Middle School Core Subjects (grades 4-8), B.S.I.S.

Creative Expression for Engaging Community - 9 hrs

• Written Communication - 3 hrs:

• ENGL 1301 - Composition and Rhetoric 3 hrs ¹

•  

  Oral Communication - 3 hrs from:

• COMS 1301 - Speech Communication 3 hrs , COMS 1303 - Professional Communication  3 hrs, COMS 2302 - Communication in the Classroom  3 hrs, or COMS 2303 - Public Speaking  3 hrs²

•  

  Creative Arts - 3 hrs from:

• ART 1301 - Art Appreciation 3 hrs , ART. Studio Course 3 hrs, MUSI 1303 - Music Appreciation  3 hrs, MUSI 3305 - Music in American Culture  3 hrs, MUSI 3306 - History of Jazz  3 hrs, MUSI 3307 - Music in Film and Visual Media  3 hrs, MUSI Performing Ensembles 3 hrs, HUMA 2300 - Survey of the Humanities  3 hrs, or ENGL 3330 - Introduction to Film  3 hrs³

Cultural Perspectives within Community - 12-13 hrs

• Literature - 3-6 hrs:

• ENGL 1302 - Composition and Reading 3 hrs ¹
• Any 2000-level through 3000-level ENGL literature elective⁴

•  

  History - 3-6 hrs:

• HIST 1301 - Western Civilization to 1648 3 hrs , HIST 1302 - Western Civilization since 1648  3 hrs, HIST 1303 - World Civilization to 1500  3 hrs⁵, HIST 1304 - World Civilization since 1500  3 hrs⁵, HIST 2301 - United States History to 1877  3 hrs, HIST 2302 - United States History since 1877  3 hrs, or any 3000-level HIST course (except HIST 3301 )⁶ 

•  

  Multi-Cultural - 0-4 hrs⁷:

• COMS 3303 - Intercultural Communication 3 hrs , ENGL 2303 - World Literature  3 hrs, ENGL 3318 - Colonial and Postcolonial Literature  3 hrs, ENGL 3322 - Marginalized Voices in American Literature  3 hrs, Foreign Language 3-4 hrs⁸, GEOG 1302 - World and Regional Geography  3 hrs, HIST 1303 - World Civilization to 1500  3 hrs⁵, HIST 1304 - World Civilization since 1500  3 hrs⁵, HIST 3306 - Latin American History  3 hrs, HIST 3308 - History of American Women  3 hrs, HIST 3309 - History of the 20th Century World  3 hrs, HIST 3313 - African American History  3 hrs, HIST 3330 - History of the Non-Western World  3 hrs, HIST 3334 - History of the Latinx in the United States  3 hrs, SOCI 3320 - Cultural Diversity /JUAD 3320 - Cultural Diversity  3 hrs, or THST 3333 - World Religions /PHIL 3333 - World Religions  3 hrs

Critical Examination of Creation and Community - 12-14 hrs

• Math - 3-6 hrs:

• MATH 1303 - Mathematics for Liberal Arts 3 hrs , MATH 1304 - College Algebra  3 hrs⁹, or higher

•  

  Science - 3-8 hrs ^{10, 11}

•  

  Social Perspectives - 3-6 hrs:

• POLS 2301 - American Government 3 hrs
• ECON 2307 - Principles of Macroeconomics  3 hrs¹², EDUC 2307 - Child and Adolescent Development  3 hrs¹³, GEOG 1301 - Introduction to Physical Geography  3 hrs, PHIL 1301 - Introduction to Philosophy  3 hrs, PSYC 1301 - General Psychology  3 hrs¹⁴, or SOCI 1301 - Introduction to Sociology  3 hrs 

Christian Foundations for Life in Community - 9 hrs

• Christian Studies - 6 hrs:

• RLGN 1301 - Old Testament History 3 hrs ¹⁵
• RLGN 1302 - New Testament History 3 hrs ¹⁵

•  

  Additional Requirements - 3 hrs:

• BASC 1200 - Best Achievement Strategies for College 2 hrs and EXSS 1112 - Concepts of Fitness and Wellness  1 hrs¹⁶ or BASC 1301 - Best Achievement Strategies for College  3 hrs¹⁷
• GRAD 0001 - Senior Seminar 0 hrs ¹⁸

Notations:

