Urban Teachers
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Change the world through the University of Texas Urban Teachers program. This 18-hour, three-semester teacher preparation sequence is designed to help equity-minded teacher candidates develop knowledge, skills and dispositions to support teaching and learning in linguistically and culturally diverse urban settings.
All university students outside the College of Education are welcome to apply to minor in the Urban Teachers program to work toward teacher certification in English Language Arts or Social Studies.
Eligible Majors: All but YCS
Required GPA to Apply: 3.0
Credit Hours Required: 18
Available Catalogs: All current catalogs
Program Requirements
Prospective applicants must meet the following requirements before applying to the Professional Development Sequence in the fall of their junior year:
- Be an undergraduate student enrolled at UT Austin.
- Have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
- Complete EDU 327 and EDU 331 with at least a “C” (no appeals accepted).
- At least six credit hours must be upper-division coursework.
- All coursework must be taken in residence.
- All courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Additional Requirements
English Language Arts
- Complete at least 12 credit hours in the content area before applying.
- Eligible coursework may include English, Rhetoric and Writing or other approved content-area courses as determined by the English/Language Arts faculty committee.
Social Studies
- Complete at least 15 credit hours in the content area before applying.
- Complete 24 content-area credit hours before sitting for the Social Studies certification exam.
- Eligible coursework may include History, Government, Economics, Geography, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology and Linguistics, with an emphasis on courses focused on urban populations.
- Recommended: At least 3 credit hours in Texas History and 3 credit hours in World History.
Students pursuing the Urban Teachers minor also will need to complete a course related to teaching students learning English as an additional language before finishing the program. Recommended courses include:
- EDU 329 Acquisition of Language & Literacies second language acquisition
- ESL Methods
- Or another course pre-approved by the program advisor
Schedule
Decisions are sent in early November and successful applicants will start the program the spring of their junior year.
In addition to major coursework, students will take one or two Education classes per semester while gaining valuable experience in classrooms and community organizations such as Breakthrough Central Texas.
Total Minimum Hours: 18
English Language Arts
Spring Junior Year: Intern I
- EDC 339F Adolescent Literacy
- EDU 329 if not completed already
Fall Senior Year: Intern II
- EDC 370S Secondary Advanced English Methods
Spring Senior Year: Student Teaching
- EDC 371S Secondary English
- EDC 651S Secondary School Teaching Practicum
Additional information is available on this program guide.
Social Studies
Spring Junior Year: Intern I
- EDC 350 Teaching Secondary Social Studies
- EDU 329 if not already completed
Fall Senior Year: Intern II
- EDC 370S Advanced Methods in Social Studies
Spring Senior Year: Student Teaching
- EDC 351 Secondary Social Studies
- EDC 651 Student Teaching Practicum
Additional information is available on this program guide.
Certification Recommendation
Eligible students may be recommended for certification by our certification officer after successfully completing all teacher certification requirements, including the required Texas Education Agency-approved exams. Be sure to reference the Certification Checklist and other certification information on the Educator Preparation Services Wiki.
How to Add the Minor
You must reach out to CoEAdvising to ensure you have a plan for graduation with this program prior to applying to the minor. Please email us at COEAdvising@austin.utexas.edu to schedule an appointment, use “Urban Teachers minor” for your subject line.
Visit this page after meeting with CoEAdvising.
- Click on link for “Request Restricted minor”
- Select “EDU Education” for Field of Study
- Click “Continue”
- Select “Urban Teachers (MN3EDU01)”
- Click “Continue”
- Once approved, please contact your departmental advisor to have it added to your student profile.
Questions?
Contact the COE Advising Team
Email: coeadvising@austin.utexas.edu
Phone: 512-471-3223
Youth and Community Studies Majors
Students majoring in Youth and Community Studies (YCS) can pursue teacher certification in English Language Arts or Social Studies through the Urban Teachers concentration, not through this minor. This pathway combines coursework in youth development, community engagement and education with the professional preparation needed for secondary classroom teaching. Graduates earn a strong foundation in working with diverse youth populations while meeting requirements for teacher certification in their chosen content area.
Contact
Questions?
Contact the COE Advising Team
Email: coeadvising@austin.utexas.edu
Phone: 512-471-3223
