Integrated Bachelor’s/Credential Program

The Integrated Bachelor’s/Credential (APU IBC) program provides an accelerated, rigorous education leading to a bachelor’s degree and a preliminary California teaching credential. As part of this unique 3+1 model, students complete credential courses as undergraduates and work in the field alongside mentor-teachers throughout the credential portion of the program. The credential portion of the program is approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

The programs available are:

Program Details

During the first three years, students complete most of the requirements for their major and participate in undergraduate field experiences in public school classrooms. Students formally apply for admission to the School of Education prior to or during their junior year. In the summer between their junior and senior years, students begin taking graduate-level courses offered through the School of Education. Throughout the program, students participate in service-learning projects, field experiences, and clinical practice (student teaching) in area TK-12 public schools. The clinical practice component requires 16 weeks of full-time student teaching. All field experiences and clinical practice experiences must take place in a TK-12 public school located within 50 miles of Azusa or an APU regional campus. Students must have access to reliable transportation.

Application to the Integrated Bachelor’s/Credential Program

Admission to the School of Education is required for all students before they begin credential courses offered through the School of Education. Applications are available in the Office of Credentials in Building One on West Campus. Students may apply to the APU IBC program once they have completed at least 32 semester hours of undergraduate credit and before they complete at 96 hours of undergraduate credit. Students who wish to enroll in the APU IBC program and want to begin School of Education credential courses in the summer must submit the application and accompanying requirements (see list below) to the Office of Credentials by April 1; students who wish to begin credential courses in the fall must submit the application and accompanying requirements by July 1; students who wish to begin credential courses in the spring must submit the application and accompanying requirements by November 1.

In addition to completing the application form for admission to the School of Education, a student must submit the following items to the School of Education:

A one- to two-page personal statement addressing the following topics: experiences from the applicant’s background that enhance the teaching experience; the most rewarding and challenging aspects of working with youth; why the applicant wants to teach; preferred grade level and content areas and why; and how the applicant envisions supporting the success of all students and contributing to the profession.
Proof of Certificate of Clearance (COC) (review instructions on Obtaining a Certificate of Clearance). Applicants are encouraged to begin this step early in their second year to allow time for processing by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Proof that the California Basic Skills Requirement has been satisfied.
Proof that the applicant is on track to satisfy the California Subject Matter Requirement. For liberal studies majors and math majors, this means being a student in good academic standing within the major and making appropriate progress to degree completion. For allied health majors, this means submitting an official score report reflecting a passing score on an appropriate California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET) subtest or submitting proof of paid registration for the next appropriate CSET administration.
Two letters of recommendation from a supervisor, former professor, or other professional. A third letter of recommendation from a current professor is encouraged.
Current résumé.
Current transcript indicating GPA of 3.0 or above*.

All applicants will also be required to interview with the credential program director or a designee from the IBC program.

*Admission to the APU IBC program is selective; among those accepted, the mean undergraduate GPA at time of application is 3.0+ with an SAT score of 993+ (2016 or earlier version) or 1490+ (2017 version), a composite ACT score of 20+, or a CBEST Reading subtest score of 50+ and Math subtest score of 52+.

International students must meet the following additional requirements:

The admission requirement for international students with English as a second language (ESL) is a minimum TOEFL iBT score of 90 (22 on Reading, 22 on Listening, 22 on Speaking, and 24 on Writing) or IELTS score of 7.

During the first three years of the program, APU undergraduate students planning to participate in the APU IBC program are completing General Education requirements and degree major requirements for liberal studies, allied health, or math. Advising is coordinated by the degree major department. Once undergraduate students are admitted to the APU IBC program, the Office of Credentials and APU IBC program director advise them in regard to the California preliminary teaching credential and credential requirements.

Credential Tracks

Program graduates earn a Preliminary California Teaching credential in one of the following:

Special Education Track

This track prepares students to effectively teach individuals with special needs. Preliminary Education Specialist credentials are offered in the areas of:

Mild to Moderate Support Needs, which includes specific learning disabilities, mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, autism, other health impairment, and emotional disturbance
Extensive Support Needs, which includes autism, deaf-blindness, moderate to severe intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, and emotional disturbance

Single Subject Track

This track prepares students to teach at the middle/high school level (6-12). Preliminary Single Subject credentials that can currently be completed via the APU IBC program are Math and Science. The School of Education offers the graduate Single Subject Credential program in additional subject areas. Visit the Division of Teacher Education section of the Academic Catalog for more information.

Clinical Practice Clearance

The following requirements must be met before undergraduate students may progress to clinical practice (student teaching).

