When you’re reading this FAQ and you see “English Education program,” it refers to the program that has been approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Depending on your catalog term (usually, the semester you first enroll at Chico State), the English Education program may be simply the English Education Major (if you started Spring 2021 or earlier), or it may be the combination of the English Education Major plus the Minor in Secondary Language Arts (if you started Fall 2021 or later). More details about these differences can be found below, in the question on which courses are required.

The program is designed for people who want to teach English at a middle school, junior high, or high school. If your goal is to teach English in higher education, the English Studies or Literature options would probably be more appropriate (and definitely more expedient!). However, changes to teacher credentialing policies have made it possible for students with any bachelor's degree in English, regardless of option, to enter a credential program. 

The courses you need to take to complete the English Education program vary depending on when you began your career.

If you began at Chico State in Fall 2022 or later: Your version of the program requires the courses on this list. Note: this version lists both the English Education option in the major along with the Minor in Secondary Language Arts, but the required coursework and units are nearly identical to the prior program. Due to changes in legislation enacted in July 2021, the Minor in Secondary Language Arts is no longer required to waive the CSET exam, but it's highly recommended for future teachers. 

• Option in English Education. This option in the English Major covers all of the subject matter requirements specified by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing; this is the material that is covered by the California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET). 

• Optional: Minor in Secondary Language Arts. This minor is designed to allow you to extend your studies in the disciplines of English. Along with two required courses, you may choose from sets of “Additional Courses” in the areas of Creative Writing, Language and Literacy, Literature, Theatre Arts, and General Studies. Note: You only need to choose one of the sets of Additional Courses to complete. 

If you began at Chico State in Fall 2021: Your version of the program requires the courses on this list. Note: this version lists both the English Education option in the major along with the Minor in Secondary Language Arts, but the required coursework and units are nearly identical to the prior program. Due to changes in legislation enacted in July 2021, the Minor in Secondary Language Arts is no longer required to waive the CSET exam, but it's highly recommended for future teachers. 

• Option in English Education. This option in the English Major covers all of the subject matter requirements specified by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing; this is the material that is covered by the California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET). 

• Optional: Minor in Secondary Language Arts. This minor is designed to allow you to extend your studies in the disciplines of English. Along with two required courses, you may choose from sets of “Additional Courses” in the areas of Creative Writing, Language and Literacy, Literature, Theatre Arts, and General Studies. Note: You only need to choose one of the sets of Additional Courses to complete. 

If you began at Chico State in Spring 2021 or earlier: Your version of the program requires the courses on this list. Note: On the “Areas of Study” section, please remember that you only need to choose one area to complete.

One final note: You can change the catalog term for your major (and/or minor) to any term when you have enrolled at Chico State. So if you first enrolled in Fall of 2019 but like the courses in the Fall 2022 version of the major, we can switch you. Just send me an email or stop by the office & we'll take care of it. 

Pound your forehead and say “D’oh!”

Actually, let me know about the situation. Be able to tell me where and when you took the other course. If you haven’t already, make sure Chico State has the transcripts for the course. If the course matches our curriculum, we can make a substitution request.

There are several courses that should be automatically transferred in to the program if you took them at a California community college. These include THEA 110 Intro to Theater, CMST 131 Speech, ENGL 220W Creative Writing, ENGL 276 Survey of Early British Lit, ENGL 277 Survey of Later British Lit, ENGL 278 Survey of Early American Lit, ENGL 279 Survey of Later American Lit, and EDTE 255 Intro to Democratic Perspectives in K-12 Teaching (see the next question).

EDTE 255 and 265 include a 45-hour internship you complete at a local school, working as a volunteer/observer; either class is acceptable. This internship is a requirement for admission to any accredited teacher credential program in California. Along with it being a good idea for you to have experience in the classroom, it should help you determine for sure whether teaching is the right path for you. You will leave the class with a “Disposition Form” completed by the classroom teacher you worked with; the Disposition Form is a required element for applying to Chico State’s credential program, so don’t lose it!

Short answer: it depends.

