Planning Course--Juniors and Seniors

For the Traditional Liberal Studies major, a 9 to 12-unit specialization is required in one of the subject areas taught in the elementary schools. Advising sheets that list the requirements and provide additional information are available in the Liberal Studies Office or under Specializations on this web site.

took the correct lower division prerequisites,
completed any extra lower division prerequisites, and
have planned to take the upper division courses in the correct order.

Students who are graduating in August should complete specialization courses during spring semester. Specialization courses are much less likely to be offered during summer than Liberal Studies courses.

Liberal Studies 300 is a prerequisite for LIB S 498.
Students complete the capstone project, one reflection and samples/artifacts, and an in-class essay.
Students should allow extra time during the semester they take LIB S 498. Most of the work is completed in the first half of the semester.
Students who earn commendable are honored at Commencement. Commendable is required to earn Distinction in the Major.

This section of the web site deals with courses recommended for the sixth, seventh, and eighth semesters; i.e. the second half of the junior year through the senior year. Students in the Liberal Studies pre-major are able to register for specialization courses and credential prerequisite courses but not for Liberal Studies courses recommended for these semesters. For example, on the Suggested Sequence Chart for the first semester of the senior year, pre-majors can register for the "second specialization course," which is typically a GE course open to all students, but they cannot register for Natural Science 412, a Liberal Studies course restricted to Liberal Studies majors.

When students have satisfied all the impaction criteria, they should e-mail the Liberal Studies program via the e-mail link on the home page. A typical message might say, "I have just passed the Mathematics Part LS exam. Please change me to the upper division major code."

Students can check that their code has been changed by looking at their unofficial transcript on the web portal. On the top left, where the portal lists "major," they will see either PRE-LIBERAL STUDIES or LIBERAL STUDIES. The latter indicates the student is in the upper-division code and can register for classes that have a footnote saying either:
"Open only to Liberal Studies majors (49015, 49081)" or
"Not Open to Liberal Studies Pre-Majors (49015, 49081)."

The following courses should be taken during the second semester of the junior year, if possible.

LANG-6 Linguistics 452 Language Acquisition (after completing LING 420).
HIST-6 History 413 United States History for Teachers for Liberal Studies Majors.
MATH-4 Math 311 Statistics and Probability in Elementary Mathematics (2 units).

The following courses should be taken as soon as space is available. These courses should be taken prior to the final semester if at all possible because they provide essential background for the CSET.

LANG-7 English 306W Advanced Composition.
LANG-8 English 306A Children's Literature. (Registering for ENG 306W automatically registers the student for the parallel section of English 306A.)
HIST-5 History 411 World History for Teachers.
MATH-5 Math 313 Selected Topics in Elementary Mathematics (3 units). (This course will be replaced by Math 315 (2-units) sometime soon, probably in fall 2007. Check the footnotes.)
SCI-3 Natural Science 412 Process and Inquiry in Physical Science.
The second visual and performing arts course (open to pre-majors and majors).

Students should take their first CSET subtest during their penultimate (second to last) semester. The program recommends Subtest III: PE, Human Development, and the Visual and Performing Arts because students have completed most of these courses. They should also complete the "livescan" security clearance required by credential programs.

They should take the last two CSET subtests during the intersession between semesters. If they fail one or more subtests, they can be repeated during the final semester. Applications for credential programs are typically due early in March or October.

Specialization III.
Specialization IV. If the specialization does not include a course that double counts in the major, complete the fourth specialization course.
Electives, if needed in order to graduate with 120 units. Students in the 2003-2004 and later catalogs have 7 to 14 units of electives. If they have taken all the correct courses, they should e-mail the program to ask whether they have elective units. If so, the following electives are recommended:
- Foreign language
  - If they took two semesters of foreign language, one of the semesters counts as elective units.
- Prerequisites for a credential program: (based on spring 2006 requirements; check with the program.)
  - Regular (School of Teacher Education): ED 451 (3 units), SPED 450 (2 units), and HHS 280 (1 unit)(If student hasn't taken a health course).
  - Bilingual (Policy Studies Department): ED 451 (3 units), SPED 450 (2 units), PLC 401 or 415 (3 units).
  - Special Ed (Special Education Department): SPED 527 (3 units) and three units selected from SPED 524, 525, or 528 (3 units) plus 7 units from the Human Development specialization [SPED 500, 501, and 502 (1 unit)].
  - Other credential programs: Contact the program to find out if SDSU offers any equivalent courses.
- Appreciation and understanding of Southern California cultures:
  - American Indian Studies 420 Indidan Peoples of California (3 units) (Offered periodically. Check the Class Schedule.)
  - Chicana/o Studies 310 Mexican and Chicano Music (3 units)
  - Chicana/o Studies 380 US/Mexico Borderlands Folklore (3 units)
- Additional background for CSET
  - History 445 California History (3 units)
- Additional courses toward a Subject Matter Authorization for middle school certification.

IF YOU HAVE TAKEN ANY EXTRA COURSES, DON'T TAKE THE ABOVE ELECTIVES UNTIL YOU CHECK WITH THE PROGRAM TO DETERMINE IF YOU STILL HAVE ELECTIVE UNITS.