Education Programs at USC Upstate
Greenville Campus
USC Upstate offers many undergraduate programs at USC Upstate, Greenville Campus. The education programs include Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Middle Level Education, Special Education, and Evening Program Elementary Education and Learning Disabilities.
Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education
Day Program Course Sequence
The early childhood education program provides preparation for teaching in four- and five-year kindergartens and in the primary grades (PK-3). A substantial portion of the curriculum consists of course work in the liberal arts to establish a broad educational background prior to the professional sequence of courses. The professional sequence provides content and direct opportunities for field clinical experience. The final experience is a semester-long student teaching assignment of which half is in a pre-primary (4K or 5K) setting and half in a primary setting (grades 1, 2 or 3).
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education
Day Program Course Sequence • Evening Program Course Sequence
The program prepares students to teach in grades 2-6. The program consists of a general liberal arts background, professional educational coursework and clinical field experiences. During the semester in which students are enrolled in directed teaching (SEDL 468), they spend all of each school day for a period of fifteen weeks in the elementary school to which they are assigned.
Bachelor of Arts in Middle Level Education
Day Program Course Sequence
The program in middle level education prepares students to teach in grades 5-8. The program emphasizes the particular physical, emotional, attitudinal, and intellectual needs of adolescents as well as the organizational, curricular, and pedagogical practices of the middle school. This is achieved through a core of general liberal arts coursework, professional education coursework (which includes field-based practicum experiences in middle schools), student teaching in middle school settings, and intensive coursework in two areas of academic concentration. (Courses in the academic concentration areas are taught on the Spartanburg campus).
Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education
The program in secondary education prepares students to teach in grades 9 - 12 and does so through a core of general liberal arts experiences; a student teaching experience; and intensive course work in a specific area of subject specialization. The secondary education curriculum may lead to either a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree, depending upon the chosen area of subject specialization. Areas of subject specialization in secondary education at USC Upstate include biology, chemistry, English, Spanish, mathematics and social studies. (Courses in subject specialization areas are taught on the Spartanburg campus).
Bachelor of Arts in Special Education/Learning Disabilities
Day Program Course Sequence
The Bachelor of Science in Special Education/Learning Disabilities prepares future teachers to serve the needs of special education students with learning disabilities in both regular classrooms and special education resource rooms. Preparation for teaching students with learning disabilities emphasizes appropriate services, curricula, assessment, and instruction required by students with special needs to facilitate their participation in the K-12 general education curriculum. Technology, collaborative and consultation skills, applications of research, and parent consultation skills are stressed throughout the program. Practicum experiences begin the first semester of the professional program and continue throughout the program. Content disabilities instructors and their students collaborate with regular education content methods instructors and their students, modeling the collaboration expected in professional settings. In addition to working with individual students with specific disabilities and working as aides in special education settings, students have two seven-week field placements: one placement in a special education resource setting, the other placement in a regular education classroom that includes students with learning disabilities.
For more information about Teacher Education programs at the USC Upstate, Greenville Campus, please contact Wanda Swinney, SoE Administrative Assistant, at (864) 552-4272, or wswinney@uscupstate.edu.