Division of Education & Leadership
Home » Transfer Pathways for Community College Students » PCC to WOU Early Childhood / Elementary Teacher Preparation
Portland Community College A.A.O.T. to Western Oregon University B.S. in Education
Concentration: Early Childhood / Elementary Teacher Preparation
Prepares you to teach all subjects in elementary schools.
A streamlined and affordable way to become a teacher
Western Oregon University and Portland Community College have worked together to develop a smooth pathway to earning a B.S. in Education: Early Childhood / Elementary Concentration and becoming a teacher. Our teacher education pathway allows you to become a licensed elementary teacher in as little as four years. With flexible courses and teaching placements throughout Oregon, you have choices about where and how you complete most requirements.
Complete the first half of your degree through classes at PCC
Choose between our campus-based pathway or our evening/weekend/online pathway to complete the last half of your degree through WOU in the format that works best for you.
Start teaching and making a difference for Oregon students
Degree Timeline
Complete your lower division courses through Portland Community College and then transfer to Western Oregon University to complete your upper division courses. You will have the flexibility of completing your upper division courses in the timeline and format that works best for you (full time or part time; on campus or remotely; daytime or evening). If you are a full time student, you can earn both your bachelor’s degree and your teaching license in four years.
Year 1 through PCC
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If you’re not a student at Portland Community College already, apply for admission.
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Complete year 1 coursework.
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Meet with a PCC Education Advisor (Tanya Mead) to develop an education plan and steps for transferring.
Tanya Mead
tmead@pcc.edu | 503-349-9991
Please email Tanya to schedule an appointment.
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Meet with our WOU pre-education advisor if you started classes before 2020 or have already taken classes different from what’s listed in the course list below.
Year 2 through PCC
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Complete year 2 coursework.
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Apply for admission to WOU in fall term.
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Complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Oregon Student Aid Application (ORSAA) in October
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Complete Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) scholarship application in December.
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Complete WOU general scholarship application in February.
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Complete the Bilingual Teacher Scholars and/or Diverse Teacher Scholars scholarship applications (if eligible) in February.
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Complete first 30 hours of classroom observation
Year 3 through WOU
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Complete year 3 coursework.
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Complete second 30 hours of classroom observation.
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Apply to licensure program before the first Friday in April.
Year 4 through WOU
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Complete year 4 coursework.
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Complete student teaching.
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Apply for Oregon Teaching License.
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Interview for jobs.
Course Lists
The course lists below are based on WOU and PCC’s current course catalog, if you are using a previous year’s course catalog please contact an advisor. Each student’s situation is unique, so individual advising is encouraged.
All foundational and discipline studies courses must be a minimum of 3 credits, except for HE/PE courses which may be any number of credits. ENG 216 and all ED, HEC, and ECE prefix courses must be passed with a B- or better. All other courses must be passed with a C- or better. Your cumulative GPA should be 2.75 or higher.
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| Writing | |
| WR 121: College Composition | 4 |
|
4 |
| Math | |
| MTH 211: Foundations of Elementary Math I | 4 |
| Oral Communication | |
| COMM 111: Public Speaking or any AAOT-approved oral communication course | 4 |
| Health / Wellness / Fitness | |
| HE 295: Health and Fitness for Life and PE 295: Health and Fitness for Life Lab or any AAOT-approved HE or PE course | 3 |
| Arts and Letters | |
|
4 |
|
3 |
| Any AAOT-approved arts and letters course | 4 |
| Social Sciences | |
| PSY 215: Human Development or any AAOT approved PSY course | 4 |
|
4 |
| GEO 106: World Regional Geography | 4 |
|
4 |
| Sciences / Math / Computer Science | |
| MTH 212: Foundations of Elementary Math II | 4 |
| BI 101: Biology I | 4 |
| GS 106: Physical Science (Geology) | 4 |
|
4 |
| Additional Courses | |
| MTH 213: Foundations of Elementary Math III | 4 |
| ED 112: Introduction to Children’s Literature | 3 |
|
4 |
| ED 258: Multicultural Education | 3 |
|
3 |
|
3 or 4 |
|
3 or 4 |
|
3 |
| MTH 243: Statistics I | 5 |
| Total You must complete a total of 90 quarter credits to earn the AAOT |
89-91 |
View course descriptions in the PCC Course Catalog.
Year 3 courses can either be completed in our traditional pathway format (face-to-face/daytime) or in our flexible pathway format (evening/weekend/online). All ED prefix courses must be completed with a B- or better. Your cumulative GPA should be 2.75 or higher.
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| ED 224: Creative Arts in Early Childhood Settings (birth-4th grade) | 3 |
| ED 231: Typical & Atypical Development | 3 |
| ED 352: Elementary Social Studies Methods | 3 |
| ED 325: Elementary Science Methods | 3 |
| ARE 433: Art Education | 3 |
| GS 325: Learning Science Through Scientific Practices | 3 |
| MTH 396: Elementary Problem Solving | 3 |
| ED 353: Elementary Mathematics Methods | 3 |
| LING 314: Language Study for Elementary/Middle Teachers | 4 |
|
4 |
| ED 374: Teaching Writing in the Elementary Classroom | 3 |
| EXS 433: Physical Education in the Elementary School | 4 |
| ED 373: Intro to Curriculum and Assessment | 3 |
| ED 464: Families & Community Involvement in Early Childhood Education | 3 |
| ED 481: Intro to ESOL and Bilingual Education | 3 |
| Total | 48 |
Year 4 includes a full academic year of student teaching on site at school districts throughout Oregon, plus upper division ED courses, which can be completed in our traditional pathway format (face-to-face/daytime) or in our flexible pathway format (evening/weekend/online). All ED prefix courses must be completed with a B- or better. Your cumulative GPA should be 2.75 or higher.
| Course | Credits |
|---|---|
| ED 404: Clinical Experience Seminar I | 2 |
| ED 411: Clinical Experience I | 3 |
| ED 405: Clinical Experience Seminar II | 2 |
| ED 412: Clinical Experience II | 3 |
| ED 418: Assessment, Planning and Instruction | 3 |
| ED 421: Technology Integration | 3 |
| ED 429: Professional Development Seminar III | 2 |
| ED 443: Supporting Language, Literacy and Culture | 3 |
| ED 444: Content Literacy | 3 |
| ED 446: Environments for Diverse Learners | 3 |
| ED 450: Methods for Classroom Management | 3 |
| ED 498: Clinical Experience III | 10 |
| Total | 40 |
Contact Us
Darlene Fritz
Pre-Education Advisor for Undergraduate Transfer Students
Office: RWEC 165
Email: fritzd@wou.edu
Portland Community College
Tanya Mead
Education Faculty Chair
Office: Cascade Campus Terrell Hall, Room 227
Email: tmead@pcc.edu
Phone: 503-349-9991
Please email me to schedule an appointment.
