Degree Requirements
Degree requirements are listed by each year in the program. For a full listing of requirements, visit the UIC Undergraduate Catalog.
Advising Guide and Course Catalog Heading link
Four-Year Plans for Urban Education students Heading link
First Year Courses Heading link
The BA in Urban Education leads to the Illinois State Professional Educator License (PEL) in Grades 1-6 with the option of adding a Grades 5-8 endorsement in one of four areas: English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science. Please review the Four-Year Plans (linked above) to see which is applicable to you.
Freshman year students take all their General Education courses in English, History, Sociology, Political Science and special courses –designed for teachers– in mathematics. Students also have a College Connections Course for an hour each week in the first semester, that allows student to connect deliberately with faculty.
ED 100. Introduction to Urban Education. 3 hours. Introductory and cross-disciplinary examination of issues related to education in urban America, with particular attention paid to policies and practices impacting diversity and equity in public schools.
GEOG 161. Introduction to Economic Geography. 3 hours. Geographies of primary, secondary, and tertiary activities, environmental and spatial bases of production, distribution and consumption, current and evolving patterns of land use and urbanization.
HIST 103. Early America: From Colonization to Civil War and Reconstruction. 3 hours. Covers political, cultural, and social developments during the Colonial and early American period.
HIST 104. Modern America: From Industrialization to Globalization. 3 hours. Introduction to the political, cultural, and social developments in American society since the end of the Civil War.
(Note: students must take one of HIST 103 or 104)
MATH 140. Arithmetic and Algebraic Structures. 4 hours. Introduction to conceptual foundations of mathematics. Topics include measurement, numeration, number theory, set theory, equations in one variable.
MATH 141. Algebraic and Geometric Structures. 4 hours. Area, perimeter, volume, surface area of plane and solid figures; integers, real and rational numbers; trigonometry and extended solution of general polygons; probability.
ENGL 160. Academic Writing I: Writing in Academic and Public Contexts. 3 hours. Students write in a variety of genres with an emphasis on argument and sentence-level grammar. Topics vary by section. Course Information: This class may be taught in a blended format.
ENGL 161. Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research. 3 hours. Students learn about academic inquiry and complete several writing projects including a documented research paper. Topics vary by section.
Sophomore Year Courses Heading link
Sophomore year is pivotal as students begin to take area of specialization courses to build teaching skills in content areas including Math, Science, English and History. Students continue their fieldwork with community-based organizations.
ED 205. Introduction to Race, Ethnicity, and Education. 3 hours. Introductory and cross-disciplinary examination of issues related to race, ethnicity, and cultural diversity in education
EPSY 255. Child Development in Contemporary Society. 3 hours. Examination of theories on child development that explain age-related differences in cognition, affect, and behavior, and how this relates to 0-14 year old children’s learning and educational needs.
POLS 101. Introduction to American Government and Politics. 3 hours. Introduction to American political ideas, individual and group political behavior, institutions of national government, and public policy.
NATS 105. Physical Systems in Earth and Space Science. 4 hours. A multidisciplinary course that uses physics to understand earth, space, and environmental science phenomena and ideas related to sensing the universe, movements on the earth and in the solar system, and past and future of the earth and universe.
NATS 106. Chemical and Biological Systems. 4 hours. A multidisciplinary course that uses biological and chemical concepts to understand the organization of the physical world, processes and energy exchanges at the atomic and molecular levels, and interactions of organisms and the environment.
ED 307. Nature and Practices of Natural Sciences. 3 hours. Learning crosscutting concepts and practices across science and engineering, applying practices in designing, conducting, and presenting a scientific research project, and considering teaching implications for elementary and middle grades students.
Junior Year Courses Heading link
Students engage in all methods courses in the major areas of content including literacy, math, science, social studies and embedded courses in assessment and evaluation and sociocritical foundations of English learning in urban elementary classrooms. These courses are partially taught on-site in especially selected schools in two distinct communities, African-American and Latino. Instructors and students take part in immersion experiences in classrooms within the schools, and classes frequently feature teachers and school leaders participating in discussions.
CI 401. Methods of Reading: Early Literacy in Urban Classrooms. 3 hours. Exploration of literacy assessment and teaching (including decoding, early writing, spelling, oral language, and comprehension), with a focus on learning to read and write.
CI 402. Reading and Writing in the Content Areas: Intermediate Literacy in Urban Classrooms. 3 hours. Exploration of advanced aspects of literacy instruction (e.g., comprehension, writing, literacy in the content areas), with a focus on reading and writing to learn.
CI 404. Teaching and Learning Mathematics in the Urban Elementary Classroom. 3 hours. Helps prospective elementary teachers create a foundation from which they can develop an exemplary mathematics teaching practice.
CI 405. Teaching and Learning Science in the Urban Elementary Classroom. 3 hours. Learning how to teach core scientific and engineering ideas, crosscutting concepts, and practices to advance student learning with a focus on community and societal relevance.
CI 406. Teaching and Learning Social Sciences in the Urban Elementary Classroom. 3 hours. Models effective teaching of history and social sciences in urban classroom grades 1-6, in a way that is inclusive of diverse peoples, cultures, and histories. Students learn to teach core concepts, intellectual skills, and participatory dispositions.
CI 470. Language, Culture, and Learning in Urban Classrooms. 4 hours. An introduction to the study of multilingualism, language development, learning, and methodologies for teaching in linguistically and culturally diverse educational settings.
Senior Year Courses Heading link
Students continue their work in special education methods, take two courses to complete the Middle Grades endorsement and complete a technology-infused course. The capstone student experience features a year-long practicum and student teaching—ten weeks in the fall semester and 14 weeks in spring—that is conducted in one classroom under the tutelage of a specially trained mentor teacher, often a graduate of the program.
CI 403. Literacy in the Disciplines: Adolescent Literacy in Urban Classrooms. 3 hours. Exploration of using literacy in disciplinary content areas, including building prior knowledge and specialized vocabulary
ED 450. Pre-Student Teaching in the Urban Elementary Classroom 4 hours. This pre-student teaching experience immerses teacher candidates in classrooms in a supervised experience of learning to teach and developing effective practices. Course Information: May be repeated. Field work required. Field work: total of 180 hours, coordinated by the program director and in collaboration with field instructors.
ED 451. Student Teaching in the Urban Elementary Classroom 12 hours. Student teaching is a full-time experience of learning to teach in a classroom with university mentoring and supervision. Course Information: May be repeated. Field work required.
EPSY 405. Educational Assessment and Evaluation. 3 hours. Design, administration and scoring of assessments and evaluations useful in educational contexts for measuring different types of learning, program and developmental outcomes, from simple to complex
SPED 416. Methods of Instruction for Exceptional Learners. 3 hours. The purpose of this course is to address issues of instruction for individuals with special needs. Topics include effective instructional and accommodative practices and strategies in multiple areas (math, literacy, science, social studies, art).