Longer answer: First, the observation had to be in a public school and had to amount to at least 45 hours. If that’s true, then first try going to assist.org and see if the course you took already articulates to CSU Chico’s EDTE 255 or 265 class. If it does, that’s great, and will take care of the requirement from the perspective of the English Ed major or Secondary Language Arts minor – just make an appointment with me and I can make the appropriate substitution in your program. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to pull up the syllabus for the class you took, and do a little legwork by going to the School of Education in Tehama Hall (room 101). Once there, you’ll need to explain your situation and ask them how you can get a review of the course to see if they will accept it as a substitute for EDTE 255/265. If they accept it, great; if not, you’ll simply need to suck it up and take EDTE 255/265.

The only hiccup in the mix you should be aware of is the requirement of Chico State’s credential program that you provide a “Disposition Form” from the teacher you worked with in your observation/internship. If you are planning to complete your credential at Chico State, you’ll need to get that form completed by your cooperating teacher (not the course professor) to submit with your application. At other institutions, there may be similar requirements. If you can’t get in touch with the teacher or if he/she is unable to complete the disposition form for you, you’ll need to take EDTE 255/265.

Sure. But understand that I’m the advisor for the English Ed major, not for GE, so I have limited knowledge of (and no power over) GE requirements. Our department is part of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA), and the HFA Success Studio can help with GE course selections; or, you can try the Academic Advising office.

Well, the campus provides a tool called the Smart Planner, which automatically puts your course requirements in and lets you move them around. But the reality is that even if you plan meticulously, you’ll probably find that scheduling conflicts in a given semester may require some changes to your plans. So try to be flexible, and get in touch with me if you need help.

One thing you should pay attention to is prerequisites. The single really critical issue here is that you take ENGL 371, Principles of Language, at least one semester before you plan to graduate. That’s because it’s the prerequisite for ENGL 470, Second Language Acquisition, which is also required in the major. If you have both of those classes left to take with just one semester left, you’ll be here for an extra semester. Plan accordingly!

Another thing to keep in mind is that some courses are only offered in Fall or Spring. Make sure that you’ve taken any Fall Only courses by the time you finish your final Fall Semester, or you’ll have to stick around for an extra semester (same goes for Spring Only, of course). The capstone course, ENGL 534, is only offered in the spring, and it should be taken the semester you graduate (if you’re graduating in spring) or the semester before you graduate (if you’re graduating in the fall).

It’s not advice per se, but I can relay what other English Ed students have said about scheduling. Taking a mix of class types is often helpful. If you sign up for five literature courses, you’re going to be reading every minute that you’re not in class. Most people find that two lit courses per semester is pretty manageable. Add in a writing/rhetoric/literacy course and a linguistics class, and you’ll have a good mix.

Many people also like to sequence their courses carefully, so that if they want to take a senior-level American lit class, they try to take it soon after the American Lit survey. Same with linguistics classes–skipping a few semesters between Principles of Language (ENGL 371) and Second Language Acquisition (ENGL 470) can make the latter class much more challenging.

Sure. There are a couple of things you should do to keep on top of your progress.

First, get familiar with your Degree Progress Report (DPR for short). You can find it in the Academic Progress tab in your Student Center. It will tell you very quickly how close you’re getting to completing all of your requirements; the more green circles and yellow diamonds you see (and the fewer red boxes), the closer you are to graduation. The DPR will show you all of your requirements, not just requirements for your major(s) and minor(s), so check it regularly. You can also search for courses and add them to your shopping cart (or directly enroll) from the DPR. 

Second, come see me for advising on a regular basis (about once a semester is good) to get a second set of eyes on your DPR. I can sometimes see things that you might miss, and if there’s something wrong, I can help you remedy it.

These are great programs, and would be terrific additions to your English Education program. Many of the requirements for these will double count for the English Education program and/or the Minor in Secondary Language Arts. See the links below for additional information.

• Creative Writing Minor

• Linguistics Minor

• TESOL Certificate 

• Literary Editing & Publishing Certificate

You actually need to apply to graduate. You do this by filling out an online form; it’s pretty straightforward, and there’s a fee involved. You should apply to graduate a full year in advance of your planned graduation date (apply by May 15 if you’ll graduate in spring, or by December 15 if you’ll graduate in fall). Applying in a timely manner means that you’ll get a report from the registrar’s Evaluations department on your program progress before you enroll for your final semester; that means you can make any last-minute adjustments necessary.

