Secondary Education Licensure
Students who wish to be licensed to teach English in secondary schools should apply for admission to the English Education Program in their junior year. Licensure requires a 16 credit hour minor in education and a fifth-year internship. Current GPA requirements for admission to the English Education program are a 2.7 overall GPA and a 3.0 GPA in the major.
To initiate admission, students should contact the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences Student Services Center, Bailey Education Complex, A332, Ph: 865-974-2431.
Information on the advising services provided by the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences for pre-secondary education students can be found at English Education Licensure.
Recommended Courses
The English Education faculty recommends the following courses for students pursuing a career in secondary education:
- Six credit hours sophomore English (200-level) sequence:
- ENG 201 British Literature I: Beowulf through Johnson
- ENG 202 British Literature II: Wordsworth to the Present
- ENG 231 American Literature I: Colonial Era to the Civil War
- ENG 232 American Literature II: Civil War to the Present
- ENG 221 World Literature I: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance
- ENG 222 World Literature II: Enlightenment, Romantic, Modern
- Nine credit hours English at 300-level or aboveStrongly suggested Literature courses include:
- ENG 332 Women in American Literature
- ENG 333 Black American Literature and Aesthetic
- ENG 404 Shakespeare I: Early Plays
- ENG 405 Shakespeare II: Late Plays
- ENG 422 Women Writers in Britain
- ENG 443 Topics in Black Literature
In addition to literature content knowledge, the high school English teacher is required to teach the mechanics of reading, writing, linguistics, grammar, and rhetoric. As such, the competitive applicant will also demonstrate undergraduate preparation in these areas. We recommend courses from the following list as those most likely to prepare you adequately.
Strongly suggested writing and language courses include:
- ENG 355 Rhetoric and Writing
- ENG 360 Technical and Professional Writing
- ENG 371 Foundations of the English Language
- ENG 372 The Structure of Modern English
- ENG 460 Technical Editing
- ENG 471 Sociolinguistics
- ENG 476 Second Language Acquisition
- ENG 477 Pedagogical Grammar for ESL Teachers
- ENG 479 Literary Criticism
- ENG 495 Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition
Overall GPA in English must be 3.0 or higher.
The above suggested courses will prepare new teachers for standard secondary English curriculum (ninth grade: genre studies; tenth grade: World Literature; eleventh grade: American Literature; twelfth grade: British Literature) and the Praxis Language, Literature, and Composition test required by most states for initial English teacher licensure.