1. ENGL 1301  and ENGL 1302  should be taken within first year of enrollment.
2. COMS requirement may differ by degree. The B.S.N. specifies COMS 1301  or higher. Students pursuing teacher certification should take COMS 2302 .
3. Creative Arts requirements for the B.S.N. specifies ART 1301  or higher, or MUSI 1303  or higher. The B.M. degree specifies ART 1301 , ART studio course, HUMA 2300  or ENGL 3330 . The B.S.I.S. EC-6 degree can take FNAR 2401 . The B.A. Worship Studies specifies MUSI 3305 .  Students pursuing the B.S. Mathematics with minor in Engineering dual degree must choose from ART 1301 , ART Studio Course, or MUSI 1303 .
4. Students in the B.S. Mathematics with minor in Engineering dual degree or who are seeking teacher certification must take an ENGL literature elective.
5. HIST 1303  or HIST 1304  can be applied to either History or Multi-Cultural sections.
6. HIST 2301  and HIST 2302  are required for teacher certification and the B.S. Mathematics with minor in Engineering dual degree.
7. To ensure broad training, no more than 6 credit hours from Literature or History may fulfill the requirements for Cultural Perspectives within Community; however, students may use the Multi-Cultural history or literature course options to fulfill 3 hours of Literature or History requirements, and then may also complete an additional Multi-Cultural course from a different discipline.
8. Students with two years of documented high school foreign language (minimum grade of ‘B’ or 3.0) may enroll in 2000-level courses (or higher where prerequisites allow) in that same language. Any student with significant informal background in a foreign language may contact the School of Languages and Literature for information about placement testing.
9. Students pursuing the B.A.S. Banking and Finance, B.A.S. Business Administration, B.A.S. Business Analytics, B.A.S. Computer Information Systems, B.A.S. Computer Science, B.A.S. Digital Marketing, B.A.S. Environmental Sciences, B.A.S. Mission in Business, B.B.A., B.S., B.S.I.S. Middle School Core Subjects, B.S.I.S. Middle School Math, or B.S.I.S. Middle School Science degrees are required to take MATH 1304 .
10. B.S.N. students must take BIOL 3410  to meet this requirement.
11. Students associated primarily with the Plainview campus must take a 4-hour laboratory science course to fulfill the Unified General Education science requirement. Students not associated primarily with the Plainview campus may fulfill the science requirement through a 4-hour laboratory science course or the 3-hour non-lab version.
12. ECON 2307  cannot be used for students pursuing the A.A.S. Business Administration, B.A.S. Business Administration, B.B.A. (all specializations), or B.C.M. Co-vocational Ministry with General Business specialization degrees.  Students in the B.S. Mathematics with minor in Engineering dual degree must take ECON 2307 , PSYC 1301 , or SOCI 1301  to meet this requirement.
13. EDUC 2307  is required for teacher certification.
14. PSYC 1301  is required for students pursuing the B.S.N. degree.
15. Wayland Baptist University will not accept RLGN 1301 - Old Testament History  or RLGN 1302 - New Testament History , or their equivalents, from any institution except other Baptist institutions to meet the core requirement in any Wayland degree. If a student has taken RLGN 1301  and/or RLGN 1302 , or their equivalents, at any institution except other Baptist institutions, then the student has two options to meet the core requirement: (1) take RLGN 1301  and/or RLGN 1302  at Wayland, or (2) take THST 4310 , THST 4311 , THST 4312 , THST 4313 , or THST 4320  in lieu of RLGN 1301 ; and/or take THST 4320 , THST 4321 , THST 4322 , or THST 4323  in lieu of RLGN 1302 . THST 4320  may be an option for either RLGN 1301  or RLGN 1302  as stated above, but may not count for both on the same degree plan. No other THST/MNST courses may substitute for either RLGN 1301  or RLGN 1302 . The Dean of the School of Christian Studies must approve any exception to this policy. RLGN 1301  or RLGN 1302 , or their equivalents, taken at non-Baptist institutions, may be transferred as elective credit with approval of the Dean of the School of Christian Studies and the Registrar.
16. Students who have served two or more years in the Armed Forces are exempt from EXSS requirements with DD-214 from basic training.
17. Students associated primarily with the Plainview campus must take BASC 1200  and EXSS 1112 . Students not associated primarily with the Plainview campus will take BASC 1301 .
18. GRAD 0001  not required for Associate degree.

Academic Major and Minor

Rather than a traditional major and minor, the B.S.I.S. degree includes a 36- to 38-credit hour interdisciplinary core of courses. This core includes a concentration selected from an approved list of disciplines and a combination of other subject fields selected to prepare the student for the comprehensive section of the teacher certification examination. The concentration may be selected from one of the following disciplines: elementary education (EC-6), core subjects (grades 4-8), mathematics (grades 4-8), science (grades 4-8), and social studies (grades 4-8). Specific credit hours as well as course requirements are included in the School of Education  section of the catalog.

