recognized as a California State model curriculum for its innovative design, successful placement of new teachers, and currency in meeting both State and National Content Standards in Music.
Students are given a comprehensive approach to the teaching of music through their experiences in the following: theory; aural skills; technology; composition; arranging; conducting; analysis; literature; history; Western and non-Western musical traditions; choral, instrumental and general music methods; Music Education Practicum and on-site lab teaching; and active participation in small and large performance groups.
For more information, you may contact the Music Education ([email protected]) or visit their homepage.
Are you interested in pursuing a Bachelor's degree and credential at the same time?
In order to become a teacher, you need a California Preliminary Teaching credential which allows an individual to teach in a public. school. SDSU currently offers the ITEP program through 1 pathway for an undergraduate student to pursue a career in teaching K-12.
The Child Development Major offers an ITEP pathway toward the Special Education Credential with an Early Childhood Specialization.
*Please note: ITEP is not available to those who have already obtained a bachelor's degree.*
The Integrated Teacher Education Programs (ITEP) pathway typically takes 4 years and combines a bachelor's and credential program so that you can complete your general education, major and credential coursework, and student teaching within the 4 years it takes to earn a bachelor's degree.
The program is designed to qualify the student for a Child Development B.S. degree and a preliminary teaching credential in early childhood special education. The Early Childhood credential authorizes the holder to work with infant, toddler, preschool-age, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten aged children with disabilities.
For more information, you may contact the [email protected] or [email protected] or visit their homepage.