BA in Liberal Studies/​Undergraduate Education K-​8 Program

APU’s liberal studies major equips future teachers with a broad knowledge base and service-learning field experience with diverse student populations.

84 units

Mission

The liberal studies major equips future teachers and other professionals by integrating coursework and service-learning experiences with the application of a Christian worldview as it relates to life vocation. It promotes awareness of cultural diversity issues and studies multiple curricula with an emphasis in specific subject areas aligned with Common Core standards for subject matter while fostering a holistic understanding of knowledge.

Program Overview

The Liberal Studies/Undergraduate Education K-8 program offers a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies aligned with California Common Core subject-matter standards in order to prepare undergraduate students seeking careers as elementary school teachers with the breadth of content knowledge needed to teach in a K-8 setting.

The liberal studies degree provides future elementary school teachers with opportunities to teach in a self-contained classroom environment. Opportunities are available to take additional units toward a Supplementary/Subject Matter Authorization (SMA) if the student desires to teach content up to a ninth-grade level. Consult the Liberal Studies/Undergraduate Education K-8 program in the Division of Teacher Education for complete information.

During the first two years of college, it is suggested that undergraduate liberal studies majors complete university General Education requirements and prerequisites to upper-division coursework, which is embedded in the program’s four-year plan. Students may want to explore the teaching field by taking EDLS 200 or EDLS 202 as sophomores, juniors, or seniors, along with EDLS 405, EDLS 495, and EDLS 496. Students in this program participate in a minimum of 75 hours of teacher-oriented, service-learning field experience and observation through several core liberal studies/undergraduate education K-8 courses.

APU candidates prepare to work in schools as teachers, and they must know and demonstrate the content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. Therefore, the Division of Teacher Education assesses candidates in these standards from admissions through recommendation of credentials, making APU graduates highly sought-after professionals.

Career Opportunities

Though most liberal studies graduates enter teaching credential programs and find teaching positions in public and private schools locally, nationally, and abroad, demand exists in the business and communication fields as well because of the increasing need for college graduates with broad and diverse academic backgrounds. Potential teaching careers exist in multiple subject, single subject, and special education.

Additional Preparation

Multiple Subject and Education Specialist preliminary credential candidates seeking admission into the teacher education program may satisfy the California Basic Skills Requirement and the California Subject Matter Requirement through coursework and/or completion of the Liberal Studies major. Those who satisfy the requirements by graduation may be hired on paid contracts with a school district once their bachelor’s degree has been conferred and while completing a program for their Multiple Subject Teaching Credential.

Requirements

Education and Human Development
Select one of the following:4
Introduction to Teaching as a Profession K-12 1, 2
Introduction to Teaching as a Profession (7-12) 1, 2
PSYC 290Human Growth and Development 1, 33
EDLS 405Diversity in the Classroom 1, 43
EDLS 495Foundations of Education Capstone 1, 53
EDLS 496Writing 3: Education and Professional Ethics 1, 63
English/Language Arts
COMM 111Public Communication 73
ENGL 111Studies in Literature 83
THTR 115Introduction to Theater 93
ENGL 402Principles of Language3
ENGL 434Children's Literature 13
Mathematics
Select one of the following:3
College Algebra 10
Introduction to Statistics 10
MATH 201Mathematics Concepts for Elementary Teachers 1 3
Science
Select one of the following:4
Biology and Society 11
General Biology I 11
PHYC 115Physical Science for Teachers3
PHYC 125Earth Science Concepts and Applications3
BIOL 400Science and Children 1 4
Social Science
HIST 121World Civilizations Since 1648 123
HIST 201World Civilizations and Geography to 16483
HIST 202United States History to 1930 1, 133
HIST 338History of California3
Physical Education
PE 450Physical Education in Elementary Schools, K-6 1 3
Visual and Performing Arts
ART 310Fundamental Art Experiences 1, 93
MUS 432Music in the Elementary Schools 1 3
Concentrations
Select one concentration from the list below.12
Total Units84
1

This is a core liberal studies course. The 38 units of core liberal studies coursework must be completed with a grade of C or higher and an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher.

2

Meets the General Education Civic Knowledge and Engagement requirement.

3

Meets the General Education Social Sciences requirement.

4

Meets the General Education Intercultural Competence requirement.

5

Meets the General Education Integrative and Applied Learning requirement.

6

Meets the General Education Writing 3 requirement.

7

Meets the General Education Oral Communication requirement.

8

Meets the General Education Humanities: Literature requirement.

9

Meets the General Education Humanities: Fine Arts requirement.

10

Meets the General Education Quantitative Literacy requirement.

11

Meets the General Education Natural Sciences requirement.

12

Meets the General Education Humanities: History requirement.

13

California Education Code Section 44335 requires all candidates for a teaching credential to demonstrate knowledge of the United States Constitution by completing a college-level course or a college-level examination in the subject; successful completion of either with a grade of C or higher meets this California Education Code requirement.

Students in the liberal studies major are limited to completing only one concentration from those listed below. A concentration course cannot double-count to meet a concentration requirement and a major requirement listed above. 

Art Concentration

Required Courses
ART 145Drawing I 1 3
ART 146Painting I3
Select one of the following art history courses:3
History of Ancient Art and Architecture 1
Writing 3: History of Modern Art and Architecture 2
History of Contemporary Art and Architecture 1
History of Early Christian and Medieval Art and Architecture 1
History of Renaissance to Rococo Art and Architecture 1
Select one of the following crafts courses:3
Ceramics I 1
Printmaking: Serigraph
Sculpture I
Multicultural Art 1
Total Units12
1

Meets the General Education Humanities: Fine Arts requirement.

