TEP Admission Requirements
Students seeking teacher certification must apply for and be admitted to the Teacher Education Program (TEP). Additionally, to enroll in the clinical practice and meet state certification requirements, students must maintain a GPA of 2.75 overall (in all course work), as well as in professional education courses, with no grade lower than a "C" in professional education courses.
Courses marked with an asterisk (*) require admission to the Teacher Education Program.
Program Requirements
- Admission to MSU with an assigned academic advisor.
- Pursuance of program completion leading to teacher certification.
- Completion of at least 30 credit hours.
- Minimum GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale; or a GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on the last thirty (30) credit hours. All college courses attempted must be a part of the applicant's MSU transcript. Transcripts must reflect all transfer coursework completed to date. All transfer courses, as well as MSU credit, are used in calculating the GPA.
- Completion of the following five core courses with grades of “C” or better:
- ENG 100
- Mathematics General Education Requirement, as required by program
- COMS 108
- EDF 207 or AED 207/CTE 207 (CTE and Agriculture Education candidates) or UTCH 100 (MSUTeach candidates)
- EDF 211 or EDEC 253 (IECE candidates) or UTCH 150 (MSUTeach candidates)
Testing Requirements
TEP candidates must obtain the following scores on the ACT exam:
- Composite score of 22 or the corresponding minimum scores: Reading (20), English (18), and Mathematics (19),
OR, the following scores on the Praxis I Core Skills for Educators exam:
- Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Combined 5752 Computer OR
- Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Mathematics 5733 Computer (Minimum score 150) and
- Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading 5713 Computer (Minimum score 156) and
- Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing 5723 Computer (Minimum score 162)
An applicant may use a combination of ACT and Praxis I minimum scores to meet testing requirements. If an applicant is within five points of one or more of the corresponding minimum scores of the Praxis I assessments, the candidate may be admitted if the candidate has a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. For information about the Praxis exams and to register for the test, please visit the Praxis website at https://praxis.ets.org/.
Program Competencies
Students graduating from the Agricultural Sciences (Agriculture Education) – Bachelor of Science degree program should possess the following:
- Written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills and basic math skills that will allow the individual to collect, analyze, interpret and present information that is used within the agriculture industry.
- An understanding of the basic concepts of the physical and biological sciences and how these sciences are applicable to the field of agriculture.
- An understanding of the importance of the arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences and health sciences to humankind.
- An understanding of and literacy in all disciplines of agriculture, especially to include the disciplines of animal science, equine science, agronomy, soils, horticulture, agricultural mechanics, pest management, agricultural economics, and farm management.
- The ability to use effective planning in course organization in agricultural education.
- The ability to plan daily instructional programs in agricultural education.
- An understanding of occupational experience programs and their role in agricultural education.
- An understanding of Future Farmers of America and supervised agricultural experience and their role in agricultural education.
- An understanding of effective management of instructional programs in agricultural education.
Assessment
- Exit examination, which covers all core classwork.
- Surveys of graduating students, alumni, advisory groups, and employers.
- Teacher certification examination for students in the Agriculture Education track.
Program Requirements
Courses marked with an asterisk (*) require admission to the Teacher Education Program. This track is designed and approved for students who wish to teach agriculture education in public schools in Kentucky or are interested in Cooperative Extension. Students seeking teacher certification must apply for and be admitted to the TEP. Students must have an overall GPA standing of 2.75 in their area courses before they will be permitted to take agricultural education courses. Students must be approved by the agricultural staff and recommended for certification.
General Education
Area Core Requirements
| AGR 101 | Foundations of Agriculture | 3 |
| AGR 102 | Agricultural Experience | 1 |
| AGR 133 | Introduction to Animal Science | 3 |
| AGR 180 | Introduction to Field Crops | 3 |
| AGR 204 | Agricultural Economics | 3 |
| AGR 261 | Software Applications in Agriculture | 3 |
| AGR 301 | Farm Management | 3 |
| AGR 307 | Soils | 4 |
| AGR 402 | Advanced Agricultural Experience | 3 |
| AGR 499C | Senior Seminar in Agriculture | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 29 |
Additional AGR Requirements
| CHEM 101 | Survey of Chemistry | 4 |
| CHEM 201 | Survey of Organic Chemistry | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 8 |
Agr Education Track Requirements
| AGR 215 | Horticultural Science | 3 |
| AGR 251 | Introduction to Agricultural Mechanics | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 6 |
Agr Education Track Electives
Select one course from each area below.
Agricultural Mechanics
| AGR 350 | Farm Power and Machinery Management | 3 |
| AGR 351 | Emerging Technology in Agriculture | 3 |
| AGR 361 | Fundamentals of Precision Agriculture | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 3 |
Animal Science
Plant Science/Natural Resource
Specialty Support
| AGR | Electives | 5 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 5 |
Free Electives
Professional Education Requirements
| AED 207 | Introduction to Agricultural Education | 3 |
| AED 388 | Designing Curriculum and Assessment in Agriculture Education* | 3 |
| AED 470 | Methods of Teaching Agriculture Education* | 3 |
| AED 478 | Teaching Experience in Agriculture Education* | 12 |
| AGR 486 | Planning Programs in Vocational Agriculture | 3 |
| EDF 211 | Human Growth and Development | 3 |
| EDSP 230 | Education of Exceptional Children | 3 |
| EDUC 476 | Content Area Literacy* | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 33 |