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Dec 11, 2024
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2019-2020 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Natural Sciences Education Minor
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The Natural Sciences Education (NSED) minor is designed to prepare UC Merced students for admission to teacher credential programs or to pursue graduate studies in education. Students who complete the coursework and the fieldwork associated with this program can be eligible for admission to the teacher credential programs at many local institutions. In particular, students who complete the NSED minor are eligible for priority admission, course credits and scholarships for the teaching credential program at Fresno Pacific University (FPU) through a joint UC Merced-FPU program. Additional support and resources for students interested in teaching careers are available through the CalTeach/Science and Mathematics Initiative (SMI) program in the School of Natural Sciences.
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Minimum Requirements
To be awarded a minor in Natural Sciences Education, students must successfully complete at least 24 units.
Natural Sciences Education Core Requirement [20 Units]
Complete the following courses, all of which must be taken for a letter grade. Writing Requirement [4 units]
Complete the following course or another approved upper-division writing course.
American Institutions Requirement [4 units]
Complete one of the following courses:
Seminar Courses [2 Units]
Complete two of the following seminar courses: Fieldwork Courses [2 units]
Complete two of the following fieldwork courses—total 60 hours of fieldwork: Natural Sciences Education Minor Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the NSED minor program students are expected to:
- Comprehensively articulate what constitutes a profession of a science or mathematics teacher including being able to address the following questions:
- What constitutes responsibilities and duties of a teacher?
- What skills and knowledge are necessary to become a successful professional?
- Demonstrate skills of a beginning teacher such as:
- Ability to develop a lesson plan and deliver an effective lesson at the secondary school level,
- Design different types of assessments to evaluate students learning,
- Distinguish between students with different learning abilities and needs and adapt their teaching methodology to address this diversity.
- Demonstrate familiarity with requirements, special aspects and structure of California educational system such as:
- Credentialing process,
- Instructional state standards and requirements,
- Strategies to address diverse demographics of California schools such as instruction to English Learners.
Guidelines Applying to all Natural Sciences Minors
To declare a minor, students must have an overall grade-point average of 2.0 (C) or better. Students should consult an advisor in the School of Natural Sciences to officially declare the minor and plan their courses. The following guidelines must be adhered to:
- At least five courses, four of which must be upper division, must be taken for a letter grade.
- At least three of the required courses must be taken at UC Merced.
- Only one course may be used to satisfy two minor programs’ requirements.
- Only one course may be used to satisfy both a minor and a major requirement.
- Work for the minor must be completed within the 150 unit maximum limit for graduation. If the student’s major and minor are in different schools, the higher unit maximum will apply.
- Students must consult the course descriptions for prerequisites to required courses.
- The minor will appear on the student’s transcript.
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