Academic Catalog

Chemistry | Bachelor of Arts: Chemistry (Teacher Education)

& Secondary Education

If you're interested in a career as a high school teacher the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Chemistry - Teacher Education concentration with a second major in Secondary Education is the right option for you. 

Program Summary

General Education 34
Bachelor of Arts Language Requirement10
Major Courses32
Major Electives5
Chemistry Teacher Education5-10
Cognates26
Open Electives 10
Secondary Education 33
Total Hours145-150
1

Open electives are the credit hours required to reach a minimum of 120 total hours and 45 upper division hours.  The number listed assumes all courses are completed at FHSU as listed.  This number may vary if students transfer courses, or have individual substitutions allowed.  Students should speak with their advisor if either situation applies to determine if the number will vary, and to ensure they enroll in a minimum of 45 upper division hours.   

Students entering within 1 year of high school graduation will take UNIV 101 Freshman Seminar and may apply that hour in the open elective category.

 Program Requirements

General Education

All undergraduate degrees require completion of the Kansas Systemwide General Education

Courses identified with GE on this page may satisfy a general education requirement in addition to the identified degree requirement.  Students who apply a degree requirement to satisfy a general education requirement will typically add an equal number of hours to the university elective category.  This flexibility may allow you to complete a minor or certificate within the 120 hour degree.  Transfer students are especially encouraged to select these courses in completing General Education requirements to maximize the likelihood of completing the degree with 120 credit hours.  

General Education34-35

Effective in Fall 2025 the math pathway course identified below is required for this degree.

The General Education Math Pathways course identified for this major is MATH 110 College Algebra . All students pursuing this degree program will be required to complete this course or the corequisite support course. Students who place into a higher level math course may be able to satisfy this requirement; consult with your Academic Advisor for additional information.

Placement measures for MATH 110 College Algebra  include:

  • Math ACT: 22 or higher OR
  • Math SAT: 540 or higher OR
  • ALEKS PPL: 46 or higher OR
  • Accuplacer QAS: 263 or higher OR
  • HS GPA and Course Grade: 3.25 cumulative GPA (unweighted) and B- or higher in Second semester Algebra 2 or Integrated Math 3 OR
  • Institutional Measure

Students who do not meet any of the placement measures listed above will need to register for the corequisite support course: MATH 105 College Algebra with Review. Credit for the corequisite support course will satisfy any requirement for the pathway course listed above. 

 BA Language Requirement

All FHSU students pursuing a BA degree are required to take two consecutive non-English language classes. These classes total 10 hours at FHSU.  Courses accepted in transfer must be a minimum of 8 credit hours and determined to be equivalent to the FHSU sequence or additional credit hours must be taken. Students taking beginning Spanish or French classes may be able to apply the first class to the Arts and Humanities area of the general education requirement.  

Bachelor of Arts Language Requirement10
Major Core Courses
CHEM 101Orientation to Chemistry1
CHEM 120
120L
University Chemistry I
and University Chemistry Laboratory I GE
5
CHEM 122
122L
University Chemistry II
and University Chemistry Laboratory II GE
5
CHEM 340
340L
Organic Chemistry
and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
5
CHEM 342
342L
Organic Chemistry II
and Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
5
CHEM 350
350L
Chemical Analysis
and Chemical Analysis Laboratory
5
CHEM 430
430L
Survey of Physical Chemistry
and Survey of Physical Chemistry Laboratory
5
CHEM 675Seminar in Chemistry1
Directed Electives5
Select five credit hours from Upper Division Chemistry courses
Total Hours37
Chemistry Education Courses
CHEM 277Early Field Experience: Physical Science Education1
CHEM 480Laboratory Safety and Teaching Techniques1-2
TESS 406Science Teaching Methods2-3
CHEM 476Apprenticeship in Chemistry1-4
Total Hours5-10
Cognate
BIOL 180
180L
Principles of Biology
and Principles of Biology Laboratory
4
GSCI 100
GSCI 102
Exploring Earth
and Exploring Earth Laboratory
4
PHYS 309Descriptive Astronomy3
MATH 234Analytic Geometry and Calculus I5
or MATH 250 Elements of Statistics
PHYS 111
111L
PHYS 112
PHYS 112L
Physics I
and Physics I Laboratory
and Physics II
and Physics II Laboratory
10
or PHYS 211
211L
PHYS 212
PHYS 212L
Engineering Physics I
and Engineering Physics I Laboratory
and Engineering Physics II
and Engineering Physics II Laboratory
Total Hours26

The Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education is available as part of a dual major in conjunction with a major in an academic teaching field approved by the KSDE at the PreK-12 or 6-12 levels. The teaching fields available at FHSU for students interested in licensure at middle or high school levels are art, biology, business, chemistry, earth/space science, English, modern languages (Spanish), journalism, mathematics, music, physical education, physics, psychology, technology education (communications; power, energy, transportation; production), history and government. For requirements in each field, please contact the appropriate teaching area departmental office. Students wishing to complete the requirements for the Secondary Education major must also meet the Teacher Education Program admission requirements. This program follows the Conceptual Framework for Teacher Education at Fort Hays State University. 

