Bachelor of Education

• Years 3 – 5
• Program Fees: Domestic Students, International Students
• Apply for Admission: Forms and Information

The Program

The program will be of interest to undergraduate students who have completed 60 credits of course work. However, students with 48 credits are encouraged to apply. Prior to entry students must complete a combination of required and elective courses. Students apply to enter the Education program at the third year level. During their third year students take a combination of courses in the Arts, Science and Education Faculties. During fourth and fifth year students take only Education courses. The program has a thoroughly articulated grounding in the Principles of Teaching and Learning and extended practicums to prepare graduates to be well–qualified beginning teachers. Graduates will be recommended to the British Columbia College of Teachers for certification at the professional level.

Admission Requirements—Year 3

• General admission requirements apply.
• Completion of the minimum requirements listed in the Prerequisites for Year 3 (see table below).
• Minimum grade point average of 4.0 (“C+”) on the most recent 60 credits attempted.
• Submission of a satisfactory Personal Profile form.
• Admission rankings are determined by a combination of GPA and Personal Profile scores.

Note: Review the Student Admission Information Checklist for important information.

Please note the following:

• Please consult with a Faculty of Education Advisor to identify acceptable Science, Canadian studies and Mathematics courses and for advice regarding other coursework.
• EDUC 101, 201, 202, and additional Mathematics and Science strongly recommended.

Application Deadline

Applications will be accepted starting November 15, 2009.
Note: The prerequisite for the program is completion of 48 academic credits.

The following documents are due by:

• Due February 19, 2010:
• Application form
• Due February 26, 2010:
• Personal Profile form.
• Transcripts must be submitted from each post-secondary institution you have attended, excluding VIU. Photocopies/faxed copies of transcripts are not acceptable.
• For students who have not completed prerequisite courses interim–transcripts must be submitted, excluding VIU. Photocopies/faxed copies of transcripts are not acceptable.
• Due May 31, 2010:
• Final transcripts of completed prerequisite courses must be submitted, excluding VIU. Photocopies/faxed copies of transcripts are not acceptable.

Personal Profile

Applicants who have applied to the Bachelor of Education program and received an acknowledgement letter will be able to access the Personal Profile form through their online student record. On the Personal Profile form, applicants will be asked to describe their reasons for pursuing a career in teaching and to document life experiences relevant to teaching (e.g. employment and training, volunteer or community service; work with diverse groups of children or adults; languages spoken; special skills or talents; leadership roles). Note: Applicants whose Personal Profile is rated as "unacceptable" by two of the three Personal Profile raters, will not be admitted to the Bachelor of Education program. Personal Profiles can be edited and revise any time up to the February 26th deadline for submission.

Notes on Admissions

• Contact the Faculty of Education Advising office for details on admissions and program 250-740-6223.
• Applicants are advised that competence is required in the areas of oral and written communications, interpersonal skills, computation and computer applications. Candidates for completion of the program must have established competency in these areas.
• Admission rankings are determined by a combination of GPA and Personal Profile scores.
• To meet the needs of the teaching profession it may be necessary to give preference to applicants with discipline specialties in high need areas such as mathematics, languages, physical sciences, First Nations and special education

Notes on Certification

• Applicants are advised that all applicants for teacher certification in B.C. must authorize the College of Teachers to conduct a criminal record review check.
• To ensure that student teachers in the VIU Teacher Education program are suited to work in schools, VIU can require all student teachers be screened to the satisfaction of the school districts.
• Applicants to the VIU Teacher Education Degree program who have been convicted of a criminal offense or given an absolute or conditional discharge must consult with, and be deemed eligible for certification by, the B.C. College of Teachers prior to making application to the program. Applicants are strongly advised to keep all records of correspondence with the BC College of Teachers in case it is necessary to demonstrate compliance.
• Applicants who are otherwise eligible for British Columbia College of Teachers Certification but who are not Canadian citizens are required to provide evidence of landed immigrant status or hold a valid work authorization to teach in Canada, before they may be issued a British Columbia teaching credential.

Access Initiative

The Faculty of Education Access Initiative is designed to give access to individuals who are members of groups in our society that have historically been under-represented in the teaching profession in B.C. In order to achieve this objective, we encourage applicants who have confronted identifiable barriers to post-secondary education to apply under the Access Initiative. All applicants for the VIU Teacher Education Program must submit a Personal Profile. Applicants who wish to apply under the Access Initiative may identify themselves on the Personal Profile form and must submit an Access Initiative Information Form to be considered under the Access Initiative.

Program Outline

Updated November 13, 2009