Apr 02, 2025  
2021-2022 University Catalog 
    
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2021-2022 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Social Studies Education, BA

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About the Program

Social Studies Education (SSED) is a comprehensive teacher preparation program aligned with state and national standards to prepare individuals to teach a variety of social studies subjects at the secondary (grades 5-12) level.

Faculty have designed SSED to prepare graduates who are able to develop informed and active participants in a diverse and democratic society. To achieve this goal, SSED reflects both best practices in teacher education and an emphasis on essential content knowledge.

Students complete intensive coursework in three areas: Historical Perspectives, Economics, and Government/Citizenship, and introductory coursework in the remaining social studies content areas. Students may also choose to complete additional concentrations in Psychology and/or Sociology. Professional education courses are taken throughout the program with field experiences built in each semester of the program.

The Social Studies Education Plan of Study outlines the required courses to complete the degree for licensure. For more information about the degree program, visit the COE Office of Advising and Recruiting. For teacher licensure information, visit the Office of Teacher Education and Licensure.

Social Studies Education Major Change (CODO) Requirements  

Degree Requirements

129 Credits Required

Departmental/Program Major Courses (122-126 credits)

Major: Required Education Courses (44 credits)

**Course included in Professional Education GPA (“B” average with no grade lower than a “C-“).

Required Learner Pathway Concentration (6-9 credits)

Choose one of the following Pathway Concentrations. A number of the credits required for the concentrations are met by required major courses.

Major: Social Studies Content (63 credits)

Major GPA Requirement: 2.50

Historical Perspectives (21 Credits)

Historical Perspectives Selectives (9 credits)
  • Any HIST course, 30000-level or above - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Any HIST course, 30000-level or above - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Any HIST course, 30000-level or above - Credit Hours: 3.00

Civics and Government (15 credits)

Civics and Government Selectives (9 credits)
  • Any POL course, 30000-level or above - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Any POL course, 30000-level or above - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Any POL course, 30000-level or above - Credit Hours: 3.00

Economics (12 credits)

Economics Selective (3 credits)
  • Any ECON course, 30000-level or above - Credit Hours: 3.00

Diversified (15 credits)

Psychological Sciences Selective (3 credits)
  • Any PSY course, 10000-level or higher - Credit Hours: 3.00
Sociology Selective (3 credits)
  • Any SOC course, 10000-level or higher - Credit Hours: 3.00

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (9-10 credits)

Optional Concentration for Social Studies Education

Electives (3-7 credits)

University Requirements

University Core Requirements

For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate Website.
  • Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
  • Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
  • Information Literacy (IL)
  • Oral Communication (OC)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
  • Science #1 (SCI)
  • Science #2 (SCI)
  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
  • Written Communication (WC)

Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement:

The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry.

Students will complete the Proficiency by passing a test of civic knowledge, and completing one of three paths:

  • Attending six approved civics-related events and completing an assessment for each; or
  • Completing 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement that use C-SPAN material and completing an assessment for each; or
  • Earning a passing grade for one of these approved courses (or transferring in approved AP or departmental credit in lieu of taking a course)

For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.

Prerequisite Information:

For current pre-requisites for courses, click here.

Program Requirements

Fall 1st Year

15-16 Credits

Spring 1st Year

16 Credits

Fall 2nd Year

16 Credits

Spring 2nd Year

16 Credits

Fall 3rd Year

18 Credits

Spring 3rd Year

18 Credits

Fall 4th Year

17 Credits

Spring 4th Year

12 Credits

Test Requirements

Notes

  • ** Course included in Professional Education GPA (“B” average with no grade lower than a “C-“)
  • A 3.0 Graduation GPA and a 3.0 Professional Education GPA are required for Indiana licensure recommendation.
  • 32 credit hours at the 30000 level or above required.
  • Social Studies Major GPA: 2.50
  • ^ At least 6 hours of each of these individual areas must be at the 30000-level or above: Ancient/Medieval/Modern selective, Government and Citizenship Area selectives, Economics/Government Concentration selectives, Sociology optional concentration, Psychology optional concentration.

Licensure: Social Studies Education: 5-12 (US History, World History, Economics and Government & Citizenship)

College of Education Pass/No Pass Option Policy

Education majors (which includes the total credit hour requirement to fulfill General Education: Educational Studies and General Education:  Curriculum & Instruction) are not eligible to receive P/NP for required courses on your plan of study.  Only electives and courses at the 500+ level can have a grade mode change.

Spring 2020 was the only exception approved for the entire campus. 

World Language Courses

World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor.

ASL-American Sign Language ARAB-Arabic CHNS-Chinese FR-French
GER-German GREK-Greek (Ancient) HEBR-Hebrew (Biblical) HEBR-Hebrew (modern)
ITAL-Italian JPNS-Japanese KOR-Korean LATN-Latin
PTGS-Portuguese RUSS-Russian SPAN-Spanish  

 

 
 
 

 

 

Critical Course

The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major.  Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful.  These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program”. 

Disclaimer

The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

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