Secondary Education Core19
Courses from field of studyvariable
Student Teaching12
Total number of credit hours varies based on chosen field of study

General Education

All undergraduate degrees require completion of the Kansas Systemwide General Education

Courses identified with GE on this page may satisfy a general education requirement in addition to the identified degree requirement.  Students who apply a degree requirement to satisfy a general education requirement will typically add an equal number of hours to the university elective category.  This flexibility may allow you to complete a minor or certificate within the 120 hour degree.  Transfer students are especially encouraged to select these courses in completing General Education requirements to maximize the likelihood of completing the degree with 120 credit hours.  

General Education34-35

Effective in Fall 2025 the math pathway course identified below is required for this degree.

Secondary Education students are required to complete the math pathway course (MATH 101 Contemporary Mathematics or MATH 110 College Algebra) identified by their content discipline major.  Should any majors require MATH 250 Elements of Statistics as the math pathway course either MATH 101 Contemporary Mathematics or MATH 110 College Algebra may be chosen as the second math course for the teacher education program admissions. Students placing into an advanced math course may be able to satisfy the general education and program admission requirement; consult with your Academic Advisor for additional information.

Program Admission Requirements & General Education Courses

To earn an undergraduate degree at FHSU, you must complete 34 hours of General Education coursework. For the Secondary Education degree the following classes typically applied to the general education requirements must be completed with the specified grade for admission to the teacher education program, these include:

ENG 101English Composition I (Grade C) GE3
ENG 102English Composition II (Grade B) GE3
COMM 100Fundamentals of Oral Communication (Grade B) GE3
or COMM 304 Intermediate Interpersonal Communication
MATH 110College Algebra (Grade C) GE3
or MATH 101 Contemporary Mathematics
MATH 250Elements of Statistics (Grade C) GE3

For a current list of all teacher education admission requirements check out the programs website 

Secondary Education Requirements 

These requirements are in addition to the requirements for the primary degree

Secondary Education Core Non-Restricted Courses
TEEL 202Foundations of Education (Grade C)3
TEEL 231Human Growth and Development (Grade C) GE3
TECS 301Introduction to Instructional Technology (Grade C)3
___ 277 Early Field Experience (Grade C)
Secondary Education Core Restricted Courses (Admission to Teacher Education Required)
TESP 302Educating Students with Exceptionalities3
TEEL 431Educational Psychology3
TESS 494The Secondary School Experience4
Student Teaching Courses
TESS 496Student Teaching Secondary11
TEEL 675Seminar in Education I1

Total Secondary Education Courses: 31 Credit Hours. The 31 credit hours doesn't include method classes in the discipline or additional cognates necessary for specific fields.

Secondary Education programs in the Sciences also require:

TESS 406Science Teaching Methods2-3
  • All program courses must be completed with a C or better

  • Major requires 2.75 GPA

Degree Requirements

All bachelor degrees require:
GPA of 2.0 on FHSU courses & 2.0 on all coursework (Higher program requirements prevail over the 2.0 when set)
A minimum of 30 hours earned from FHSU with a grade of D, C, B, or A
Successful completion of an upper division Writing and Information Literacy course (Most majors contain a course designated)
A minimum of 45 hours of recognized upper division credit
A minimum of 120 hours of recognized college credit

Degree Requirements

Bachelor of Arts Degree Language Requirement
Two consecutive semesters of a non-English Language
All bachelor degrees require:
GPA of 2.0 on FHSU courses & 2.0 on all coursework (Higher program requirements prevail over the 2.0 when set)
A minimum of 30 hours earned from FHSU with a grade of D, C, B, or A
Successful completion of an upper division Writing and Information Literacy course (Most majors contain a course designated)
A minimum of 45 hours of recognized upper division credit
A minimum of 120 hours of recognized college credit

Reach out to our faculty mentors for information on a chemistry emphasis: