The Secondary Social Studies Education minor is appropriate for students who wish to teach Social Studies at the middle school and high school levels in Florida. This is an alternative certification program, specifically a Professional Training Option (PTO), meant to prepare students for temporary teacher certification in Florida. Professional teacher certification is attainable after one year of successful teaching in a Florida public school.

This minor requires completion of coursework in the professional preparation areas of human development, learning, assessment, classroom management, instructional strategies, reading competency, curriculum, and special methods. Students have opportunities to integrate their teacher education coursework with practice in 6-12 environments focusing on learning Social Studies. This program includes field experiences in local schools. A level 2 background check (fingerprinting) by the School Board of Alachua County is required before placement.

The minor is open to undergraduates with majors in the humanities, social sciences, or related fields. Admission to this minor requires a UF GPA of 2.5 or better. Students must apply for acceptance to the minor within the college of their major and the College of Education after 45 credits but before 100 credits are earned.

Those pursuing the minor are encouraged to complete the Florida Teacher Certification Examination (FTCE) General Knowledge Test (recommended in the junior year), the FTCE Subject Area Exam (recommended early in the senior year) and the FTCE Professional Education Test (recommended mid-senior year).

Required Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
EDF 3604	Social Foundations of Education	3
ESE 4340C	Effective Teaching and Classroom Management in Secondary Education	3
EDG 4078	Experiential Learning in Education	3
TSL 3323	ESOL and Reading for Teachers	3
SSE 4XXX	Introduction to Secondary Social Studies Methods; Capstone (final semester)	3
Total Credits		15

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