Graduate Certificate in Social Studies Education

The Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development offers a Graduate Certificate program for qualified post-baccalaureate students who are interested in receiving Initial Licensure as a teacher of History, Grades 8–12. Students who are successful in completing this program will develop the knowledge and skills necessary as a beginning teacher of history. Specifically, the learning outcomes are as follows:

• Plan curricula that:
  • Align with state and national standards
  • Meet the learning needs of students they teach
  • Illuminate the central concepts and principles of history and the social sciences
  • Weave together history and the social sciences in a way that demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of culture and society, in the past and in current social issues
• Apply evidence-based strategies in teaching students:
  • To construct a rich knowledge base in history and the social sciences
  • To acquire and use cognitive and participatory skills relevant to historical analysis and competent civic engagement
  • To reflect on the moral and ethical implications of historical events and current issues
• Create a classroom climate that:
  • Fosters open and honest discourse
  • Welcomes a diversity of opinion
  • Provides a safe environment to engage in deliberation on controversial issues
• Construct assessments tailored to the various intellectual tasks central to history and the social science disciplines.
• Synthesize a personal conception of history/social studies education.
• Summarize major area of controversies in the field of history/social studies education.
• Demonstrate knowledge of discipline-based subject matter and research methodology within at least one area of history and the social sciences.
• Reflect on their teaching practice in terms of their ability to achieve the above.

For those students successful in completing all the courses and practica in this certificate program, the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development provides a recommendation for licensure to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of Educator Licensure. Students must also apply directly to the DESE and are required to take additional tests (Massachusetts Test for Educational Licensures [MTELs]) to secure licenses.

Requirements for licensure as a teacher of History, Grades 8–12 are listed below. Please note, prior coursework may be submitted for review to determine equivalency. If determined to be equivalent, required courses listed may be waived as a part of the certificate program.

Total Credits: 32

• SED CT 534 Classroom Management (2 cr)
• SED DS 502 Introduction to Adolescent Development (2 cr)
• SED SE 510 Special Ed/CT (2 cr)
• SED SO 510 Practicum: History & Social Science 8–12 (8 cr)
• SED SO 520 Project Citizen (2 cr)
• SED SO 566 Historical Literacy, 5–12 (4 cr)
• SED SO 567 History Lab 5–12 (2 cr)
• SED SO 571 Curriculum and Special Methods for History and Social Science, 5–12 (4 + 2 cr)
• SED SO 572 Pre-Practicum Experience (2 cr)
• SED TL 525 Teaching English Learners in the Middle/High School (4 cr)