Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies Integrated Teacher Preparation

Students completing Liberal Studies Integrated Teacher Preparation BA will graduate with both a BA and a multiple subjects teaching credential with the additional option of completing a Bilingual Authorization for the state of California. Students must start this program in their first year and qualify to begin the credential program courses before beginning their third year. By April of spring semester of their second year in the program, students will be admitted to the credential program if they have: attempted the C-BEST exam; completed 45 hours field experience; achieved at least a 2.76 GPA; acquired the CTC certificate of clearance. Transfer students from community colleges may enter the program upon advising. Please see the Liberal Studies ITEP advisor for more information.

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Reflect critically on their education and program of study.
  2. Recognize scholarship on which practice and knowledge in a discipline are based.
  3. Write critical and/or argument-based papers that can distinguish between different disciplinary methods and perspectives and potentially integrate them.
  4. Analyze a complex issue, theme or problem by applying multiple perspectives, theories, concepts and modes of inquiry.
  5. Engage and Support All Students in Learning.
  6. Create and Maintain Effective Environments for Student Learning.
  7. Understand and Organize Subject Matter for Student Learning.
  8. Plan Instruction and Design Learning Experiences for All Students.
  9. Assess Student Learning.
  10. Develop as a Professional Educator.

Liberal Studies Integrated Teacher Preparation (B.A.) – minimum 75 units

Interdisciplinary Studies (6 units)

LS 300GWPerspectives on Liberal Studies - GWAR3
LS 690Liberal Studies Senior Seminar3

Education Experience (3 units)

E ED 250Teaching and Learning Beyond the Classroom3

Communications, Reading, Language, and Literature (6 units)

Select Two:

E ED 681Teaching Language and Literature with Elementary and Middle School Students3
LS 403/COMM 557Performance and Pedagogy of the Oppressed for Educators3
LS 450Banned! Contested Protest Literature in Schools3

Integrated Social Science (6 units)

Select Two:

HIST 450History of California3
LS/AMST 200Self, Place, and Knowing: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Inquiry3
LS 401International Development and Resource Justice3
LS 402Introduction to Human Rights Education for Teachers and Local Communities3

Mathematics (6 units)

MATH 165Concepts of the Number System3
MATH 565Concepts of Geometry, Measurement, and Probability3

Interdisciplinary Science (6 units)

Select one:3
Biology for Today's World
Future of the Forests
Select one:3
Physical Sciences for Elementary School Teachers
Science and Culture for Future Elementary School Teachers
Hands-on Undergraduate Science Education Experience

Visual and Performing Arts (3 units)

Select One:

CMX 326Comics in Education3
E ED 450Art and Learning3
LS 427Social Movements & the Arts for Future Teachers3

Physical Education and Human Development (3 units)

Select One:

CAD 210Introduction to Applied Child and Adolescent Development3
KIN 401Elementary School Physical Education: K-53
RPT 280Developmental Play Processes3

Elementary Education and Credential (36-39 units)

E ED 687Seminar: Field Experience3
Select One:3
Bilingual Education in the U.S.: A History of Struggle, Resistance, and Achievement
Social, Cultural, and Historical Foundations of Education
Select One (Required only of candidates in the bilingual authorization)0-3
Chinese Heritage Language for the Bilingual Teacher Candidates
Spanish Heritage Language for the Bilingual Teacher: I
Select One:3
Teaching Reading and Language Arts - Chinese Bilingual
Teaching Reading and Language Arts: K-5
E ED 737Teaching Social Studies, Social Justice, and Literacy: Grades 3-63
E ED 747Teaching Practicum Phase II3
E ED 748Teaching Practicum Phase III3
E ED 756Teaching Practicum Seminar Phase I3
E ED 758Teaching Practicum Seminar Phase III3
E ED 777Curriculum and Instruction in Science3
E ED 784Curriculum and Instruction in Mathematics (CLAD Emphasis)3
E ED 786Seminar in Developmental Teaching and Learning3
ITEC 711Instructional Computing in Elementary Schools3

First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)

The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.

First-Time Student Roadmap

SF State Scholars

The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree. Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree.

This degree program is an approved pathway (“similar” major) for students earning the ADT in Elementary Teacher Education

California legislation SB 1440 (2009) mandated the creation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to be awarded by the California Community Colleges. Two types of ADTs are awarded: Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T). 

Note: no specific degree is required for admission as an upper-division student. However, the ADT includes specific guarantees related to admission and graduation and is designed to clarify the transfer process and strengthen lower-division preparation for the major.

An ADT totals 60 units and in most cases includes completion of all lower-division General Education requirements and at least 18 units in a specific major. (The Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science AS-T degrees defer 3 units in lower-division GE area C and 3 units in lower-division GE area D until after transfer.) Students pursuing an ADT are guaranteed admission to the CSU if minimum eligibility requirements are met, though not necessarily to the CSU campus of primary choice.

Upon verification that the ADT has been awarded prior to matriculation at SF State, students are guaranteed B.A. or B.S. completion in 60 units if pursuing a “similar” major after transfer. Determinations about “similar” majors at SF State are made by faculty in the discipline.

Degree completion in 60 units cannot be guaranteed when a student simultaneously pursues an additional major, a minor, certificate, or credential.

A sample advising roadmap for students who have earned an ADT and continue in a "similar" major at SF State is available on the Roadmaps tab on the degree requirements page for the major. The roadmap displays:

  • How many lower-division units required for the major have been completed upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
  • Which lower-division requirements are considered complete upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
  • How to complete the remaining 60 units for the degree in four semesters.

Students who have earned an ADT should seek advising in the major department during the first semester of attendance.

General Advising Information for Transfer Students

  1. Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
  2. The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
    • a course in U.S. History
    • a course in U.S. & California Government

For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:

  • Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
  • Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.

Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.

Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).

Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.

Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.

Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.

Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs

Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.

Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.

Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.