Frequently Asked Questions

If you are an undergraduate with upper division status, simply register for EDSS 300S. Once you complete that course you will be accepted into the credential program. However, you also must have attained an overall grade point average of at least 2.67 or 2.75 in the last 60 units to be admitted into the program. If you are a graduate student, you must apply to the university for admission as a graduate student. On the application where it asks for your major, indicate "single subject" as your major.

In this case, you will not be admitted into the credential program after completing EDSS 300S. Instead, you will be placed into a "delay" status. You may take further courses in the social science subject matter program, but you may not register for EDSE courses (EDSE 435, 436, 458, and EDSS 450S). You should go on to complete all courses in the subject matter preparation for the history/social science credential program. If you have achieved a GPA of 2.67 or higher by then (or if you have achieved a 2.75 in your last 60 units), you will automatically be admitted into the program, and you may go on to take the professional education courses (EDSE 435, 436, 457, and EDSS 450S).

After finishing all required coursework in social science, you may petition to be admitted into the program even if your GPA is below 2.67. To petition, you should obtain a petition form in the Teacher Preparation Advising Center (EED-67) and follow the directions for petitioning for admittance.

Yes, if the course at the junior college is the equivalent of the required course in the credential program. If you are not sure whether it is a comparable course, bring the catalog description of the junior college course to the appropriate social science department and ask an advisor if the junior college course is the equivalent of the course offered at CSULB. You should be aware that a course taken at a junior college cannot be the equivalent of an upper division course at CSULB. In other words, you cannot substitute a course taken at a junior college for any 300 or 400 level course at CSULB.

You can choose to take the CSET as a substitute for the courses in the social science subject matter program. Even if you pass these examinations, you must also take the EDSS and EDSE courses; there are no examination substitutes for these courses.

The state legislature of California requires each credential program to include an assessment component to determine whether the candidate has attained subject matter mastery. The CSULB social science credential program requires candidates to pass HIST 401, which is a course that assess the candidate’s knowledge of world and U.S. history, U.S. government, geography, and economics. The course emphasizes pedagogy as well as content. Students must attain a grade of B or better to pass the course. This course is a pre-requisite to student teaching. Candidates who re-take HIST 401 and who fail to attain a grade of B or better the second time, are dropped from the credential program. It is strongly recommended that EDSS 450S be taken in the same semester as HIST 401.

You may take all of the courses in the program as an undergraduate, but there are longer-term financial reasons to consider waiting until after you have received your degree to take credential courses. Contact the CED Student Success & Advising Center (CED SSAC) or consult with a Social Science program advisor if you have questions.

Public schools will want you to be an intern as that meets the No Child Left Behind requirements. To qualify as an intern you must be admitted to a program, be subject matter competent (via coursework or CSET), have at least 120 hours of instruction related to the state Teacher Performance Expectations (TPEs) with at least 40 of those hours related to teaching English Language learners. (This is met through coursework but it means that you have to have key courses completed before being eligible to apply as an intern. Please be in touch with the credential advisors early-on if you think you might want to be an intern.) In addition, you must be recommended by our department. It is not automatic that we will grant the petition.

If you are interested in an internship you will need to meet with a credential advisor as there are additional requirements and a separate application for intern candidates. In addition to various state requirements, we need to feel confident that you are ready to succeed in the classroom before we will recommend you for an internship. Simply having a job offer does not mandate us to recommend the intern status for you.

It is not advisable to pursue two graduate programs at the same time. Rather, choose which program is most important to you, and after completing that program you may then begin the other program.