Electives

In addition to the interdisciplinary core, the B.S.I.S. degree requires 27 credit hours in professional development courses. As a result, the number of elective hours is generally limited. When elective hours are available, students may complete degree requirements with courses which complement or extend career preparation or pursue subject fields which hold special appeal. However, before using elective credit, students should check with their advisor to ensure that the hours are indeed elective and that upper-level credit hour requirements for graduation are being met.

Admission to Teacher Education

The student expecting to enter a program leading to teacher certification should apply for admission to the teacher education program as part of the course responsibilities for EDUC 3302  or during the first education course. This application should be filed with the School of Education. Requirements for admission to and retention in teacher education include:

• Filing a completed application for admission to teacher education. Application for admission to teacher education is available from the education coordinator on each campus. (If denied admission, the student must reapply in order to be considered for admission when the deficiency is resolved.)
• A minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.7 for the last sixty hours of academic work attempted.
• Satisfactory completion of all basic skill requirements as specified in state administrative code, including 9 hours of English.
• English and Math core requirements require a grade of C or better in each course.
• Evidence of oral communication proficiency as demonstrated in an interview.
  Completion of at least 12 credit hours in the subject-specific content area for the certification sought:
  1. BSIS elementary core subjects, BSIS middle school core subjects, and BSIS elementary core subjects/all level SPED: completion of 12 hours from 3 of the following 4 content areas: English, Math, History, Science
  2. BSIS middle school, BA middle school: 6 hours from content area teaching field and 6 hours from English, Math, History, or Science with 12 hours total encompassing 3 of the 4 content areas
  3. BA, BM, BS, BBA: 12 hours in content area teaching field
• Recommendation by the Teacher Education Committee (the committee is composed of faculty members from the various schools offering teacher certification). It is the function of the committee to review the student’s application and determine whether the student is admitted to the teacher education program.
• Any conduct not in harmony with that encouraged by University standards (see University Student Handbook) may constitute grounds for dismissal from the teacher education program. State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) is responsible for disciplining educator, applicants for certification, and examinees taking certification exams for conduct indicating unsuitability to teach as well as unethical conduct. WBU and SBEC will enforce the Educator’s Code of Ethics. This code may be reviewed at www.tea.state.tx.us. The Teacher Education Advisory Committee assumes the role of determining whether the behavior is detrimental to performance as a teacher and delineating pertinent details of the alleged misconduct or of the incident. The Teacher Education Advisory Committee shall review the documentation and other pertinent information regarding the alleged misconduct or violation of university policy or Code of Ethics, and determine an appropriate action pertaining to retention, conditional retention, or dismissal from the teacher education program.

NOTE: If Candidates admitted to the Educator Preparation Program (EPP) in the Don A. Williams School of Education discontinue enrollment for two consecutive semesters, they will be un-enrolled from the EPP at the end of the second semester they are not enrolled. This is per policy. If candidates are un-enrolled, they will have to reapply to the EPP and follow the same procedures as they initially did to be admitted into the EPP, including completing the application, autobiography, interview, paying the $55 admission, completing TEA trainings, etc.

Structured Field Experiences

The teacher education field experience program begins in the student’s first professional education course and may include courses within the major. The student’s field experience progressively intensifies and increases the student’s involvement during the senior year and culminates with a full-day clinical teaching experience which includes the submission of the edTPA portfolio. Classroom visitation, tutoring, and lesson presentations are included as a scheduled part of teacher education classes. Successful completion of field experience is required for course credit.

All teacher certification programs, with the exception of Trade and Industry Certification program, require clinical teaching. Admission to the University’s clinical teaching program is restricted to those students who meet the prerequisite criteria, have completed all TEA-required trainings, have been admitted to teacher education, have passed the respective state content test(s), and have been approved by the Teacher Education Committee for clinical teaching. As clinical teaching is an all-day, all-term assignment, it is strongly recommended that the student take this factor into consideration before registering for additional course work during the clinical teaching term. Clinical teaching must be completed at a Wayland location/external campus of record unless a written cooperative agreement with another university is on file with the School of Education office.

The application form to clinical teaching may be obtained from the School of Education office or the department of education teacher advisor. For spring clinical teaching, students must submit application by October 15 of the previous academic semester. For fall clinical teaching, students must submit applications by April 15 of the previous semester. External campuses have established alternative dates and the student needs to check with the education advisor to find out the deadline for applying for clinical teaching. Requirements for admission to clinical teaching include: