Elementary Education Major

• 4-year plan - Elementary Education (pdf)
• MOU Elementary Teacher Education

You’re allowed to take only a limited number of courses as a pre-education candidate before you can apply for the Teacher Educator Preparation Program (TEPP). Admission to Belhaven University and being a pre-education major does not automatically admit you to the Teacher Educator Preparation Program (TEPP).

You’ll be accepted into TEPP when you:

• Pass the required Mississippi Teacher Educator Entrance Exams;
• Complete the required core education courses; and
• Successfully interview with the TEPP Candidate Approval Committee.

If you’re unable to meet these criteria, you can no longer take courses from the School of Education and will be required to change your major.

Review All TEPP Requirements

• Structured observation of a variety schools and classrooms in diverse learning environments, as well as diverse student populations
• Community involvement, field trips, fundraisers and service projects, tutoring and international travel for education or missions
• Clinical internships in local school districts
• Membership in professional school, teacher, and specialty subject associations
• Participation in National Education Honor Society

• ​Bachelor of Arts in Music Education
• Dual Enrollment: Secondary Teacher Certification Program
• ​​​Five-Year Mississippi K-12 Teacher License for Performance and Visual Arts

The Belhaven School of Education serving as the Educator Preparation Provider (EPP) has developed and maintains a conceptual framework that is integrated throughout the undergraduate and graduate educator preparation programs at both the initial and advanced levels.

The EPP Conceptual Framework is the result of collaborative efforts between the faculty, administration, partner schools, and professional education community to reflect the knowledge base, current research, best practices, and state and national standards.

Learn More

View the Professional Licensure Programs page for more information since the professional licensure requirements vary from state to state.

Elementary Teacher Education (K–6)

Freshman Year

Fall Semester - Freshman Year *

* To take Education courses, a candidate is required to have at a minimum a GPA of 2.75 or an ACT score of 21 or higher.

Spring Semester - Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Fall Semester - Sophomore Year

Spring Semester - Sophomore Year

During the Spring Semester of their Sophomore Year, a TEPP Admission Interview is required of all candidates wanting to continue in Education and become a Teacher Candidate in the Teacher Educator Preparation Program (TEPP).

Junior Year - Teacher Preparation Program - TEPP

Officially the beginning of the Teacher Preparation Program as a Teacher Candidate.

Fall Semester - Junior Year

Spring Semester - Junior Year

Senior Year

Fall Semester - Senior Year

Spring Semester - Senior Year

* Clinical Internship also known as Student Teaching (One Full Semester)

Licensure Testing Requirements

• Praxis - Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT #5622): 160+
• Praxis – Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (CIA #5017): 153+
• Foundations of Reading Test: 233+

Tests are not required for graduation; however, no test = no teacher license.

Candidates may graduate without being recommended for licensure if testing requirements are not met.

Policy & Endorsement Requirements

Elementary education majors are required to have two areas of endorsement. Reading (Code 174) is the required first endorsement (15 hours), which is embedded in the program.

An additional endorsement requires 18 hours in a subject content area. This allows candidates to be eligible to teach that subject in grades 7–12. Students should consult their academic advisor to ensure courses align with Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) requirements.

MDE requires both the Reading Endorsement and an additional endorsement before candidates can be recommended for licensure.

Total Degree Hours: 124

Future Teacher Scholarships for Elementary Education Majors

Belhaven University is proud to offer generous scholarships for future teachers pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.

Incoming freshmen who declare Elementary Education as their major and earn a minimum ACT score of 21 may qualify for one of the following housing and academic grant awards:

• $16,000 per year for qualifying incoming freshmen
• $17,500 per year for Teacher Academy graduates who meet the same eligibility requirements

When combined with Belhaven’s Free Master’s Offer, these scholarships create an outstanding value for future educators—supporting both undergraduate and graduate success in education.

Interested in teaching at the middle/high school level? Talk to your advisor about ​dual enrollment in the Secondary Teacher Certification Program, which leads to a Mississippi Middle and/or High School Teacher License.

If you’re majoring in Dance, Theatre, Music, or Visual Arts, you can earn a K-12 Five Year Renewable Teacher License after you complete your degree.

The Mississippi State Department of Education will issue a license after you’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in one of the approved performance or visual arts degree programs and you’ve met the state teacher test requirements.

In addition, you must have a qualifying ACT or Praxis Core Test score and successfully pass the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) Test. There is no requirement for School of Education courses or Clinical Intern Student Teaching hours.

​Special MDE Performance and Visual Arts Teacher License [PDF]

Public school teaching licenses are issued by the Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Educator Licensure, Jackson, Mississippi. Applications for licensure may be secured from the Dean of the School of Education. If you plan to teach in states other than Mississippi, you are responsible for securing all requirements and forms.

Admission to Belhaven University and being a Pre-Education Major in the School of Education DOES NOT automatically admit an individual to the Teacher Educator Preparation Program (TEPP).

​View the requirements for admission to the TEPP Teacher Education Preparation Program [PDF]

Please note: As a Pre-Education Candidate in the School of Education, you may only take a limited number of courses before you must apply for admission into the Teacher Educator Preparation Program (TEPP).

Candidates are admitted to the TEPP after:

• Successfully passing the required Mississippi Teacher Educator Entrance Exams;
• Successfully completing the requisite education courses;
• Meeting and successfully interviewing with the School of Education TEPP Candidate Approval Committee; and
• Approval as a Teacher Candidate for the Belhaven Teacher Educator Preparation Program.

If you are not admitted to the TEPP, you can no longer take courses from the School of Education and will be required to change your major.

Belhaven University and the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges (MACC) have signed an agreement that provides Mississippi community college students a seamless pathway to earning their Bachelor of Science in Elementary Teacher Education. The agreement allows students with an Associate of Arts (AA) degree from any MACC institution to transfer directly into Belhaven University, where the AA degree will fulfill the first two years of the University’s Elementary Teacher Education Preparation Program.