Preparation for the Early Childhood Education endorsement requires the following courses for a total of 20 hours:

EDU 106 Introduction to Early Childhood Education
EDU 206 Child Development and Early Childhood Education
EDU 306 Early Childhood Education Instructional Programs
EDU 406 Children's Literature
EDU 476 Assessment and Screening in Early Childhood Education
EDU 506 Preschool Directed Teaching

Note: The early childhood minor, once restricted to students seeking state certification, is available to students that are not enrolled in the Teacher Education Program. This standalone minor is designed for students seeking a career in preschool education, or in a related field, that does not require certification.

Admission to Teacher Education and to Directed Teaching
I. Admission to Teacher Education cannot be granted unless all the following conditions are met:

A. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.850.

B. The successful completion of the following courses, none of which may be audited:

1) English 101, 102
2) Speech 255
3) History 104, 105
4) Psychology 101
5) Education 297 and 299
6) Philosophy 105 or Religion 105
7) Biology 102, 201 or 202
8) Science 101, Chemistry 101 or 303, or Physics 101 or 201
9) Mathematics 105 or a higher mathematics course
10) Art 203 or 204, Music 204 or Theatre 200
11) Classical Studies 301, 302 or 310, or English 310, 320, 330, 340, 350, 360 or 370; or a 400-level modern foreign language literature course
12) Politics 101

C. The successful completion of all three parts of the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification's Basic Skills Test. Candidates for admission to Teacher Education must arrange to take this test so that test results are received prior to the beginning of that semester in which they plan to take courses restricted to students who have been admitted in writing to the Teacher Education Program.

D. Completion of the Teacher Education application, including evidence of successful group work with children and, upon request, evidence of good citizenship.

E. Completed applications for admission to Teacher Education must be received by the Director of Teacher Education prior to enrollment in restricted courses.

II. Admission to Directed Teaching cannot be granted unless all the following conditions are met:

A. Previous admission to the Teacher Education Program.

B. The successful completion of all prerequisite Teacher Education courses.

C. Continued adherence to the admission standards of the program.

III. Under exceptional circumstances, directed teaching may take place external to the Hillsdale area. To qualify, a student must meet strict criteria established by the Teacher Education Program. (See the director of Teacher Education for further information.) Directed teaching external to the Hillsdale area will not be permitted unless all other College coursework is completed. This requirement pertains to courses needed for the major(s) or minor(s) as well as courses needed to complete the Teacher Education Program.

Certification

Hillsdale College's Teacher Education Certification Program is fully approved by the Michigan State Board of Education for the preparation of students to teach in Michigan's public and independent schools. Accordingly, all Teacher Education students seeking certification must take and pass the State of Michigan's minimum number of Michigan Test for Test for Teacher Certification subject-area tests (in their teaching majors and minors) before certification can be recommended. All students seeking elementary certification must also take and pass the State's Comprehensive Elementary Education Examination.

Students must note that admission to Teacher Education does not automatically guarantee admission to Directed Teaching; nor do admission to Teacher Education and admission to Directed Teaching automatically entail the recommendation of the College's certification officer; nor does the successful completion of these prerequisites guarantee certification, which lies ultimately with the Office of Teacher Preparation and Certification in the Department of Education of the State of Michigan. Students must also note that, when the State of Michigan School Code is modified, Hillsdale College must respond with corresponding course work changes to maintain its Teacher Education Program approval.

The Michigan Department of Education and Hillsdale College's Certification Officer will not designate any student a "program completer" of the Teacher Education Program until the student "has accomplished both (a) all institutional academic and other requirements such as to establish eligibility for recommendation for certification and (b) taken/passed the minimum number of state certification tests for the teaching field desired."

Beginning July 1, 2004, all candidates for a Michigan Provisional Teaching Certificate must successfully complete a course approved by the State Department of Education in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including a test demonstration on a mannequin, and hold a valid certification in these topics issued by the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or a comparable organization or institution approved by the State Department of Education.

Hillsdale College adheres to the requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Important Note on Certification

The entering class of 2009 is eligible for certification as described above. Future entering classes will have instead other avenues toward certification available to them. These alternatives include coordination of teacher preparation with, and certification through, Spring Arbor University, a sister institution located very near to Hillsdale. Students entering during the fall of 2010 and beyond will not be certifiable via recommendation by Hillsdale College. The College anticipates that its authority to recommend for certification will expire at the end of 2013. Students should complete all coursework, directed teaching, and other requirements no later than August 15, 2013, if they wish to be recommended for certification by Hillsdale College.

Elementary Provisional Teaching Certificate Requirements for the Early Childhood Education Endorsement

• Two minor fields of concentration with a third minor field in early childhood education.*

1. No fewer than 20 credit hours in either English or history, or in mathematics or elementary integrated science (with elementary integrated science requiring no fewer than 28 credit hours).
2. No fewer than 20 credit hours beyond the second year of study in French, German or Spanish; or no fewer than 20 credit hours in English, history or mathematics (if not already selected above); or no fewer than 24 credit hours in physical education, or 28 credit hours in elementary integrated science (if not already selected above).
3. No fewer than 20 credit hours in education courses designated for early childhood education.

An endorsement (as well as the College minor) in early childhood education requires 20 credit hours composed of the following courses: Education 106, 206, 306, 406, 476 and 506. The early childhood education endorsement is restricted to students pursuing elementary education teacher certification, who must meet all Teacher Education admission requirements, and who must be assigned a Directed Teaching placement in grade K, 1, 2 or 3.

The State of Michigan Elementary Provisional Teaching Certificate “is valid for teaching all subjects in grades kindergarten to and including 5, for teaching subject areas in grades 6 to and including 8 in which the applicant has completed a major or minor, and for teaching all subjects in grades kindergarten to and including 8 when those subjects are taught in a self-contained classroom in which a majority of the instruction is provided by one teacher.” (Michigan Teacher Certification Code)

*The triple minor is not available to students who enter the College after the fall of 2009.