INTEGRATED STUDIES MAJOR 

Otto Miller Hall 130

206-281-2148

FACULTY:  Sharon Young, Integrated Studies Coordinator; JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner; Eleanor Close; Don Holsinger; Luke Reinsma; Andrew Ryder

The Required Major for Prospective Elementary Teachers

The integrated studies major is a new comprehensive interdisciplinary program designed for students who want to pursue a career as an elementary school teacher. It is now the required major for students who plan to complete the certification program as an undergraduate at Seattle Pacific University. Coursework for the major along with the elementary certification program may be completed in four years.

Note: Students may graduate with an integrated studies major without seeking elementary certification. These students will not be required to complete the Foundations Quarter, Methods Quarter, Integrated Quarter, and internship quarter required for certification. Further, they must a complete one or more concentration-specific capstone courses rather than the education capstone course.

Requirements for Admission to the Integrated Studies Major

Students may apply for admission to the integrated studies major upon completion of three courses in their chosen area of concentration, including core courses in that area. They must have a minimum 2.5 GPA overall and a minimum 2.5 GPA in those three courses.

A student must complete the major’s requirements that are in effect when the student is admitted to the major. Once admitted, students must maintain a 2.5 minimum GPA. However, students need to be diligent about having a 2.8 minimum GPA for admission to the School of Education.

Application for the Integrated Studies Major  

Overview of the Major

The integrated studies major provides future elementary teachers the opportunity to develop depth of knowledge in the content areas they will teach: language arts, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, the arts, and health/fitness. There are two components to the integrated studies major:

• The core courses, with studies across all six content disciplines listed above.
• A concentration of study in a selected discipline. 

Component I: Core Courses

Students take a total of 64 credits in the core courses. These courses simultaneously fulfill the 40 credits required in Seattle Pacific University’s Exploratory Curriculum.

The core courses were selected to enable students to develop both breadth of content knowledge across the subject areas they will teach (language arts, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, the arts, and health/fitness), and some depth of content knowledge in those areas.

A number of these courses were specifically designed for future elementary teachers including inquiry-based mathematics, inquiry-based science, children’s literature, and the art, music, theatre, and health/fitness education of children. The courses are aligned with the six content areas of Washington state’s Endorsement Competencies for Elementary Education K-8 and will prepare teachers to take the state-mandated WEST-B® and WEST-E™ content skills tests. Further information about the tests can be found on the School of Education website.

Component II:  Concentration in a Discipline

Students will select a discipline as an area of concentration early in their program. They take 30-35 additional credits of coursework in the discipline with the goal of acquiring greater depth of knowledge in one of the core content areas. When students are admitted into the major, they should work with the advisor for their selected concentration. The six concentration disciplines are listed below.

The Arts Concentration, Andrew Ryder, advisor

Requirements for The Arts Concentration

Health and Fitness Concentration, JoAnn Atwell-Scrivner, advisor

Requirements for Health & Fitness Concentration

Language Arts Concentration, Luke Reinsma, advisor

Requirements for Language Arts Concentration

Note: Students choosing the language arts concentration must fulfill the requirement for proficiency in a second language. The requirement, equal to the completion of the third quarter of a University-level language course, may be met by the study of any modern or classical language other than English.

Mathematics Concentration, Sharon Young, advisor

Requirements for Mathematics Concentration

Natural Sciences Concentration, Eleanor Close, advisor

Requirements for Natural Sciences Concentration

Social Sciences Concentration, Don Holsinger, advisor

Requirements for Social Sciences Concentration

Advising

It is extremely important for students in integrated studies to work closely with an advisor as they make decisions regarding their course selections for the core courses, the concentration, and the Elementary Certification Requirements, along with the University’s graduation requirements.

Freshmen are assigned a USEM advisor and an integrated studies faculty advisor during their freshman year. Students should work with an integrated studies faculty advisor to select appropriate courses. Students who plan to participate in the study abroad program need to work with one of the integrated studies faculty advisors to determine the most appropriate quarter for such travel. This planning should be done during the freshman year, if at all possible.

Requirements for Admission to the School of Education

Transfer Students

Students who transfer from a Washington state community college with a Direct Transfer Agreement (DTA) associate degree with Elementary Education Major-Related Program (MRP) will earn credits that transfer toward corresponding course requirements in the core courses of the integrated studies major. Other transfer students can petition the integrated studies faculty advisors for course substitutions in the core courses and in the concentration.