Admission to the Social Sciences Education Program
Due to enrollment caps, 25 students
will be admitted annually. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements
for admission to the Professional Education Program as set by the
School of Education. You must have at least a 3.0 GPA in the Broad-Field
Social Science major or field of teacher certification and have
completed at least 30 percent of the credits needed for the Broad-Field
Social Science major or field of teacher certification before applying;
for Broad-Field Social Science majors, this means you must have
completed 17 credits. You must apply simultaneously to the
School of Education and to the Department of History. For the
requirements of the application to the School of Education, please go to
the SOE Advising, Recruitment and Retention Office in CPS 469. The
application to the History Department consists of a Portfolio, to be
submitted to the History Department office (CCC 477). Both applications
will be due on the same date, depending on when you apply: September 22
in the fall semester or February 22 in the spring. If the deadline falls
on a weekend, then applications are due on the previous Friday.
Portfolio Requirements
Your portfolio, bound in a three-ring notebook, must contain the following items:
A table of contents.
A statement of teaching intent
explaining why you wish to pursue a career teaching history and the
social sciences at the middle or high school level.
Three writing samples that give
evidence of critical thinking and knowledge of your discipline. These
may include term papers and/or exams from courses in history or the
social sciences, but we strongly recommend at least one paper from a
methods course within your major or field of certification (such as
History 300). For each item, you should append a reflective paragraph
describing what you learned from the assignment and how it demonstrates
your growth as a student and aspiring teacher.
Additional materials should include evidence of tutoring, volunteer work in the public schools, or successful public speaking. We strongly recommend a letter of recommendation from a UWSP faculty member who is acquainted with your oral and written work.
A copy of your current Degree Progress Report.
Evaluation of Applications
Your application will be evaluated by a committee of faculty from the History Departments using the Social Science rubric. The committee will rank candidates and recommend admission based on the following criteria:
• Written and oral communication skills.
• Critical thinking and knowledge of discipline.
• GPA Sum: (GPA in the BFSS) x 2 + (overall GPA).
Because of enrollment caps, some
students who satisfy expectations under the criteria above may not be
admitted. You may apply only twice for admission to the Professional
Education Program, and you are entitled to appeal each time in the event
your application is denied. Approximately one half of the annual
enrollment cap will be admitted in the fall semester and one half in the
spring.