Western Carolina University - English - Teaching / English Education (B.S.Ed.)

WCU is a University of North Carolina Campus

English - Teaching / English Education (B.S.Ed.)

Western Carolina University has been preparing excellent English teachers practically since the University’s beginning in 1889; its placement rate of its graduates is still running around 100%. In 2002, the National Council of Teachers of English recognized our program for excellence on a national level, a recognition of which the English education program is currently seeking renewal.

The secondary English education program is housed in the English department; its aim is to produce dedicated and passionate teachers with strong content knowledge, teachers who will become leaders in the community of learners, guided by knowledge, values and experience articulated by the College of Education’s Conceptual Framework.

Candidates graduate with a B.S.Ed. in English, a Standard Professional License I, and the preparation they need to survive the rigors of the first few years teaching high school English language arts.

Teaching candidates have access to rich, diverse hands-on experience; professional education sequence courses are supported by field experiences throughout the program through the School-University Teacher Education Partnership, SUTEP, and culminate in a year-long internship in an English classroom. This partnership, paired with WCU students' strong literature preparation, helps prepare students for the classroom.

To be effective practitioners in English Language Arts, students develop knowledge of language development, language analysis, language composition, written discourse, reading and literature, media, instructional media, assessment, and research and theory in the content and pedagogy of English.

We are proud of our grounding in technology in our courses: candidates post lessons and units online via portfolio software, create their own interactive websites, and produce and post online a technology growth plan as well as their teacher work samples.

We are also working to improve our candidates’ experience with diversity of ability, race, culture, gender, socioeconomic status, sexuality, and religion through coursework, case studies, field experiences in diverse settings, and such CEAP initiatives as the Rural-Urban Exchange.

Contact Information

Dr. Catherine Carter, director of the English education program, has sixteen years’ teaching experience and is licensed in secondary education in North Carolina. She’ll be happy to talk to you about any aspect of English education at virtually any time; you can contact her by phone at 828-227-3931, or by e-mail at ccarter@email.wcu.edu.