If you haven’t filed to graduate and it’s past the deadline, don’t panic. You may still apply to graduate. You will, however, be charged a late fee, and you won’t benefit from the timely report from Evaluations.

After you finish your English Education program, you’ll need to enroll in and complete a single-subject credential program. Chico State has highly-respected teacher-preparation programs. Nearly every other California State University campus has credential programs, too, as do many UC campuses and lots of private universities.  Most of these programs will have some prerequisites, so you should investigate these a year or so in advance of graduation; that will give you some time to complete those prerequisites prior to beginning the program. Most credential programs take one school year to complete. Applications vary, of course, but the process can be time intensive, and I highly recommend that you start early. It never hurts to make friends with the people who coordinate the application process, either. 

Basic Skills: Anyone who wants a teaching credential in California has to demonstrate mastery of basic skills. There are a number of ways to demonstrate this; please see the Credentialing Commission’s Basic Skills information page to see all of the options available to you.

If none of the non-CBEST methods listed on the previous link apply to you, then you’ll need to take the CBEST test (either in full, or one or more subtests). Information about the CBEST, including test dates, locations, and fees, is available online. If you need to take the CBEST, you should plan to take it no later than the semester before you apply to a credential program. The CSU, Chico credential program expects you to have verified your basic skills mastery when you apply for the program.

Subject Matter Competence (SMC): This is a state-defined term that means you are competent to teach English. There are a variety of ways you can demonstrate that you are Subject Matter Competent. 

• The first, and preferable, manner is to complete an approved waiver program such as our English Education program (for students who began in Spring 2021 or earlier, that's the  Option in English Education; for students who began Fall 2021 or later, it's the English Education Option and the Minor in Secondary Language Arts). Our approved program covers all of the areas of English that the Credentialing Commission identifies as being critical for English teachers to know. 

• The second way to earn SMC is by passing the California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET) test for English. The exam covers the same content as our approved program, via four subtests.

• The third way (effective as of July 2021) is to complete any Bachelor's Degree in English. This means that, at this time, you can also enter a credential program by completing any of the three options in English we offer. No minor or other coursework is required beyond the BA in English to earn Subject Matter Competence. 

• The fourth way (effective as of July 2021) is to pass some of the CSET subtests, and complete college-level coursework covering the areas of the subtests that weren't passed. 

When should you have your Basic Skills and Subject Matter Competency complete and/or verified? Most credential programs will expect you to have demonstrated your Basic Skills proficiency at the time you apply. Subject Matter Competency demonstration may still be in progress if you are completing a degree program like ours, but if you are demonstrating SMC via CSET, programs will generally expect you to have taken and passed the exam at the time you apply.

If you’re interested in earning your credential at Chico State, the first thing you should do is explore info about the School of Education, located in Tehama Hall, room 101. The website has details about all of the various credential programs offered here, and will point you to advisors if you have particular questions about specific programs.

Please note that there is a minimum GPA required for admission of 2.67 (or, if below 2.67, then 2.75 over the last 60 units of your bachelor’s degree). Applications for Chico State’s Single-Subject Credential Program are accepted for both Fall and Spring semesters:

• Fall Admission: Applications Due February 15

• Spring Admission: Applications Due September 15

The School of Education lists the program requirements for the Chico State single-subject credential program on their website. Prior to applying, you should take care of the prerequisite courses not covered within the English Education program (those courses are EDTE 302 and EDTE 530; EDTE 255 or 265 are required in either the major or minor, depending on catalog term). Note: ENGL 471 is not required if you have completed ENGL 371 and ENGL 470, both of which are already required in the major. Taking the “Additional Courses” (EDTE 451 and EDTE 534) prior to entering the program is recommended, if you can fit them into your schedule.

For any number of reasons, you may be looking to complete your credential at a different university than Chico State. If that’s the case, then you will not need to complete the Chico State program’s prerequisites (discussed in the previous question, and seen on the second page of the Advising Sheet). However, you should carefully read the entry requirements for the programs you’re considering to make your application process as smooth as possible. Feel free to consult with me about the program(s) you're considering; I may or may not have insights into the programs from prior students' experiences.