Pre-Elementary Education

1) Earning a Bachelor's Degree

The GTEP Elementary program only has 3 classes required for admission. This means that Pre-Elementary Ed students have a lot of flexibility, and can choose any major they want. 

Some majors that might make sense to select include Child, Youth, and Family Studies, Psychology, Social Science, Arts & Letters, or Liberal Studies. But students truly can choose any major they want as long as they fit in the 4 required classes.

Required Classes

• MTH 211, 212, 213 - Foundations of Elementary Math I, II, & III

• LIB 428-Children's Literature

Strongly Recommended Classes

• ART 312-Art in the Elementary School

• ED 420-Intro to Education and Society

• LIB 428 - Children's Literature

• MUS 381-Music Fundamentals

• PSY 311U-Human Development

• SPED 417-Survey of Exceptional Learners

Students will then earn a 12-month master's degree in GTEP for their  teaching license. Students should plan to attend a GTEP Info Session to learn about admissions, program structure, and teacher licensing. Any questions related to teaching should go to askcoe@pdx.edu. 

2) GTEP Elementary Master's Program

Elementary track of the Graduate Teacher Education Program 

• 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time to complete

• Program follows a cohort model starting every summer term.

• Earn a Master's in Education

• Admission Requirements (must be completed by the end of spring term prior to program starting summer term):

  • • Bachelor's degree awarded

    • GPA of 3.0 or higher (undergraduate cumulative)

    • Grades of B- or better in the 3 pre-requisite courses:  

    • Passing scores on required National Evaluation Series (NES) test. 

    • All applicants should have experience working with children, preferably in public school settings.

    • Letters of recommendation, preferably from professional educators who have direct experience with you in their own classrooms (see previous bullet point)

    • A personal statement reflecting on your prior experiences and future ambitions in the field of education

• K-12 teaching license with multi-subject endorsement.

  • Although the license technically covers grades K-12, the multi-subject teaching endorsement is typically only used in elementary (K-5) teaching.