Program Description:

This full-time, daytime, year-round, seated degree-completion program, leading to the Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education with teacher licensure in grades 6-9, offers collaborative preparation of knowledgeable, ethical, and effective middle grades teachers. The Middle Grades Education Program was developed and implemented collaboratively by program faculty, public school teachers and administrators, program graduates, and other critical stakeholders. The Program emphasizes strong academic preparation grounded in a liberal arts tradition, discipline studies, and pedagogical studies. Diverse middle level field experiences are provided in a variety of school settings. The program fosters development of specialized knowledge, skills, and dispositions required of successful middle grades teachers who design and implement integrated instructional programs for middle grades learners that are developmentally and culturally responsive.

Click here for a list of non-teaching career options associated with this degree.

Why Teach in the Middle? (Read about the middle grades teacher profession)

Information Unique to Distance Education Program Admission and Enrollment:

Through the Office of Distance Education, the Reich College of Education presents an off-campus full-time undergraduate program in Middle Grades Education which provides the upper-division course work for the Bachelor of Science degree at the ASU Center at Hickory. Lower-division courses required for the BS degree are available through the community college system; therefore, those courses are not delivered in Appalachian's off-campus program.

The program is full-time, daytime and will be cohort-based; meaning the group of identified students who enter this program will begin together and continue together through the specified sequence of required courses leading to the degree. The courses in each cohort will be offered only once, so a student must be prepared to take the courses as they are made available. The program is approximately 2 1/2 years in length. 

Admission Requirements:

Step 1: Admission to the University: Appalachian State’s Undergraduate Transfer Admission Requirements
The application for admission must be complete (online application submitted, the fee paid, and all required supporting documents received) and ready for review by the applicable deadline. Please continue to log into your application to check for missing items until you receive notice that you have been admitted to Appalachian State University.

Since this is a transfer program, no test scores (ACT or SAT) are required for admission.

Step 2: Admission to cohort: In addition to meeting the University's Admission requirements (re: Step 1), to enter this distance education transfer program, students must also meet the cohort entry requirement: a minimum of 30 transfer hours are required to begin the cohort program. To determine if your coursework transfers to Appalachian, please visit the transfer equivalency screen.

If a cohort receives more applications than seats available (waitlist), students who have met the PRAXIS I requirement and/or an equivalent to the General Education core (discussed in next paragraph) will be given priority consideration for acceptance into the cohort. The PRAXIS I is discussed as part of the Teacher Education Admission Requirements (next section).

General Education core: Although not required for admission to the cohort, individuals planning to enter this program are strongly encouraged to complete the NC 44 hour (CAA)/transfer core, AA or AS degree through a NC community college prior to enrollment in this program. Completion of one of these three options will automatically complete Appalachian's General Education core requirement. Note: students who begin the cohort program without having the NC 44-hour transfer core or AA or AS degree complete, will need to complete it prior to the last semester in the program. The Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree does not typically meet the core requirement.

Program Requirements:

Admission to Teacher Education: After a student begins the off-campus program, s/he must meet the requirements for admission to teacher education. Admission to Teacher Education is required by the end of the second semester in the program.

Additional Requirements: In addition to completing the NC 44 hour/CAA transfer core or AA or AS degree, students pursuing the middle grades education major must select two concentrations from the following areas: language arts, mathematics, science, and social science. Depending upon the concentrations chosen, some of the required courses may be acquired through the community college. A listing of courses required for the concentrations is provided in the outline of program requirements.

Student Teaching: Student Teaching is completed during the last semester of the program, and is a full-time in a classroom setting).

Program Delivery Information:

The Junior and Senior level courses required for the BS degree in Middle Grades Education will be delivered to the designated off-campus site. Appalachian State University faculty will teach each course, and a combination of instructional strategies and course delivery systems may be employed. The modes of delivery will typically involve the instructor's being present at the site and occasionally may include web-based instruction.
 
Appalachian faculty deliver typically 4-5 courses/semester, spring, summer, and fall.  Tentative Schedule of Courses.

Financial Aid resources:

• Financial Aid Information for Prospective Appalachian Students
• Financial Aid FAQs for Distance Education Students

Request Information

• If you would like to receive additional information and/or be notified of upcoming cohort programs, please complete the electronic inquiry form.
• Click here to review upcoming cohorts and application periods

Prospective Full-time Middle Grades Program at Hickory

Take a Survey for Prospective Full-Time, Day-Time Middle Grades Program at Hickory

Program Manager: Ms. Renee Cook
Location: University Hall, Main Campus, Boone
Email: cookdr@appstate.edu
Toll-free Phone: 800-355-4084
Local Phone: 828-262-3113
Fax: 828-265-8673