Our nationally-certified program will prepare you to teach in a variety of classroom settings: self-contained classrooms as well as departmentalized and team teaching situations. You will have many opportunities to observe and to work with children in the field, as well as experience a full semester of student teaching.
Graduates of the elementary education program will be licensed by the State of Illinois to teach children in grades 1 through 6 in public and private settings, with reciprocity in most of the United States and in some foreign countries. Our elementary education majors are well prepared to accept jobs in self-contained classrooms at the elementary level. We have designed our curriculum to match the educational courses with the field experiences so that you will use in the 1 through 6 classroom what you have learned in the university classroom. In addition to preparing you to teach the content and skills in the areas of mathematics, science, social sciences, writing, reading, and literature, our program will include courses that cover the following important areas: Teaching English language learners (ELL); Effectively integrating technology into the lessons; Aligning lessons with the Illinois Common Core Standards; Teaching reading of fictional and informational texts.
OFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMS
In addition to our on-campus programs, the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education is also offered at the following off-campus sites, contingent upon adequate enrollment at the site.
September 2025
School of Education
Southern Illinois University,
MC 4624,
CARBONDALE,
Illinois,
62901, United States
Students need to have Transcripts from high school and/or college. At SIU Carbondale, applicants for admission will be eligible for automatic admission if they are on track to complete our course pattern requirements and who meet one of the following criteria: A cumulative high school GPA of 2.75; A ranking in the top 10% of their graduating class.
English Language Requirement: Any one of the following methods will automatically meet the minimum English requirement. Applicants who do not meet the automatic English language admission requirement will undergo a holistic review to determine potential admissibility.
TOEFL (IBT internet-based test) - 68
TOEFL (paper based test) - 520
ITEP - 4.0 (academic plus only)
IELTS - 6.0
2 Face-to-face English composition classes taken in the U.S. at the college level with a grade of A or B
More than 48 college-level credit hours completed at a U.S. institution
If an applicant is from a country whose primary language is English
Graduation from a U.S. high school having spent the final 2 years in the U.S.
Meeting the SAT or ACT requirements for admission of domestic freshmen
Duolingo English Test (accepted during COVID-19 closures)- 95
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
