General Education Endorsement Requirements

Besides licensure course work, FAST TRAIN students are required to take or to have successfully completed undergraduate course work as it applies to their program. These requirements can be taken concurrently with FAST TRAIN course work.  An Online Endorsement Review is required as part of the admission process and must be completed when application materials are sent to the Admissions office.  The endorsement review process is in a different office, so please visit the following website for Steps for an Endorsement Review: http://cehd.gmu.edu/teacher/endorse.

Elementary Education/Peace Corps Elementary Education: The State of Virginia requires that all elementary education teacher licensure applicants complete  57 hours of general education course work, which is applicable to elementary teachers:

Endorsement Requirements
Endorsement requirements (undergraduate general education courses) also exist for elementary education students.  As part of the admission process, you will be required to perform an endorsement review to determine what, if any, credit hours are required. Below is a summary of endorsement review requirements.  For more detailed information, visit the Endorsement Review website.

Fifty-seven  hours of general education course work are required.  This course work does not have to be completed prior to applying to the program, but must be completed before applying for licensure.

    1. 12 credit hours of English (3 credit hours of English composition and 9 credit hours of English electives)
    2. 15 credit hours of History and Social Sciences (3 credit hours of U.S. History, 3 credit hours of Economics, 3 credit hours of Geography, 3 credit hours of World History and 3 credit hours of Civics)
    3. 12 credit hours of Mathematics (no statistics, computer science, finance, or remedial math courses will be accepted)
    4. 12 credit hours of the Natural Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Geology or Astronomy; courses must be from at least two disciplines and one must be a laboratory science
    5. 3 credit hours of the Humanities (Philosophy, Religion, Humanities or Foreign Language)
    6. 3 credit hours of Art or Music (Art, Music or Theater only; no Dance accepted)

All course work must be college level or a student may test out of certain subjects with CLEP exam.

An Online Endorsement Review is required as part of admission. Should there be deficiencies in any area, students are required to fulfill them or test out of them through a CLEP test (http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html). These requirements do not need to be completed prior to admission into the program, but must be completed before student teaching (see internship requirements). Please visit the following website for Steps for an Endorsement Review: http://cehd.gmu.edu/teacher/endorse 

ESOL/Peace Corps ESOL: The State of Virginia requires that all ESOL teacher licensure applicants complete six credit hours of a foreign language. Should there be deficiencies in any area, students are required to fulfill them or test out of them through a CLEP test. These requirements do not need to be completed prior to admission into the program, but must be completed before student teaching (see internship requirements).

STUDENT RESOURCES
To help fulfill general education/endorsement requirements, students may utilize some of the following options. The Endorsement Office is also available to give advice on what to take and where to take it.  Email your questions to endorse@gmu.edu. 

CLEP
CLEP (College-Level Exam Program) tests may be taken to replace course work in some fields. Please check the CLEP website for details.  A passing score (to receive college credit) is 50 for all exams.

Online Courses
Suggested sites for online courses to fulfill general education requirements:

Local Community College or University
You also have the option of completing required courses at a college or university near you. Be sure to check with the FAST TRAIN Program to ensure that the course(s) you choose will fulfill the requirements.