2

Meets the General Education Writing 3 requirement. 

English Concentration

Required Courses
ENGL 404Approaches to Grammar3
ENGL 406Writing 3: Advanced Composition 13
Select one of the following English or world literature courses:3
English Literature to 1789 2
World Literature to the Renaissance 2
English Literature Since 1789 2
World Literature Since the Renaissance 2
Shakespeare
Contemporary Global Writers
British Novel
Select one of the following American literature courses:3
American Literature to 1865 (Select one of the following American literature courses:) 2
American Literature Since 1865 2
American Ethnic Literature 3
African American Literature
American Novel
Total Units12
1

Meets the General Education Writing 3 requirement.

2

Meets the General Education Humanities: Literature requirement. 

3

Meets the General Education Intercultural Competence requirement.

Human Development: School Psychology Concentration

 PSYC 290 and MATH 130 are prerequisite courses for the upper-division courses in this concentration.

Required Courses
MATH 130Introduction to Statistics 13
PSYC 345Psychology of Child and Adolescent Development 23
PSYC 360Abnormal Psychology3
Select one of the following:3
Introduction to Brain and Behavior
Educational Psychology
Cognition
Psychology of Learning
Psychology of Exceptional Children
Neurological and Behavioral Disorders
Total Units12
1

Meets the General Education Quantitative Literacy requirement.

2

Meets the General Education Social Sciences requirement. 

Human Development: Special Education Concentration

Required Courses
EDLS 303Introduction to Special Populations3
EDLS 304Introduction to Teaching Special Populations3
PSYC 410Psychology of Exceptional Children3
PSYC 430Intervention Strategies with Children3
Total Units12

Math Concentration

See the Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics for updated schedules.

Note: Students must begin their mathematics coursework at the level for which they qualify as determined by their SAT/ACT score, previous university coursework, or the APU mathematics placement assessment. Some students require one or more courses prior to calculus.   

Required Courses
MATH 165Calculus I3
MATH 280Discrete Mathematics and Proof3
MATH 340Geometry3
Select one of the following:3
Introduction to Statistics 1
Introduction to Modeling with Probability
Total Units12
1

Meets the General Education Quantitative Literacy requirement.

Music Concentration

Required Courses
MUS 101Beginning Voice Class1
MUS 103Beginning Piano Class 11
MUS 121Music Theory I 23
MUS 133Practical Musicianship I1
MUS 201Introduction to World Music 33
Select one of the following:3
History and Literature of Commercial Music
Ancient, Renaissance, and World Music Literature
Writing 3: Baroque, Classical, and Early Romantic Music Literature 4
Late Romantic and 20th-Century Music Literature 5
Total Units12
1

Or 1 unit for each Applied Piano (permission by audition only).

2

Meets the General Education Humanities: Fine Arts requirement.

3

Meets the General Education Intercultural Competence requirement.

4

Meets the General Education Writing 3 requirement.

5

Meets the General Education Humanities: History requirement.

Science Concentration

Required Courses
BIOL 151General Biology I 14
BIOL 152General Biology II4
CHEM 123General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry for the Health Sciences 14
Optional Electives
Introduction to Astronomy 1
Physics for Life Sciences I
Total Units12
1

Meets the General Education Natural Sciences requirement.

Social Science Concentration

Required Courses
POLI 150American Government 1, 23
HIST 210World Geography3
Select one of the following non-Western courses:3
Modern Africa
History of the Middle East I: Early and Medieval Islam
History of the Middle East II: Modern Middle East
Colonial Latin America
Ritual and Re-enactment in Modern Latin America
History and Politics of the Non-Western World
Select one of the following social science courses:3
Principles of Macroeconomics 3
Principles of Microeconomics
State and Local Government
Comparative Politics
Contemporary Social Problems
Education and Society
Total Units12
1

Meets the General Education Civic Knowledge and Engagement requirement.

2

California Education Code Section 44335 requires all candidates for a Teaching Credential to demonstrate knowledge of the United States Constitution by completing a college-level course or a college-level examination in the subject; successful completion of either with a grade of C or higher meets this California Education Code requirement.

3

Meets the General Education Social Sciences requirement.

Spanish Concentration

Required Courses
SPAN 201Intermediate Spanish I3
SPAN 202Intermediate Spanish II3
SPAN 301Spanish Conversation and Community 1, 23
Select one of the following:3
Literary Masters 3
Survey of Spanish Literature
Survey of Latin American Literature
Spanish Language Poetry and Short Story
Writing 3: Survey of the Literature of the Spanish-Speaking World 4
Total Units12
1

SPAN 101, SPAN 102, SPAN 201, and SPAN 202 are prerequisites for 300-level SPAN courses.

2

Meets the General Education Intercultural Competence requirement.

3

Meets the General Education Humanities: Literature requirement.

4

Meets the General Education Writing 3 requirement.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this program shall be able to:
  1. Analyze and demonstrate proficiency in subject matter required of K­-8 teachers by the State of California.
  2. Integrate K­-8 curriculum concepts and disciplines.
  3. Define teaching methods of instruction using best practices with a Christian perspective.
  4. Understand aspects of cultural diversity within the context of the classroom.
  5. Identify a distinctive Christian perspective compared to a secular perspective as it pertains to current education issues.