Applications for clinical practice must be submitted to the Office of Student Placements by April 10 for the fall semester and September 10 for the spring semester. Students must also submit the following to the Office of Student Placements by April 30 for fall semester and September 30 for spring semester:

Transcript(s) demonstrating successful completion of at least 110 undergraduate units and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Proof that student is on track to graduate at the conclusion of the clinical practice semester, which could include a recommendation letter from the undergraduate major advisor, a current advisement form, or current transcripts.
Proof that the California Basic Skills Requirement has been satisfied.
Proof that the California Subject Matter Requirement has been met. For liberal studies and math majors, this means proof that the student is on track to graduate at the conclusion of the clinical practice semester with a degree major in liberal studies or math.
Tuberculosis (TB) clearance, which must be valid for a two-year time period that runs through the end date of the assigned clinical practice term.
Certificate of Clearance or other appropriate CTC-issued document that will be valid throughout the clinical practice semester.
Proof of U.S. Constitution coursework or exam.

Clinical practice courses are taken as Credit (CR)/No Credit (NC). Students who earn an NC grade are required to meet with their program director to identify knowledge, skills, and/or dispositions that may need strengthening and develop a performance improvement plan. Students will not receive another placement for clinical practice until after they have met with their program director and received their performance improvement plan. Students who earn an NC grade will be placed on probation and given one enrollment period to demonstrate satisfactory progress according to the terms of the improvement plan. Students who do not meet the standards for satisfactory progress after a probation period may be dismissed from the credential program.

Students are expected to successfully complete their culminating clinical practice courses at first attempt. On rare occasions, students with unsuccessful first attempts will be eligible to petition the Division of Teacher Education to repeat the course, but a successful petition is required for a student to repeat. A culminating clinical practice course can be repeated only once.

Students who earn an NC grade in a culminating clinical practice or during fieldwork as a result of a lapse in professional responsibility, integrity, or ethical conduct may not be eligible to petition to repeat the course for which they received the nonpassing grade.

Credential Application

To be eligible for a credential, students must demonstrate the following:

Conferral of a bachelor’s degree from APU in allied health, liberal studies, or math.
Successful completion of credential coursework (i.e., competency on each student learning outcome and a course grade of B- or better).
Evaluation of required assignments in the Division of Teacher Education’s assessment tool, Watermark’s™ Student Learning & Licensure.
Proficiency in the Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs).
Passage of all state-required examinations:
- RICA or the CTC-required literacy assessment is required for students who wish to become certified for teaching special education.
- Passage of CalTPA (Instructional Cycle 1 and Instructional Cycle 2) is required for candidates who wish to become credentialed for teaching a single subject (math or science).
- Passage of Education Specialist CalTPA (Instructional Cycle 1 and Instructional Cycle 2) for candidates who wish to become credentialed for teaching students with mild to moderate support needs and extensive support needs.
Successful completion of CPR for infants, children, and adults.
Successful completion of an Induction Individual Development Plan approved by the program director.
Completion of all other credential requirements.

It is the student’s responsibility to submit a credential application through the Office of Credentials upon completion of a credential program to receive their California preliminary teaching credential.

Program Expectations

Students in the APU IBC program prepare to work in schools as educators. They must demonstrate the content, pedagogy, and writing skills and dispositions required for the profession. Therefore, the School of Education assesses students, in academic and dispositional standards, from the time of admission to the program through recommendation of credential.
Students are expected to maintain a high level of professional and ethical behavior throughout the program; failure to do so may result in discipline up to and including dismissal from the program.
Students must be covered by professional liability insurance during the semesters in which they are participating in field experience and clinical practice.
Students participating in field experience and clinical practice who are driving onto TK-12 school sites must have proof of auto insurance.
Students are required to have and maintain a valid Certificate of Clearance (COC) from their time of admission to the program through recommendation of credential. Students who allow their COC to expire will be prevented from enrolling in future terms until they once again have a valid COC.
Students are required to ensure successful submission of Watermark™ Student Learning and Licensure items as outlined in syllabi from credential-related coursework for recommendation for a credential to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC).
Students must earn a B- or better in all credential coursework. Students who earn a C+ or below must retake the course for the course to be used toward credential requirements, and must meet with their academic advisor for a revised course sequence plan before progressing in the program.
All standards and requirements for the credential portion of the program are subject to CTC, CAEP, and federal policy changes, and these supersede catalog descriptions of prior programs and requirements.

An integrated bachelor’s/credential is granted based on the completion of all credential and degree requirements. If a student does not complete all credential and degree requirements, as indicated in the Graduation Clearance Pending letter, within two years of filing their graduation application, but has completed degree requirements for the undergraduate degree major without the integrated bachelor’s/credential, he or she will be subject to automatically having their stand-alone degree posted. If the remaining requirements for the stand-alone degree are not completed by the deadline, the student will be subject to policies governing reentering students, and a new catalog year will apply.

2024-2025 Academic Catalog